World Bible School produces first Portuguese materials for Brazil
Church members in the South American nation of Brazil will begin distributing and grading Portuguese-language versions of the popular Bible correspondence course.
Tex Williams, theministry’s president, announced the launch of the new venture during an annualmissionary conference in Belo Horizonte in January. The conference brought in108 workers from Brazil, the United States and Paraguay.
“I was deeplyimpressed with the receptivity of the Brazilian people to the gospel and thecommitment to spreading that gospel by the missionaries there,” Williams said.“Still, I almost wept when I saw the millions of people living in Braziliancities who have not been reached with the gospel.”
The ministry plans toprint 10,000 copies of the introductory lesson and the six-course Master Seriesthat introduces students to the Bible and Christianity.
Churches willpurchase the materials and distribute them, and the funds will be used tofinance the printings of additional material, said Charley Huffman, a formermissionary to Brazil who assisted in the project.
Traditionallyteachers in the United States grade English-language materials and correspondwith students across the globe. But the low number of Portuguese speakers inthe country necessitates Brazilian teachers for the new program, Huffman said.
“They will carry onthe work in just the same way that American teachers do,” he said.
The ministry alsohopes to use the materials in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries,including the African nations of Mozambique and Angola.
Marcus Sacramento,who works with the Eldorado church in Belo Horizonte, will serve as WBSdirector for Brazil. He and his wife, Silvana, will receive and fill orders forthe courses for all of Brazil, Huffman said.
Sacramento also willvisit churches and conferences throughout the country to promote the ministryand recruit and train teachers.
Huffmansaid he hopes the material will help Brazilian missionaries and evangelistsreach their country, “just as it has helped the work so greatly in Africa andmany other nations of the world.”
