An off-hand remark during a team meeting led to the formation of an exciting new river-based ministry in Brazil. Together with partner organisations and local churches, the OM team is sharing the gospel along the banks of the Amazon River.
Amazon Hope is a ministry that aims to share the gospel by whatever means available, partnering with other organisations in Brazil which already have transport to reach the least-reached populations, and, when possible and appropriate, looking into acquiring its own ship.
Márcio (Brazil), OM team leader in Brazil, was encouraged by Logos Hope’s visit to the country in 2019, which saw more than half a million people visiting the vessel and hearing about Jesus.
"We start thinking maybe the ship can come in every year, then we are in a meeting one morning and suddenly Vera, who has been here in Brazil for more than 30 years, came into the meeting and said, ‘We need a boat in Brazil’. I immediately said to her. ‘Okay, Amazon Hope. Let's do Amazon Hope here.
"We didn't have the capacity to think about a boat. It's quite expensive to think about a ship. So the idea was sleeping for a while. Then, in 2023, we held our annual Global Challenge Conference and we invited OM Director Lawrence Tong to come. When we were at breakfast he said, 'I have a dream to have five ships all around the world'. I said, ‘Okay, we need only two now’. And he said, ‘no, we need three because we have two', and I replied: ‘Doulos Hope, Logos Hope and Amazon Hope’.
"He said immediately to me: ‘OK, go to the Amazon and try to figure out what what's going on there and what we can do’.”
First steps
The first voyage took place in the summer of 2024 using a boat owned and operated by the Bible Society in Brazil. Starting from the city of Belém at the gateway of the lower Amazon region, the boat visited the island of Marajó.
As it was an exploratory journey, the team wanted to visit three different towns and villages during their five-day trip to see what type of ministry would be most effective in these areas, and who they would be meeting.
One people group they met was the quilombola, descended from African slaves, who now have their own community and culture in the Amazon. They are one of six people groups living in the area that have had little exposure to the gospel.
In some of the places visited, Márcio says many people have a poor quality of life. "Marajó is the most challenging area in all of Brazil, with the lowest HDI (Human Development Index) in the country. The needs we encounter there are truly significant, and they do not see the light of Jesus.
"They lack skills to use the existing natural resources, they do not have financial resources, but there are many drugs, prostitution, child prostitution as well as human trafficking.
"And we visit them, providing food, literature, dental care and services from other professionals, and we share the gospel with many of them."
In one town, after showing Facing the Giants, the team explained what it means to follow Jesus and invited people to come forward if they wanted to know more.
Márcio said, “When I gave the invitation, over 40 people came forward and they made a decision to accept Jesus Christ — and that village is not an easy place. It was incredible."
Planning for the future
The next voyage is scheduled for November 2024 and plans are being made for July 2025 right after the Global Challenge Conference and August 2025 which has 35 spots available for volunteers. Márcio hopes that 25 of these spots will be filled with people from overseas and the rest with Brazilians.
As the trip is limited to a six-hour voyage, Portuguese is the main language, meaning translators are not needed for local workers and only English-Portuguese translators are required for foreign workers.
"There are some places we would like to visit that would need two days of navigation in the river to reach, and maybe in those areas we will find difficulties in how we can communicate,” Márcio explained. “But of course, we can find translators, and also for when we find people very far into the jungle. We may encounter many indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest, and we want to work among them as well."
The long-term plan is for the boat ministry to run continuously, following the model of OM’s Ships Ministry. Half of the people on board would be full-time ministry workers with short-term volunteers, both local and foreign, filling the remaining places.
"Amazon Hope is not just a ship; it is an entire ministry for the immense Amazon region. God will use ships, God will use boats, God will use aeroplanes and cars, whatever God wants to use," Márcio said. "For example, the Assembly of God has offered to let us use their seaplane to help.
"And we want to buy two small motorboats that can accommodate 24 people each, so we can go on trips lasting two, three, four hours, or maybe even longer. Each one will cost between $18,000 and $21,000 USD. A ship would cost much more, so we want to start small like this."
Fruitful partnerships
To support the ongoing ministry, a new team has been formed in Belém. A partnership has also been formed with the Assembly of God church, one of the largest denominations in Brazil, which shares the dream of a ministry in the Amazon. The church has offered support, resources and workers to go and live in the areas visited by the riverboat ministry to continue the work started there.
Pray for the provision of finances for the project and for people to catch the vision and become involved.
Pray for guidance for those leading the project, that they would make the right decisions to bring about good results.
Pray for the new team in Belém, that God can provide good people to increase their numbers and the ministry.
Pray for the six unreached people groups this ministry hopes to reach, that they would be open to hearing the gospel message.