REDEEMED LIVES | BEAUTIFUL CHURCHES | TRANSFORMED COMMUNITIES
Front Page APRIL 2019
A dynamic church in every tribe in Brazil by Melissa Weissenberger
Mission Emphasis
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Leadership Development
his vision (stated above), rooted in the hope that God is continually drawing his people near through the work of the local church, stands tall despite the everchanging political climate of Brazil. The staff and leadership of the Ammi Training Center carry this vision after 20 years of ministry,
looking forward to the ways God will continue to expand the reach and influence of Ammi. >>>
AMMI
/am’-i/ n
1. “my people”. A symbolic name given to Israel by Hosea (Hosea 2:1; Hosea 2:3 in Hebrew text), descriptive of Israel in the state of restoration.
Notably, one of the >< greatest outcomes of This provided Ammi’s work was in 2001 with the formation of openings and CONPLEI, the National platforms for new Council of Evangelical Indigenous Pastors and tribal leaders to Leaders. exercise their role Henrique Terena, a founder and current as great potential president of CONPLEI leaders. and one of the first graduates of the Ammi Training Center, comes from the Terena tribe where SAM missionaries Wes and Trudy Seng served for over 20 years in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. It was from their work with the Terena that Wes and Trudy followed the Lord’s call to move near Mato Grosso’s capital city, Cuiabá, and form the Ammi Training Center so that people like Henrique could receive intentional discipleship and Bible courses, and ultimately go out and serve their people in their own language. “Ammi” is the Hebrew word for “my people” and the Center proclaims the truth that God is redeeming his people for his purposes, regardless of their nation of origin. Since 1998, Ammi has hosted approximately 340 students, 300 of which came directly from tribal groups. The Center has represented over 50 tribal groups so far and continues to see similar training centers emerge to serve populations elsewhere in Brazil. “[I see] several factors in Ammi’s impact through CONPLEI,” says Henrique Terena. “One of them was the national and regional meetings where tens of hundreds of tribal leaders were able to participate effectively in the movement becoming part of it and not only as invited observers. This provided openings and platforms for new tribal leaders to exercise their role as great potential leaders.” There is much to celebrate when looking back over the years of ministry. As SAM missionary Vera Bergson says, “Seeing God at work, hearing the testimonies of our students, like Andre whom Jesus freed from alcohol dependency and now is learning about the work of God and wants to see his tribe serving the Lord; the testimony of Sofia who did not know about the existence of God at all and used to live under fear, and now she smiles and sings to the Lord and wants to be a missionary among her people. It’s hard to express in words what God has done in these 20 years here.” >>> 2 |
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Above: CONPLEI President, Henrique Terena, addressing a CONPLEI Congress at the Ammi Training Center. Below: Ammi Student Sofia Mehinako.
One key change in ministry happened just over five years ago when the staff at Ammi modified their curriculum to develop a new model based in oral storytelling. SAM missionaries Dave and Kay Greiman attest to how crucial this change was, and see its immediate impact. “A former student of ours commented that the Ammi students know more of the Bible than the students where he is teaching,” Kay says. “This, I believe, is due to the first year of Above: Ammi staff working on a Bible translation project. Only 58 chronological narratives. They know the indigenous people groups in Brazil have portions of the Bible translated stories and understand God’s character.” into their own language. Dave believed in 2012 that the conditions at Ammi were ripe for this curriculum change. “From my perspective >< as a teacher, the difference was like night In spite of the ideas that have come and and day,” Dave reflects. “Oral students understand truth when presented in the gone at Ammi, God still uses Ammi to historical context of drama and personal change lives, develop Christian character relationships. Truth is usually revealed in the Bible first within the context and send ambassadors into a dark world. of relational stories (much of the Old Testament, the Gospels, and Acts) and then later expanded and expounded into doctrinal statements or concepts. Our educational growth is generally recorded within the development of a student as he or she expands their knowledge of God from the oral method of stories into the latter analytical method of concepts.” “All educational structures go through adjustments,” Henrique declares. “But Ammi was born to see those who attend to be good disciples of Christ. Our enthusiasm and expectations to see still tens of hundreds of natives from Brazil and outside Brazil being trained by this school from which we learn to love, pray and care, continues.” What are the next steps for Ammi as it celebrates 20 years of ministry and carries on in its vision? As SAM
WATCH & PRAY for the 2019
students at Ammi, where training began in March—14 first-year students, 5 secondyear and 4 third-year.
SCAN THIS QR CODE to watch the Ammi video.
vimeo.com/274266309 3 |
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missionary Don Bergson says, “Ammi’s current ministry is the same as it always has been; it has never changed and that it is exciting. In spite of the turnovers in missionaries and the ideas that have come and gone at Ammi, God still uses Ammi to change lives, develop Christian character and send ambassadors into a dark world.” There is apparent hope as the team looks forward to where God is leading. Ammi’s director, Rosimeiry YakawaBakairi, is excited to seek unity between the indigenous, national, and international churches. Henrique is continually encouraged at each graduation where they see students having “overcome the physical and emotional traumas and their struggle to learn in a world different from their culture.” Dave and Kay see their students returning to their homes and “having a powerful impact on their parents, villages, and other tribal groups as well because they know the God of the Bible and his stories.” “As Ammi continues to train people and God places them in leadership positions for his glory and he uses them as strong, steadfast Christians in their communities, the potential and growth of Ammi is out there,” says Don Bergson. “20 years ago Ammi and a few other places existed for indigenous peoples to study the word of God, but now there is an ever-growing number of places for them to study and often times Ammi graduates are showing up to teach or work at these places. That’s endless potential and growth.” Beyond the scope of Ammi’s reach, its potential is also rooted in its ability to transform communities and build bridges. “What excites me is the possibility of seeing indigenous Christians take more leadership of Ammi, having a complete understanding of the importance of working together for the kingdom, regardless of cultural differences,” says Vera Bergson. “Also, the Brazilian church is ripe to come aboard this incredible ministry. I don’t view growth as numerical, but as impact in communities as students take the gospel into their own hands.” • JOIN THE AMMI TEAM Inquire at www.southamericamission.org/join-sam MAKE IT HAPPEN Go to www.southamericamission.org/ammibrazil PRAY WITH US www.firstofallpray.org 4 |
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CONPLEI Conselho Nacional de Pastores e Líderes Evangélicos Indígenas
“South America Mission through its work at the Ammi Training Center was very important in the formation of the CONPLEI movement. Ammi offered us every support so that we could interpret our leadership in Brazil. I believe that the greatest trials for CONPLEI have come as we have found that the involvement of Brazilian churches is still small. The idea still persists that the native is “well with nature,” so others should not tinker with tribal culture. A victory has been that in the last 20 years CONPLEI grew to become one of the largest indigenous evangelical movements in the country and became an example of unity for Latin America. My prayer for CONPLEI is that the Lord will raise future leaders who will take our place and develop much more than we are today. God has called us to
develop a great project and we know our limitations and we seek the strength and resources of the Lord every day. This year the Lord took to himself one of our directors, Pastor Luiz Bitencourt, who undoubtedly left marks forever in the movement. And like Pastor Luiz, we want to leave marks as brave men and women for the next generations.”
B R A Z I L’ s INDIGENOUS PEOPLE GROUPS (IPGs)
— Henrique Terena, president of CONPLEI and Ammi graduate
“The 8th National Congress of CONPLEI, on October of 2016, gathered indigenous people from 36 ethnic groups in Brazil and 8 ethnic groups from other countries and a total of 2,375 people from 18 countries and 27 missionary organizations participated. The emphasis of the event was the advance of the missionary work among the natives carried out by the natives themselves, known as the “third missionary wave”. The “first wave” was the evangelization of Brazilians by missionaries from other countries and the “second wave” is of the Brazilians evangelizing indigenous peoples. The estimate presented during the event is that there are still 102 ethnicities to be evangelized in Brazil. “We cannot do this job alone; it is necessary that the first and second waves are present,“ said Henrique Terena, president of CONPLEI.” —Martha Claros, Director of Communications for COMIBAM International 5 |
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121 IPGs WITH LITTLE OR NO GOSPEL WITNESS
95 IPGs NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGED BY CHRISTIAN WITNESS
37 IPGs ISOLATED FROM OUTSIDE CONTACT
58 THE ONLY IPGs WITH A PORTION OF THE BIBLE TRANSLATED INTO THEIR OWN LANGUAGE
Mission Emphasis
Missionary Corps
>< As she looks to Ammi’s future, Rosimeiry has a passion to see the indigenous, national, and international churches aligned in their vision and strategies.
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Romans 10:14’s reality (“... and how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?”) is no more apparent than in the story of how Rosimeiry came to know the saving grace of Jesus. Now serving as the Director of Ammi, Rosimeiry comes from the Bakairi tribe in central Brazil, and only first heard of the gospel through an Ammi graduate who returned as a missionary to his own village. It was through his encouragement that Rosimeiry first attended Ammi. “At first, it was difficult for me to adapt,” says Rosimeiry, remembering her initial transition to the Ammi Training Center. “I was in a culture so different from my own and I did not have much mastery of the Portuguese language. Over time, however, I became accustomed, learning every day… It was not easy, because I had so many things to leave behind and my complete ‘yes’ to God made me realize that I needed to grow in all areas of my life.” Aside from the support of her fellow Bakairi believer, Rosimeiry cites two specific influences to her surrender to Christ: “it was through the text of John 3:16 that I felt I needed Jesus, and through the words of the hymn ‘Because He Lives’. My greater knowledge of the gospel of Jesus was then found here at Ammi, studying in the Bible courses.” In 2016, SAM’s Brazil director, Craig DeLille, talked with Rosimeiry about the possibility of her becoming Ammi’s next director and he asked her to pray over it. She had previously struggled with her call to ministry when her father died. As Rosimeiry remembers, “I loved my father very much; he was everything to me. So I did not accept his death and I was not able to see God as a good God…I was so sorrowful because it all did not make sense. In the midst of crying I felt someone telling me that God is my true and eternal Father, that I was not alone, and this fact gave me victory to move on.” Rosimeiry said “yes” to Craig’s invitation. “It was natural that I was afraid because it was a new challenge,” Rosimeiry reflects. “Even though I loved Ammi’s ministry, I never saw myself as a director…the call of the Lord was essential to my decision.” Now, Rosimeiry stands firm in the work and vision of Ammi, and continues to grow excitement for the coming years. As she looks to Ammi’s future, Rosimeiry has a passion to see the indigenous, national, and international churches aligned in their vision and strategies. “Because the work is not done alone, but in unity,” she asserts, “I have clearly felt the need, and implemented the courses at Ammi in a way that we can meet the current needs of our students so that they know how to deal with both the physical and the spiritual worlds.” •
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