S P R I N G 2008
Oaks of Righteousness by Tamara Autry
I remember the day my mom witness what my father had described to
SA R
South America Report
New North American Church
Planting Initiative
and dad planted it. Standing me so long ago. Not even my childhood
about four feet tall, with scraggly, imagination had dreamed of the oak standweak branches, I could have plucked ing so enormous, tall, and strong.
all of its sagging green leaves and filled
my adolescent hands. How hopeless that
single oak looked standing in the middle of
the big, open area in our front yard. “Why
did you plant such a little tree?” I asked my
dad. “Sweetie,” he said, “Someday this oak
will stand taller than our house and provide
branches big enough to hang a swing
from!” I couldn’t wait for that! It couldn’t
happen soon enough!
Neither could several young American families have imagined what kind of seeds they
would plant when they arrived in Sao
Paulo, Brazil in 1961. Their youthful hopes
and imaginations envisioned instant growth
and progress, but God had other plans. As
we see in the following interview with Don
Vinzant (CGC’s chairman of the Board of
Trustees and member of the original Sao
Paulo team), they, like the girl who couldn’t
I never got to swing from those branches. wait for that tree to grow, learned to be
We moved two years after planting that patient in harvesting. Thankfully, they too
tree. It wasn’t until decades later when I are able to witness the fruits of their labor.
went back to visit that house that I got to
Brasilia Project: Brazilians Evangelizing Brazil
Continued on page 3
by
Bryan Gibbs
The Brasilia Project is the future of missions. A true partnership
between the church in Brazil and the church in North America, it
allows the church in Brazil to do what it does best: evangelize its
own nation. It also allows the church in North America to do
what it does best: equip, assist, encourage and provide a portion
of the financial resources that the Brazilian church is not yet capable of providing.
The Brasilia Mission Team is Continent of Great Cities’ first allBrazilian team. The three couples who compose the team will
move from Sao Paulo to Brasilia in January 2009. Their primary
The Continent objective is to “Proclaim
Proclaim Jesus by
planting churches in the great cities of the Latin
World.” This objective has been demonstrated
time and again in the great national capital cities
of South America and in state capital cities
throughout the nations of Brazil and Colombia.
For many years we have dreamed of adapting
the Continent strategy to the Great Hispanic cities of North America. That time has arrived. That
time is now!
Continent is launching
yet another innovative
thrust in church planting. Ken Lewis has
been named as Continent’s new Director for
Hispanic North America.
Ken brings all of the
desired qualifications to
this important and pioneering push into the Hispanic population of our
own nation. Ken and Liz Lewis worked seventeen
years in Brazil, six years with the Hispanic church
of the Houston Impact congregation and are now
beginning their eleventh year with Continent of
Great Cities.
The first Hispanic church plant will be in a south
Fort Worth location of the Metroplex known as
Rosemont. As we gain expertise and experience
success, Lewis will recruit teams for Dallas,
Houston and San Antonio. What joy it will be to
one day see great church planting teams connecting lost Hispanic families to Jesus in the
great Hispanic cities of Chicago, Los Angeles,
Miami and New York!
purpose will be to increase the membership of the church in
Brasilia to 500 members with elders, teachers, deacons, and
evangelists.
Team members include Otavio (33) and Alessandra (32) Calegari
and their two children Augusto (8) and Ester (3). The second
couple are Renato (33) and Carol (27) Pereira and their two children Vitor (3) and Catarina (15 months). The third couple are
Junior (26) and Patricia (26) Lira.
We envision a future for Continent of Great Cities
that is greater than the past. The great nation of
Mexico will come online shortly as a part of the
new North American initiative. By faith we can
see Continent’s future role in the nations of Portugal and Spain. The mission to South America is
far from complete. Continent will continue to
plant churches in the great cities of Brazil and
throughout Hispanic South America.
Continued on page 2
1 Continent of Great Cities
The key to successfully building new recruiting
modules like the one for Hispanic North America,
will be the continuation of adding new partners
with us in the Great Cities’ mission and to pray
fervently to God for increased resources. Gary J. Sorrells
Executive Director
Brasilia Project: Brazilians
Evangelizing Brazil
(cont. from front page)
All three
couples are gifted
servants. Their talents include
the ability to preach, teach, lead worship and organize and administrate outreach programs. While still in their teens,
Junior and Patricia initiated and supervised
an outreach program for disadvantaged
children in one of Sao Paulo’s poorest
neighborhoods. Both the Lira’s and the
Calegari’s have participated in multiple
church plants. Renato is a gifted singer and
worship leader.
Besides the fact that this is Continent’s first
all-Brazilian team, other unique aspects of
the project include:
• Members of the Brasilia Team have
raised 10% of their salaries from family, friends and churches in Brazil;
• The church in Brasilia will pay 10% of
the salaries of all three families;
• A firm expiration date for the project
has been established. All outside funding for the project will cease seven
years after its inception.
• At the conclusion of the project, the
church in Brasilia has agreed to provide 100% of the salary needs for two
families.
The church in Brasilia is excited to welcome
these three families. A few months ago, in
order to accumulate funds to help pay their
portion of the families’ salaries, the church
began taking a monthly special contribution. On one such Sunday, Lucas, a 10year-old member of the congregation,
turned to his mother Esther and said, “I
want to help support these families.”
Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew half
his monthly allowance, about one dollar,
and proudly placed it in the collection plate.
Continent of Great Cities is searching for
three visionary sponsoring churches to provide the remaining funding necessary for
these three families. If you are interested
in hearing more about this project or know
someone who might be, please contact
Bryan Gibbs at [email protected] or
(325) 673-6556 or Gary Sorrells
at
[email protected] or (214) 466-6200. Bryan Gibbs
Hispanic Church Planting in North America
by Garry Sorrells
What a bittersweet day. There is no other way to describe it. On one day a congregation died, and
the seed for a new Hispanic church was placed in the ground.
The Rosemont Church of Christ in Fort Worth,
Texas had its last worship service Sunday morning, January 27th. In spite of the need to close the
church, the 320 guests in attendance that day
were joyous as they reminisced over their history. Rosemont had a great life. At one point
the attendance was running over 900 people on
Sundays. That number had dwindled in recent
years to an attendance of some 65 people.
In the past, they were a mission church doing
some great work in Germany and even to the end
supporting and participating in World Bible School.
The Rosemont Chorus is legendary in Fort Worth.
Throughout its entire history the church took Godly pride in being a singing church.
It was truly a joy to see current and former members of the
congregation pay tribute to the many great leaders who
served the church throughout its 55 year history.
Due to demographic changes in south Fort Worth, the Rosemont congregation is no longer equipped to reach out to her
Hispanic neighbors. That is the sad news.
The happy news is cause for rejoicing! The elders want the DNA of the Rosemont church to live on
through a new, yet to be planted, Iglesia de Cristo Rosemont! To see this accomplished, the church
gifted their property to Continent of Great Cities. We are thrilled with the potential of the 1,000-seat
auditorium.
It is the strategic time for Continent to begin planting large Hispanic churches in major
cities of the United States.
We envision principles learned through the Rosemont church plant will provide a valid prototype for
U.S. Hispanic church establishment. Great cities like Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Los
Angeles, New York, Miami, San Diego, Denver and Chicago are in need of dynamic Hispanic churches.
Three pieces of the strategy are in place:
1. The gift of the Rosemont property provides a
place to build the model.
2. Four Hispanic families, two of whom trained at
the Baxter Institute in Honduras, all with ministry experience have stepped forward to apply
for the team.
3. Ken Lewis’ return to Continent to lead the project. With his 17 years experience in Brazil and
10 year history as a member of the Great Cities
staff, Ken will ensure the success of the Hispanic church plants across the U.S.A.
The importance of the Rosemont project is three-fold:
1. To use the Rosemont church plant to create a model for Hispanic church plants in the U.S.A.
2. To plant a large Spanish-speaking church in Fort Worth for the 100,000 Hispanics who live
within five miles of the church building.
3. To use the Rosemont church plant as an evangelistic laboratory for all of our teams preparing
to plant churches.
We certainly need your prayers and your continued financial support as we add yet another dimension to the work of Continent of Great Cities. We have no intention of lessening the focus on the
great cities of South America. We are now adding the commitment to build teams for planting
churches in the great Hispanic cities of our own nation.
Thank you for your joint venture with us in proclaiming Jesus by planting churches in the great cities
of the Latin world. 2 Continent of Great Cities
Proclaiming Jesus by Planting Churches in the Great Cities of the Latin World
Wes and Carrie Gotcher
Zane and April McGee
Nathan Zinck
Brent and Jill Nichols
Ben and Juliana Roberts
Niteroi Team Internship
In the first of a series of many upcoming moves and adjustments, the Niteroi mission team—comprised of nine adults and two children—arrived in Dallas at the beginning of January to begin their intensive six-month internship.
The training has already proved itself to be valuable as these five different family units seek to combine their unique backgrounds, gifts, hearts and dreams into a
team that is united around a God-given vision of planting a strong church in Niteroi, Brazil. In just over a month, the team has already participated in classes such as
Team Missions, Interpersonal Relationship Building, Team Strategy training, and intensive Portuguese Language learning. In addition, a strong emphasis is placed on
each individual’s personal spiritual walk and practical ministry experiences such as evangelism and small groups. In March, the team will be going to Brazil for a three
week survey trip.
I’m very encouraged to see what beautiful hearts these servants are displaying in their desire and attitude to learn, their patience to love and respect one another,
and their deep passion to see others come to a relationship with Jesus. Please continue to keep the team’s training, adjustment, and fundraising in your prayers.
Oaks of Righteousness (cont. from front page) - an interview with Don Vinzant, Chairman of the Board of Continent of Great Cities
CGC: Finally, after 40 plus years and three
generations, we have an all-Brazilian national
team headed to the mission field in the city
of Brasilia. One of the team women is the
granddaughter of a man who was converted
by your original team. Another member of
this Brasilia team was converted as a young
girl by members of the
Belo Horizonte team. Do
you feel this team is inspired by the work you
did in Sao Paulo?
Don (A): Howard Norton [original Sao Paulo
team member and professor at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas] had a burning
desire to form a mission team. In the spring
of 1957, he, [his wife]
Jane, [my wife] Carol and I
met at his apartment to
discuss doing mission work
together… In the next
months other couples beDon: I really do! It’s
gan taking interest. Gerald
Edwards [another original
very heart-warming. We
had wildly romantic
Sao Paulo team member]
dreams of how the goswas the father of the idea
of going to Brazil. Howard
pel would spread; it
more crawled. Now we
wanted to go to Hong
Kong. The night of the
see things that stagger
Original Sao Paulo Missionary Team at ACU
our imaginations. While
“vote” Brazil won by one
we had hoped this would happen, we never
vote. Howard soon began working towards
receiving his masters in Latin American Hishad any idea this would really happen.
tory from the University of Houston.
CGC: Do you feel the work of Continent—the
CGC: When did talk of establishing an orrecruiting, training, and care of missionary
ganization—like Continent of Great Cities—
teams—is important today?
begin?
Don: I really do… Continent takes the idea
Don: The talk began in Brazil. The father of
and says, “great, but here’s what’s really
the idea was Glover Shipp [Belo Horizonte
going to happen.” What Continent provides
people with is the physical, spiritual and
team member], and he came up with the
idea of Breakthrough Brazil (this later beemotional under-girding of idealism. Some
came Continent of Great Cities). Ellis [Long,
people would not be able to raise support for
an original team member] was asked if he
their dream. Continent teaches people a
would make this happen and he said, “Yes, I
strategy.
will. I consider this an assignment.”
Designed by Kati Shelton
3 Continent of Great Cities
“
They never dreamed that
they would help inspire the mission work of over 30 other South
American Teams.
“
CGC (Q): How did the idea of sending an
evangelistic team to Brasilia begin?
Scott Reynolds
CGC: Do you wish you could have had access to an organization like Continent of
Great Cities before you left for Brazil?
Don: Without a doubt. It would have been a
dream come true.
Sao Paulo team members had no idea they
would sprout an organization like Continent
of Great Cities. They never dreamed that
they would help inspire the mission work of
over 30 other South American teams. They
didn’t know that the seed they planted
would eventually lead to an all-Brazilian team
made up of the very men and women they
led to Christ. Just like the tiny sapling that
grew into a mighty oak, God took their seeds
and by his nurturing hand grew them into
“oaks of righteousness, a planting of the
Lord for the display of His splendor” (Isaiah
61:3). With God’s continued guidance, Continent of Great Cities will continue to reap the
harvest of the seeds they have sown. Tamara Autry
Continent of Great Cities
recently sponsored the first
conference for missionary
women serving in South
America. The conference
was held at Maresias Beach, in the state of
Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The missionary women in South America
have made great sacrifices. They have left
their families, homes, jobs and many comforts to serve God and save souls. Working in
full-time ministry is not an easy task, and it is
even more difficult to do in a foreign country.
In spite of the challenges, these women
continue to give of themselves unselfishly.
Imagine the delight in being invited to come
as our guest to a beach hotel for five days of
pampering! Combine that with the opportunity to meet 40 other women serving in your
part of the world. Add in fellowshipping and
worship in English, being encouraged by a
mentoring team of twelve women, and relating to new friends in small groups. Then,
imagine doing activities that relax and refuel
you. Finish out the day with an evening filled
with laughter and time to connect with more
new friends. This gives a small picture of
what the Continent Connection Conference is
all about.
The objective of the conference was to connect women in three ways. First, to God. Our
desire was to provide solitude in a place of
refuge, a daily time carved out to commune
with God. Second, a connection with each
other, to unite women in ministry serving in
South America. Last, to connect women with
a caring team. The team came as women
willing to serve, honor, bless, befriend, and
renew these precious ladies.
We ask each team member to raise funds to
not only pay their own expenses, but also to
help cover the costs of the missionary
women. Missionaries do not pay for their
time at the retreat. Upon arrival at the retreat site, all meals, lodging, materials, and
multiple daily gifts are provided free of
charge. This is one way we “honor” these
women. God provided forty missionary
women who represented four countries in
South America—Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and
Bolivia.
The connection groups were the main focus
of the conference. They met for several
hours twice daily and were led by a team
member. The small groups were a highlight
for the women, and “having an outlet for
missionary life with people who understand
and give feedback was wonderful.” “Our
group was amazingly put together by God …
the perfect combination for Godly healing to
take place.”
Here’s what some of the missionary women
had to say:
“What an opportunity, counseling from
a trained Christian counselor who has a
heart for missionaries, and for free!”
“It was such a blessing to have a counselor available, I was able to discuss an
issue and it helped so much. It is a
great way to proactively ensure healthy
missionary families.”
It was with mixed emotions that everyone
said their goodbyes. Sadness, joy, and awe!
Sadness because some won’t see each other
again for several years. Joy because of the
renewed connection with God and the new
circle of friends. Awe because of what God
had done in each woman’s life.
The missionary women were blessed to have
three Christian counselors available. Women
serving in foreign countries don’t have many
We serve an amazing God, and the lives that
opportunities to meet with Christian counselwere changed because of this conference will
ors. Their lives are so busy and stressful at
never be the same. times, and they are constantly giving so
Georgia Freitas
much of themselves to others. What a blessing to have these counselors available. The next Continent Connection Conference will be
From the feedback received, we realized
November 2-7, 2008.
how valuable this component was.
Call 214-466-6200 or e-mail
Call us at (800) 524-8437 or e-mail [email protected]
The Continent Connection Conference
[email protected]
for more information.
Team Ready and Eager for Arrival in Cartagena, Colombia
A team of graduates from the Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras finished its intensive preparation with Continent of Great Cities on January 25th. They departed the following day on an eleven-day
survey trip to Colombia, getting to know the city of Cartagena, their future home, and visiting with
other Continent teams (also Baxter graduates) in nearby Barranquilla and the capital, Bogota.
During January, Ken Lewis, Ron Freitas, and Calvin and Linda Henry gave the team special courses on Spiritual Formation, Team Evangelism, Latin American Urban Evangelism and the Missionary Women. The team was also required to do readings on their target city and country.
Team members Gary Hall of Panama and Besias Desil of Haiti, both single, graduated from Baxter’s four-year program in 2005. Knowing of the great need
for a viable church in Cartagena, Colombia, they had a dream of forming a missionary team for that city. Some of their prospective team members
dropped off the team, but the two patiently put together a group and waited for the last to graduate in order to prayerfully take on this challenge together.
With the addition of two couples, Alcides and Ruth Lucena of Venezuela, and Marvin and Evelyn Garcia, natives of Nicaragua and Guatemala, respectively,
the team is blessed with a variety of experience and talents. All team members went through a thorough evaluation process, including psychological testing, and show a high degree of compatibility.
The team’s target date for moving to Cartagena, a beautiful and historic city of a million souls, is April 1st. They are supported and overseen by the Brentwood Hills church in Nashville, Tennessee, the Maple Hill church in Lebanon, Tennessee, and the Greenwood Park church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Calvin Henry
4 Continent of Great Cities
Spring2008SAR
Continent of Great Cities
Global Missions Conference
July 23-26
Brasilia Team Fundraising Trip in U.S.A.
September 20-October 12
ACU Lectureships
September 21-24
Abilene Continent of Great Cities Dinner
September 22
Dallas Continent of Great Cities Dinner
October 7
World Missions Workshop
October 23-25
Continent Connection Conference in Brazil
October 31-November 9
Oklahoma Continent of Great Cities Dinner
November 10
Fort Worth Continent of Great Cities Dinner
November 18
Nashville Continent of Great Cities Dinner
December 8
A ministry of the Central Church of Christ in Amarillo, Texas
3939 Belt Line Road
Wells Fargo Tower, Suite 705
Addison, TX 75001
2008 Calendar
Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop
March 27-29
Comings and Goings...
Kyle, Leslie, Katy Beth, Elijah,
and Emma Klein returned to
Not e s
the U.S. after serving in Porto
Alegre, Brazil for 5 years.
New Arrivals
Keith, Stacey, Lauren, Brock,
and Brandon Parker returned
recently after serving in Salvador,
ASUNCION, PARAGUAY:
•
Walker Thompson Fry was born to Chris and Vicky on June 1st, 2007.
BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA:
Brazil
Kathy and Glen Henton returned to the U.S. after serving in
•
•
•
Josue’ Manuel Lopez (pictured: right) was born to Manuel and Elsa on September 24th, 2007.
Abdiel Jimenez (pictured: left) was born to Olyden and Leonela on November 22nd, 2007.
SALVADOR, BRAZIL:
•
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Henry Antonio Duarte (pictured: center) was born to Henry and Oralia on October 6th, 2006.
Jackson Turner Quirey was born to Russell and Valerie on February 17, 2008.
The Niteroi, Brazil Team Attends Culture Nights
Continent congratulates these
The first Culture Night began with Brazilian Beef
Stroganoff at the home of Ron and Georgia Freitas.
The objective of this weekly event is for the
team
to gain some cultural insights and enjoy
Sponsoring Churches
South American cuisine. It is a night of fun
A sponsoring church workshop
and fellowship during a week of intensive
for the churches supporting
studies.
the three teams in Co-
New s
&
families for their dedicated and
effective service!
Mexico Team
A team from Baxter Institute
is currently being formed for
a major city in Mexico. Three
couples and four singles have
applied and done the psychological testing. The final
composition of the team and
the destination city will be
determined by April, 2008,
with a target date of April,
2009.
lombia is scheduled for
April 12 at the Donelson Church of Christ in
Nashville. The purpose
is to allow all the sponsors to share information and work together
in a unified manner.
We would like to contribute to Continent of Great Cities’ Ministry:
________ Donation $ _______ per year for ______ years.
________ Donation $ _______ one-time gift
________ Please contact me as I have other thoughts to share.
Payment:
2008 Missionary Conference
In January, Ron and Georgia Freitas
gathered with many missionaries in
the beautiful mountainous city of Canela, Brazil, for the annual Missionary
Conference. The keynote speaker was
Dr. John T. Willis from Abilene, Texas.
Missionary families came from all over
Brazil, Paraguay, and Chile to enjoy a
spiritual renewal and great fellowship.
Please clip and mail to:
Continent of Great Cities
3939 Belt Line Road
Wells Fargo Tower, Suite 705
Addison, TX 75001
________ My check is enclosed
________ Charge my VISA / MC / AMEX / Discover (circle one) #: ________________________________ exp: ______
Name: ________________________________ Phone No._________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________________ State: __________Zip: ___________
E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________
5 Continent of Great Cities
Don’t want to clip and mail?
Visit www.greatcities.org
and click “Online Giving” in the
Finance Section