I’m on the flight returning from our Justice & Mercy International Amazon Jungle Pastor’s Conference. As a church, we started JMI 15 years ago, and we would have never believed God would call us to go and invest in pastors who are taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. At the conference, there were 150 jungle pastors, wives, our Justice & Mercy Amazon staff team, translators and pastors from Rolling Hills along with fellow partners for a week of training and and worship. By God’s grace, we have a conference center in the middle of the Amazon jungle where we host 3 Pastor’s Conferences a year as well as a Children’s Conference. It is incredible to see what our God is doing, and all glory to Him. I am simply in awe.
These jungle pastors and their wives come from all over the Amazonas region. Some travel 4-5 days by canoe to be there. For many this is not only a time for discipleship and spiritual growth, it is also a time of refreshment and encouragement. One couple told me they have been serving in their church for 15 years in a village and have never had a vacation. This was like a vacation and even for them, they said. They loved it! We provide all the meals, the teaching, worship as well as bring counselors from the states with us to do marriage counseling along with grief and trauma. The life impact on these pastors is incredible.
What is also amazing is to see many pastors returning each year along with new ones coming. We have now trained over 1,200 pastors serving the Lord in the Amazon jungle. Incredible servants of Jesus like Pastor Hildo and his wife. This is Pastor Hildo’s 9th Conference. We have been with him for many years. Last year, Pastor Hildo baptized 43 people in five different villages. Through him and the churches he has planted, he has baptized over 1,500 people in Christ. He has a vision for planting churches in 82 indigenous villages that God has put on his heart. Places that have not yet heard about Jesus. How amazing!
As Pastor Mike Minter, who taught at the first JMI Pastor’s Conference 13 years ago and is now our PrimeTime Pastor at Rolling Hills, says, “We go to teach them theology, and they teach us about Jesus.” It is so incredible to hear their stories of complete sacrifice for Jesus. One pastor told me he was 27 years old when he committed his life to Jesus. He was a supervisor in an office job making good money and would always go to the bar and drink. He was the life of the party. Buying people drinks, but he was empty inside. He was married, but he was not close to his wife and they were having problems. They had four young kids. One day a co-worker was listening to worship music and he asked him, “What is that?” The man told him it was worship, and then gave him a Bible. He took the Bible home and began to read it, but he didn’t understand it. Then, one night at the bar, he ordered his drinks. When they arrived he had this overwhelming feeling that God was right there with him. He pushed the drinks away and surrendered his life to Jesus in the bar! Then, he led his wife to Jesus. He quit his job and went to Bible school. He became a pastor. His wife said we sold our house to give the money for a church building. We lived in apartments and rented spaces. Now, our church is thriving. God is blessing us in so many ways. He showed me a picture of his kids and grandkids. All of them are serving in the church and they looked so happy. Their daughter and her husband were offered a job in another city, so they are moving and they gave their house to their parents. Now, they have a more beautiful house than they had before. He said he could have lost it all to alcohol, but look at what God has done in his life. He has an incredible family, and all of his kids and grandkids serve at the church. God has allowed him to pastor a really big church (he showed us a picture, and it is big!). So many people have accepted Christ there and impacted the entire city where they live. I asked, “How can we pray for you?” He said, “I don’t need prayer for a house, money or cars, only for more of the presence of God in my life.”
These men and women challenge me in my walk with the Lord. They don’t have the material things we have which may be part of the reason they are so faithful to Jesus. They long to know Jesus more and to make Him the center of their lives. They love sharing Jesus with others. I pray we would have that same passion for Christ and joy in Christ. I pray for all of us Christ-followers in the States to long for more of God’s presence in our lives. God’s Word tells us that Jesus will return when all men hear the Good News. Let’s join with these pastors and wives to share God’s Good News today. Let’s sacrifice for the Gospel and watch God do miracles in the lives of others and our lives. Come Lord Jesus to the Amazon, to Middle Tennessee, and to each of our hearts today.
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