Download our latest letter featuring the story of Pastor Reinaldo and the church built on a flooded plain on the Amazon River or donate to the Revolving Construction Fund which funds these projects.

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In our most recent mailing we tell the story of the community of Piracãoera de Cima, where a church was recently built in the midst of the worst flooding in the Basin our generation has seen. It’s amazing to see how much God uses a physical building to build his eternal kingdom, as evidenced in the story of Piracãoera de Cima and its overseeing pastor, Reinaldo. Click to open this letter and take a quick trip with us down the Amazon River to see first hand how God is working through your prayers, donations, missions trips and support.

Help us build several more church buildings this year! Eleven teams are on their way down to physically contribute to our building projects. You can contribute to this most excellent work and donate to the Revolving Construction Fund.

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In the last year, the PAZ church in Santarém has undergone a revolutionary change: what was once several different PAZ churches in and around Santarém has been radically united as one church with several campuses, or nuclei. We call it the Fusion.

Pastor Geraldo

The details of this huge fusion fell on the shoulders of Pastor Geraldo Batista, Santarém Base Leader and Head Pastor of Igreja da Paz in Santarém. He and his team of pastors led the year-long process that involved combining the pastors, resources, members and structures of already existing PAZ neighborhood churches into one city-wide church. The result has been extraordinary, for both the already large Central church and the other churches involved in the fusion, adding even more momentum to a move of God that will capture all of Santarém for Christ. Igreja da Paz in Santarém now has 40 services each Sunday, over 4,000 cell groups and an estimated 32,000 attending the cell groups! Consider how the church has unified in the following areas:

• Preaching

The same word is preached each Sunday in all of the 40 services held throughout Santarém. The leadership training TADEL is the same at all the nuclei (campuses). Each week a pastor develops his sermon and then distributes it to other pastors who preach at the nuclei (campuses). The local churches greatly benefit, hearing the same excellent messages week after week, personalized by the individual preaching pastor.

• Pastoral Staff

The pastoral staff of the local churches have been brought on board the general staff and now receive the same great teaching on disciple-making. They are also being personally discipled by key pastors at Central who are able to pass along the same MDA vision that has been so fruitful at Central church. This has made for a powerful pastoral staff full of gifted teachers, preachers and disciple-makers.



Pastor Geraldo leading the packed 7 PM service at Central

• Space

For years, Central Church has been running at full capacity, hosting 7 2-hour services each Sunday at their downtown campus. The need for more space has been a hindrance to the phenomenal growth. Before the fusion started, Central began renting a local Community Center to host an additional 5 PM service. This was costly and became a strain on the pastoral staff and ministry teams. Now, after the fusion, there are many options for a person wanting to go to a service at 9 AM, 5 PM or 7 PM (peak service times). Central remains packed while local neighborhood churches have seen a boost in their attendance as well.

• Vision

The vision of our PAZ Churches is clearly stated in the slogan: “All the world discipled – Every disciple a committed leader.” And just as Project AmaZon has the short-term goal of a total of 1,000 churches by 2014, Igreja da Paz in Santarém has the short-term goal of 120,000 disciples by 2014!



Model of the new Cathedral of Love

• The Future

To accomplish this vision, we’re going to need much, much more space. Igreja da PAZ in Santarém has been planning the construction of the Cathedral of Love, an impressive building with seating for over 10,000 people! The challenge has been given to the local church to give sacrificially in faith to see this great work happen! We are working on all the necessary preparations to have a groundbreaking ceremony before the end of the year.

And this is only the beginning because our vision is to continue to send fruitful, disciple-making teams from Santarém and plant them all over the Amazon and in the capital cities of Brazil. We will use the same biblically-based, fruit producing approaches (such as MDA and Social Assistance Ministries) currently used in Santarém to win Brazil for Christ!

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The record-setting flood of 2009 is making international news and leaving many in near impossible situations with flooded homes and little food. We urgently need your help! The current need is tremendous, and there is a great opportunity to reach out and help the victims of this great flood. The Santarém PAZ church produced this news documentary to show the intense need. We present it to you.

The latest estimates are that 300,000 people are currently homeless because of the flooding. Many people continue to live in their flooded homes because they have nowhere else to go. Project AmaZon, its local churches and several other churches are raising money to aid those most affected by the flood.

A missions team recently visited a local flooded community to help build a new church and provide such assistance. This community has been very resistant to the Gospel up to this point, but in the midst of these great and challenging circumstances, 6 people gave their lives to the Lord! While the need is great, people are open to receive the help they need and be transformed. Let’s make the most of this time, and show Christ’s love! The need is most urgent. We are poised to make a huge impact together in the lives of thousands. Click here to donate now.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:35-36; 40b

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Last November, Project AmaZon participated in “My Hope: Brazil,” a three night evangelistic TV program that aired throughout all Brazil on the weekend of November 6, 7, and 8. We were honored to be chosen as one of two locations in Brazil where the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association would film. (See article). Just recently their program aired and it’s with great pleasure that we post it here as well! It’s in two parts, so you’ll have to watch the first part, and then the second. It’s a great quick look into our life down here on the rivers. Also Joaquim, Project AmaZon’s Church Construction Coordinator, is featured in this video.

Wonder what happened? Watch part II below.

Wow! These videos show the reality of much of what we deal with here in the Amazon, and what we’ve been doing the past 30 years – going to the hard to reach, forgotten areas and paying the price to take the Good News to the ends of the earth, make disciples and plant churches! Soon, as a part of our 1,000 by 2014 initiative (click to read more about this initiative), you will be seeing a list of the 75 places we want to go and plant churches this year, so that you can be praying and giving towards that goal!

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We are thrilled to report that through your generosity, we raised R$42,000 and met the C&A Challenge, a matching grant that promised to give us R$2 for every R$1 that we raised. All together we received R$126,000 for transportation! We have already put the donations to good use and are currently making ten more speed boats that will carry more river supervisors and pastors, just like Reinaldo, along the rivers. This is a big step towards not just planting new churches, but strengthening our current churches. Thank you so much for your donations and prayers! Enjoy these pictures of the boats being made (to see any one of these pictures larger, just click on the picture).

Who every thought that coloring was useless never saw how boats are made

The boat is already in the metal, you just have to know where to cut to get it out

One of the finished products

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