Miami Baptists hope to spark missions involvement with Brazil partnership

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A three-year partnership exists between the Miami Baptist Association and the Baptist churches of Manaus, Brazil, to send three to five missions teams the Brazilian city of Manaus each year.

MIAMI (FBC)—Miami churches are reaching out across continents with an expectation of bringing a renewed excitement for missions at home with a three-year missions partnership with the Baptist churches of Manaus, Brazil.

The three-year partnership agreement, officially voted upon and signed by the Miami Baptist Association March 17, commits Miami’s Baptist churches to sending three to five missions teams to Manaus a year.

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In January, a team of Florida Baptist Convention staffers, Miami Baptist Association staffers and Miami Baptist pastors made a trip to Manaus to meet with an IMB worker and area pastors.

“This partnership gives us an opportunity to have a mission point where people can go from,” said Gary Johnson, director of missions at the Miami Baptist Association. “I would encourage people in all of our churches to participate. We are hoping to send a youth group, a medical missions team and a team to do pastoral training.”

The partnership is about having a positive impact at home as well as overseas, said Johnson. “When people return from missions their eyes are open, they are more on missions at home and church.”

In January, a team comprised of Florida Baptist Convention staff, Miami Baptist Association staff and Miami Baptist pastors made the trip to Manaus to meet with International Mission Board missionary Ken Frederick and area pastors.

“The purpose of the trip was to link up Miami Baptist churches with churches and missions opportunities in the city of Manaus,” said Craig Culbreth, director of the Florida Baptist Convention’s Partnership Missions Department. “The Convention already has a partnership with the whole region but this was intended to be a partnership within a partnership that focused on just the two cities.”

The excitement and passion of those we spoke to and the pastors “was an encouragement to all of us,” said Mark Bryant, pastor at Miami Shores Baptist who made the trip to Manaus. “It impacted us to leave encouraged and to come back with that same passion for Miami.”

Bryant continued, “Often times we so get overwhelmed with our own ministry we can lose excitement for what God can do in our city. We should have the same passion and hope for the churches in Miami as they do for the churches in Manaus.”

In addition to the Miami teams being sent to Manaus, the Brazilian churches will also be sending teams to Miami to do mission work.

“A partnership goes two ways and it is not just about giving money and time,” said Johnson. “They are just as wonderful a Christian people as we are and they can teach us a lot. God is at work all over the world, you don’t have to speak English to experience Him.”

The partnership will also serve as a way to connect Miami churches “for a common goal outside of themselves,” said Bryant. “The partnership will help our churches associate more with each other and to help them not allow diversity to keep them from having a sense of togetherness.”