Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher in Brazil [April 2015]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
Dear friends,
Preaching at the State House of Representatives
I had the privilege of preaching twice at the Amazonas State House of Representatives. It is a rare opportunity to speak before these government officials and the Lord allowed me to speak two times just this year. The packed auditorium was full of energy and the Gospel. It is exciting to see how interested people were in listening to the plan of salvation.
Church Relocation
Five weeks ago the church plant moved from the restaurant to a private school. The new ministry location has a gym, a swimming pool (we now have a place for baptisms), an auditorium and air-conditioned classrooms. The church is riveting excitement. Every Sunday, we have first time visitors from the neighborhood. The Lord is moving mightily.
Church Ministries
We started a children’s club and a middle 
school ministry on Saturday mornings. The kids love every moment when we are together and cannot wait for the following Saturday to arrive. Two of them call me on the phone every week just to tell me they plan to bring a friend. We share a Gospel story, a memory verse, scripture songs, activities and a snack for the kids.
Pastoral and Ministry Leadership
The Lord is preparing our leadership team thru some incredible twist of events. Up until just recently, the church plant struggled with ministerial leadership. We now have a great praise team leader, a youth pastor-in-training and a new senior pastor (My family and I are leaving for the US in July).
Stateside Assignment
Beginning in July, our family plans to be in the States for a year and reside in Lexington, KY. Pray for us as we make schooling arrangements for Sarah, Laura, Benjamin and Melissa. We are also praying for a good vehicle to use while in the US. Thank you for praying for us. I’ve attached several pictures for you to see. If you are on Facebook, friend me by using my email address judsonhatcher@gmail.com or search for Judson Hatcher. I post my thoughts, news updates and pictures on a regular basis.
Baptist Pastors’ Network & “CELEBRAI”
Every month we have a Baptist Pastors’ Network fellowship. Last month we planned and organized a special service held at Tabernacle Baptist Church. We called it “Celebrai: Encontro de Igrejas Sementeiras” (Celebrate: A Gathering of Seed Factory Churches). It was a special service, as it was Dad’s (Paul Hatcher) last Sunday as senior pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church. Churches came from all over town and a few pastors flew in from out of state. The main auditorium was packed, as were the overflow auditoriums equipped with projection screens containing images from the service. Michael Samples was introduced as the new senior pastor. All churches present are daughter, granddaughter or great granddaughter churches of Tabernacle Baptist Church under dad’s leadership as pastor.
Family
These last few months were tough. Our three-year-old daughter, Melissa, caught malaria. We suffered greatly as we saw her agony in pain, lose weight and cry in delirium. It was not a fun experience. We posted several updates and photos on Facebook and many of you prayed for her. THANK YOU! We truly are grateful for every word of encouragement and intercession. Truth is, all of us were sick during these last few weeks, but nothing compares to what Melissa endured. God always protects and gives grace to those in need. Lord knows we needed much.
We love you and are grateful for you. Thank you.
Jud Hatcher
