Turning Famine into Fertile Fields
By Fernando Bochio
People are people, no matter where in the world you travel. And Brazilians are no different. They worry about the economy, paying bills, putting food on the table, sending kids to school, and caring about their marriages and families. Brazilians long for practical application of spiritual truths that will shore up their lives and relationships. But, despite its vibrancy of samba, festivals, the best soccer in the world, and its richness of rivers and rain forests, Brazil suffers under a famine of life-transforming teaching from the Word of God (Amos 8:11). The people of Brazil need solid biblical and theological truth. But many have stuffed themselves on a junk-food diet of health-and-wealth theology. That’s why, in addition to edifying the body of Christ with grace-based Bible teaching, my top ministry priority is reaching out to local pastors in São Paulo and in other regions of Brazil, some of which are quite remote poor areas. I want to teach these leaders how to dig deeper into Scripture and communicate God’s Truth with passion and grace.
With my preaching and teaching ministry in the city of São Paulo—often called the "New York of Brazil," with 20 million people living in and around the city—Insight for Living Brazil is strategically positioned to plant God’s Word into the rich soil of the country’s political, intellectual, and wealthy elite. And through our radio program, Razão para Viver ("Reason for Living"), we are also casting the seed of truth into the lives of those living in poverty, whether they reside in the large cities of Brazil, its rural villages, or even the Amazon basin. Our dream is to expand these fertile fields of ministry by translating biblical resources into Portuguese and by improving our Web site to make streaming and podcasting available to an ever-increasing technologically savvy population.
God’s desire is that no one would die without Christ but rather that everyone would repent and turn to Him in faith (2 Peter 3:9). He covets the hearts and the sincere worship of the people of Brazil. This is why our faithful team is so committed to reaching as many Brazilians as we can with the practical teaching of God’s Word; they are spiritually starving, suffering from biblical malnutrition. You are vital to the success of our endeavor. Already we are seeing the fruit of your partnership with us.
One day, our office received a package delivery. When the delivery man reached the door, he noticed our logo and the name of the ministry: Ministério de Rádio do Dr. Charles Swindoll Para a Lingua Portuguesa (Dr. Charles Swindoll’s Radio Ministry for the Portuguese Speaking). As we signed for the package, the delivery man wanted to know if we were associated with Charles Swindoll, the author. When the man learned that we were, he became very emotional. He had read several of Chuck’s books and eagerly desired to know more about the ministry. The delivery man exclaimed, "Now I can deliver to brothers and not just anybody!"
God is at work in Brazil, graciously tilling the souls of men and women across the country. I’m grateful that He has called me to be a harvester in His field. As you and I work together in faithful service to His call, I trust the famine in my country will give way to a harvest rich in spiritual fruit.
Copyright © 2010 by Insight for Living.
About the author
Fernando Bochio
Fernando Bochio serves as pastor of Insight for Living Brazil, where he translates and voices the Portuguese-language Insight for Living program, Razão para Viver. Fernando served as a Baptist minister and theology lecturer for more than 35 years in Brazil.
