Brazilian church member carries Olympic torch
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Around the World: Elders appointed and church reopens
FEATURE PHOTO (above): A few of the graduates of the SerCris program in Campo Grande, Brazil, celebrate.
BRAZIL
CAMPO GRANDE — Christians in this city of 850,000 souls receive in-depth Bible study and hands-on ministry experience through SerCris — a training program of the Downtown Church of Christ. The congregation recently celebrated its latest batch of graduates, bringing the total to more than 100 since 2004. The program’s goal: assist in leader development for churches throughout southern Brazil.
Carrie and Wes Gotcher in Brazil.
The church, launched in 1981 by four U.S. families, has more than 200 people in attendance on Sundays and has assisted in planting six other Igrejas de Cristo (“Churches of Christ” in Portuguese) in the city of 850,000 souls. The church has operated without foreign support for 23 years, its leaders said.
One day after the graduation, the church installed three elders and five deacons. In attendance were Wes and Carrie Gotcher of the Golf Course Road church in Midland, Texas, which was part of the church-planting project and has supported the training program since its inception.
GREECE
ATHENS — The Omonia Church of Christ worships in languages including Greek, English, Bulgarian and Russian. Recently the congregation launched a Friday Bible study in yet another language — Arabic.
The church serves refugees from across the Middle East and has baptized men from countries including Iraq and Syria. The new Christians “invite other believers, as well as their Muslim friends” to the Arabic Bible study, said Omonia minister Alexander Melirrytos. “We see God’s hand among these young men and their deep commitment — not only to study and be fed themselves, but also to teach others, so they can, in turn, teach others.”
HAITI
CHABELLAN — The Chabellan Church of Christ, which meets near the tip of Haiti’s southern peninsula, rebuilt its facility, damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, with assistance from U.S. congregations and Haitian Christians. The church, planted by members of the Delmas 28 Church of Christ in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, had more than 1,000 people attend its reopening, said Delmas 28 minister Jean Elmera.
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