Thanks to your past contributions to the 13th Sabbath Offering, the Floating Church was built to serve the Amazon! There are entire communities with either no knowledge of the Bible or no churches.
The Amazon River is a source of food and income for many. As you travel along the river, you can see many communities along the banks. Here you will find one quarter of our planet’s freshwater supply. That’s why boats are necessary for transportation.
There are entire communities with either no knowledge of the Bible or no churches. Adventists here found a fitting way to reach more than 10,000 communities. Thanks to your past contributions to the 13th Sabbath Offering, the Floating Church was built. This custom boat is a church that carries the pastor’s family. It often works alongside the ADRA Luzeiro boats to provide health care and hope to people.
“The main goal behind the Floating Church project is to reach places we typically find hard to visit. The floating church offers an infrastructure for a pastor or Bible worker, a captain, and others to live aboard. There is also an auditorium where the people from the community can come to listen to the Word of God.”
The Floating Church has an auditorium that seats 120 people. It’s a comfortable space for people to come and learn about God.
“I was moved by the prospect of this project. It was encouraging to imagine how far this boat could go to reach riverside families. I know what difficulties they face and how hard it is for the gospel message to reach the distant communities along the Amazon River. This touched me in a special way.”
This boat also has onboard apartments for the crew. Reno Guerra is both the pastor and the captain of the boat. He and his wife, Natalia, accepted God's call to bring hope and healing to the region.
“As soon as the boat docks, it’s received with a lot of joy. People are happy to see the Floating Church because it is a beautiful and unique boat. Pastor Reno sounds the horn to catch the attention of the people who come curiously to look. So the pastor invites the people to a church program. He enters a community where work already has begun and calls the people to come inside the Floating Church. The boat is usually docked for 60 days as they talk about family, health, and community wellbeing.”
In the first year of service, two new churches were established through the Floating Church. This past June, the Gutierrez church opened as a result of the missionary project.
“This is the first daughter church plant of the Floating Church project. The church that floats is the mother of all of the traditional church structures that are built along the banks of the river Amazon.”
Indeed, miracles are happening along the Amazon.
We noticed that this project changes what people think about God and about the Adventist Church. There is change in their society. People become calmer, happier, more content, and united. The church helps the community to realize how they can work together as one body to develop social projects for themselves.
“I believe many souls will be reached through this boat. This boat can reach places where even the radio signals do not travel to reach hearts.”
“We pray that it will be managed and used well for the gospel to reach the farthest places in the Amazon.”
We have the opportunity to navigate rivers and oceans as part of our mission to reach unreached people groups. Please pray for the Floating Church and the many missionaries involved in flooding the Amazon with hope. And thank you for supporting projects like these through the 13th Sabbath Offering!
