Christopher and Denise focus on training faithful, accessible, and teachable leaders in creating a team that serves the Kingdom of God.  Leo and Leda fit that focus and have grown into gifted leaders.

The training ended with the recent consecration of Leo and Leda as senior pastors of Vineyard Macapá.  It was a joyous celebration and the church was encouraged. 

Planting churches and training leaders leads to raising up the leaders and handing over the churches to them.  It is advancing the Kingdom of God.  We are proud of Christopher and Denise for their diligence and a job well done.

Please be in prayer for the leaders that are in Brazil that are being trained to serve the Kingdom.

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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We are so blessed to be able to celebrate the church opening in Belem.  The Belem team has been working for over a year through their home church to build up a body of believers to start a church outside their home.  A month ago, that became a reality.  In their first church service, they were blessed to have many brothers and sisters from other Vineyard churches come and celebrate with them.  They came as far as Altamira, Santarem, and Portel to support the new church plant opening.  In addition, the National leader of the Vineyard church association shared God’s Word.  The church continues to meet and they are seeing salvations and the Kingdom of God in their midst.

It was an extraordinary moment bringing excitement throughout the movement.  We pray that more moments like this continue to occur more and more in our church planting efforts. 

Please continue to pray for this new Belem church plant, the other church plants in progress, and more workers to take up the cause to plant churches.
 

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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Our time is limited, our talents are limited, and God is pleased when we embrace those limitations and remain faithful to his plans for us.  Our faithfulness and love for God is a Kingdom success.

We at the Xingu Mission have a clear sense of our call to plant churches and train leaders.  We do what we do out of love for God and a desire for others to know God’s love for them.  Your support in us fulfilling this role in God’s Kingdom is greatly appreciated. 

We want to encourage you to embrace your time and talents and remain faithful to the place God has called you to serve.

Have a blessed month!

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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We are thankful that you follow what we are doing to further the Kingdom of God here in Brazil.  To end the year, we want to share the specific needs of the missionaries on the field.  Please partner with one of the missionaries and consider how you can generously fuel missions to bring about worship. 

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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Gratitude is the single best predictor of well-being. We at Xingu Mission are thankful for God and his presence and provision in our lives and ministry. We are also grateful for all those that partner with us.

Along the lines of gratitude, each missionary will share gratitude specific to their ministry this past year. Rejoice with us!

Derek: I am grateful to see some growth in the leadership of the churches and the new small groups reaching their neighborhoods. (Macapá)

Amanda: I am grateful that even without complete language fluency, I have been able to love and serve the churches here in an effective way. (Macapá)

Steve:  We are grateful that the Lord has called us to Belem. (Belém)

Elba: I am grateful for the excitement for the future of the Vineyard movement in Brazil. (Belém)

Bob:  I am grateful for the leading of the Lord with the outreach ministry “LOVE IN ACTION.” It has been a desire of mine to participate in this type of ministry for some time. We are seeing some fruit of our labors recently! (Macapá)

Christopher:  I am thankful for our assistant pastors in both churches. A few years ago, Denise and I really started to feel the toll of pastoring two churches while also raising two small children. We knew that we were dealing with burnout, so we began to pray that God would rise up new pastors who could work with us in the two churches. About a year ago, we licensed assistant pastors at Vineyard Macapá and Vineyard Viva. At the time, we felt peace from God about the decision, but there was still a huge mystery of how it would all work out. Although it took a little bit of time to develop a rhythm with our new co-workers, once we found that rhythm, it has worked out amazingly at both churches. It has taken such a huge load off of Denise’s and my shoulders. We are looking forward to our continued work with these new pastors for years to come. (Macapá)

Denise:  One thing that I have been thankful for this last year in ministry is the community that God has surrounded us with. Multiple times this past year, God has brought to my attention the community he built through Christopher and me, not just from a growth ministry perspective, but also from a personal perspective. When we moved to Macapá 8 years ago, Christopher and I didn’t know anyone in the city. We have passed through some lonely times. Our community here has become our family, and not just people that we take care of and minister to, but also are the ones taking care of and ministering to us. (Macapá)

Keith:  I’m thankful for God’s grace and presence in bringing about His ministry uniquely through each of us. I am not surprised that He does act in favor of the ministry that He calls each of us into, but for me, it always seems amazing and an adventure to see how, when, and by whom He acts. This element of creativity and the expectation of being confident that God will act somehow produces in me joy, eagerness, great purpose, and calmness, all at the same time, a thankfulness for who God is and how he invites us each to join in His plans, purposes, and action. Even in the thick of straining to see what He is doing next, this thankfulness shines as I reflect on what He has been doing. (Palmas)

Marsha:  I am grateful for encouragers and God’s faithfulness.  Starting a church plant as a team of 2 is sometimes discouraging and lonely.  Encouragers both within our little group in Palmas and supporters outside strengthen us, bring insight, and help us feel not so alone.  God, in his faithfulness, allows me to continue steadfast when these discouraging and lonely times come, fully knowing that his hand is upon me and He will fulfill his purpose. (Palmas)

Know that you are a blessing!  

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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Short-term team members offer encouragement, love, respect, and support from back home to the missionaries, local ministries, and the local church body, producing a long-term impact.

Short-term teams gain a global perspective of God’s Kingdom and the spiritual growth of its participants when used by God.

A few short-term teams have recently visited the ministries here in Brazil, ranging from 2 to 4 people.

A team of 2, accompanied by the Wilsons, visited a region with a long-term relationship, helped make water filters, ministered, and gave first aid training.

A team of 3 from the Meyer´s sending church visited Macapá and the work there.  They held conferences at two churches, participated in outreach events giving food away, hosted a fellowship time with a cookout, made numerous home visits praying for people, and got in a jungle/nature day. 

A team of 4, accompanied by the Dolans, currently in the country at the time of this writing, traveled to the interior of Pará and are building restrooms at a church plant on the river.

They also held a service in that location and at the home church reaching out to this river area.

In all cases, the local ministries and the local churches felt blessed by the teams, and relationships were formed or solidified through the team’s visits.  With today’s translating technology, several continue to write back and forth with their Brazilian friends.  The missionaries love sharing their work with the teams.  It’s been expressed that it is therapeutic for them.

Do you want to partner better with God’s work in Brazil?  Come for a visit and get personally connected.  We’ll have the coffee waiting!

Check out the videos on short-term teams on the home page of our website.  http://www.xingu.org

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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Why was this special?

• Having a national conference supports unity within the body. John 17:23 reminds us that unity allows the world to see God’s love.
• Conferences allow pastors to gain a proper perspective on their ministry through the encouragement of one another.
• Pastors from different parts of the country allow for new perspectives as one learns different approaches to similar problems through the teachings, break-off sessions, and lunch conversations.
• Churches are organic entities that are not static.  Being together allows for new insights as the Word is made fresh even as it is eternal. Pastors need to pursue understanding, continued education, and spiritual growth; conferences are a great tool.
• Pastors need rest and conferences amongst their peers to allow for the change of pace, setting, and reduced responsibility for a few days.
• Conferences nourish the health of the pastor, which benefits the whole church.

Walter Trobisch wrote, “The one who gives out much must also take in much.”  Here are a few quotes from attending pastors:

• “God spoke strongly in all sessions, but particularly through the phrase “waiting is part of the answer” .
• “When I heard reports of difficulties that I faced or was facing, it seemed that I felt stronger and compelled to fight. I felt that God took me there for a rest of my soul. I feel very cared for by God and our leadership.”
• “God ministered a lot in my life, about leaving everything in God’s hands and that the ministry is not ours, it’s God’s!”
• “This holy mixture of South and North was wonderful!!! How incredible it is to hear the story of each one… the good things and even the difficulties… because this humanity brings us closer to each other and to God.”
• “What impacted me were the chat groups, having time to listen to others and be heard.”

 
It was a worthy investment to support this national pastor’s conference, and your giving helped!  Thank you for your support!

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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The first year in the missionary field is full of adventures and difficulties in learning, exploring, and acclimating to the unfamiliar.  It is a time of missing the familiar, and adapting to the reality of the unfamiliar often is much different than expectations.  It is a time to focus on being faithful and celebrate the little successes of acclimation.

Derek and Amanda Blaylock and their four children have finished a year as missionaries in Macapá, Brazil.

Some reflections on their first year:

Biggest Difficulty: missing the family, deep friendships from our church plant, good friends, and neighbors that we were close to.

Biggest Success: getting to observe God’s faithfulness first-hand.

Encouragement: the warm, relational nature of Brazilian culture. Our new neighbors have been kind, helpful, and accommodating.  We are making friends and forming familial relationships.  Working with a team of committed and faithful missionaries has also been super encouraging.  Christopher and Denise Meyer, and Bob Lesher are awesome teammates – it’s quite fun to work with people committed to the same vision and pulling in the same direction.

We have found that Jesus’ words from Matthew 19 – that those who leave the family for Kingdom work will also gain family!  We have been well received, loved by the folks here, and cared for by the mission.

Our faith and discipleship have grown tremendously.  Something about undertaking this assignment inspires the imagination – you realize that when relying on God, you can be more capable than you thought.

Needs: $350 monthly additional financial support is needed as the exchange rate has been dropping, and their monthly support is insufficient.  

Please pray for the Blaylocks as they continue this adventure with a purpose.

Feel free to enter into contact and bless them and God bless you!

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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We wrote in May about the necessity and rigors of home assignment.  The Dolans are now in Ohio on home assignment. 

The Dolans moved this year to the capital city of Belém and have started a small group in their home.  Belém is the capital of the state of Pará.  Pará holds the majority of the churches in the north.  Having a church in the capital is significant.  The city holds over 1.3 million people.  The Dolans would love to share their vision for church planting in Belém. 

While there, they need to increase their funding by $1,400.00 a month to help support their work.  They also seek funding for a church property.  

YOU CAN HEAR FROM THEM!

July 2 @ Vineyard Community Church, Reynoldsburg, OH
July 9 @ Vineyard Church of Madison County
July 16 @ Crossway Vineyard, Urbana, OH
July 23 @ Vineyard Lancaster
July 25 @ Vineyard Grandview

or 

Contact Steve at his temporary U.S. number, 614-209-5441 and invite them to your small group or meet up for a face-to-face.

Please

• Pray for them.
• Ask them about their life and ministry.
• Partner with them.  No amount is too big or too small. 
• Bless them!

Enjoy your summer!

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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Our mission and vision centers around the two phrases of planting churches and training leaders. 

A large part of our vision in this church planting movement is to train leaders to take our place.  We seek to lead change by empowering and inspiring people and communities as we share the vision of God’s Kingdom. 

Keith and Marsha Wilson are planting a new church in Palmas, Tocantins.  While in the early stages of the church plant, they are giving leadership development classes to a sister church a half an hour away in person and video classes to another church much further away.  Both churches are small church plants and Keith and Marsha hope that the development classes will help these churches grow leaders with a vision for taking a more active roles in Kingdom work. 

Christopher and Denise Meyer, with their young sons, are experiencing home assignment. A much-needed part of their time will be spent with Christopher’s parents as his mother continues her fight against cancer. Pray for their time to be a blessing for each of them.

Also, they need to increase their funding by $1,000.00 a month to help support their work in Macapa with two churches and missionary leadership obligations.

YOU CAN HELP!

• Pray for them.
• Ask them about their life and ministry.
• Partner with them.  No amount is too big or too small. 
• Bless them!

Contact Christopher at his temporary U.S. number, 614-857-5874.

Thank you for being a blessing!

Our mailing address is:
Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785 
Columbus, Ohio 43234

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