Encouraging Brazilian Pastors, Evangelizing Students, & Youth Camp
July 15, 2024
Family News
Everyone successfully completed their school year and was promoted to the next grade. Sarah graduated from high school and two weeks later was accepted into ESPM, a Brazilian university. She plans to study communications and publicity. I (Judson) celebrated my birthday with dengue fever. The fever lasted for almost a month. Thankfully, the cold sweats, brain fog, and constant itching are over! Raquel is in excellent health and is actively engaged in serving others.
Evangelism, Five Decisions at Camp, and Ministry At Large.
The soccer school allows us to evangelize students every week and build bridges with the parents. Our teams participated in a one-day tournament, winning half of the matches against other teams.
Through Rede Convivencia (Togetherness Network), under the leadership of Pastor Eliezer, we had a youth camp with 40 students, which rendered five salvation decisions. Benjamin (my son) traveled 6 hours to join the camp and also made important decisions during the camp.
Last week, I visited several pastors and their families in our Rede Convivencia. We made stops in São Paulo state in Pompeia, Marilia, Vera Cruz, Alvaro de Carvalho, Fernão. In Paraná state, we visited pastors in Cornélio Procópio, Assaí, and Urai. Pastor Elieser joined me on this journey to minister to pastors and their families.
The one-year-old church plant in Marilia, which meets in Américo and Paula Pinotti’s garage, celebrated three baptisms and their first Lord’s supper last week. Américo was mentored by Pastor Gilberto Steffano during his formative years. Recently, Américo requested my mentorship for pastoral ordination and guidance in organizing the new work.
Pastor Raimundo Pinto, the lead pastor for the church plant in Aracajú (Northeastern Brazil), inaugurates the new building at the beginning of August.
Our student ministry evangelism gathering drew several new students and made new connections. We played volleyball, indoor soccer, and foot-volleyball.
Foster Care
Raquel actively works in recruiting, training, equipping, and networking couples and families to serve as foster care parents to attend to the immense need of at-risk children in São Paulo city. She is a strong advocate and voice in one of the world’s largest metropolises – São Paulo city is still learning what foster care means and how it benefits children and society. The court system recently inspected Raquel’s foster care intake facilities and received high marks from the city officials. We are grateful to Jason and Nikki Estes for their encouragement, mobilization, and partnership in significantly impacting the lives of precious children in foster care.
Prayer Requests
1) The purchase of a car.
2) Finances for Sarah’s first year in a Brazilian university.
3) The new school year is starting soon for Laura (12th), Benjamin (10th), and Melissa (7th).
4) Family health.
5) Evangelism and church growth
6) Judson’s doctoral studies and dissertation on pastoral succession in Brazilian churches.
Grateful always,
Judson and Raquel Hatcher
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
English Immersion VBS + Upcoming Conferences
January 31, 2024
Dear friends,
Thank you for praying and holding the ropes as we minister to people in Brazil. Please, read how your participation is impacting the Kingdom.
English Immersion a Success
In January we experimented with an English immersion modular for teens: a type of Vacation Bible School for youth who desire to learn English through Biblical content—a lot of singing and activities, all done in English, with the purpose of teaching language and presenting the Gospel. Even an individual who has no experience with the language can learn a lot in a week. Our daughters Sarah and Laura helped me with this project. It was well received by the local community and several parents asked if there would be one for adults too. English immersion modules are intense, but by the end of the week, both the teens and their parents (just from listening to their kids) were singing in English.
Soccer Athletes & Families
Soccer practice with middle and high school students is in full throttle. Pray for us as we disciple students who recently became believers and for those who still need to surrender to Jesus. The Lord is opening several opportunities to engage with the parents of the student-athletes. In February we plan to have several families over to the house for dinner and engage them with home hospitality.
25th Wedding Anniversary
On January 8th, Raquel and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. As is our family tradition, we celebrate our anniversary with our kids. We had a special time together when we went hiking in the woods and went to the beach, enjoyed time with each other, and made incredible memories.
Pastors & Leaders Conference in São Paulo
On March 9th, there will be a DayCamp conference for pastors, church leaders, and their families at a small campground near Marília, São Paulo. It will be a unique time of prayer, preaching, and playing together. The place has a pool and a synthetic soccer field. Our “Togetherness Network” (Rede Convivencia, in Portuguese) purpose is to foster fellowship among pastors and leaders to recruit, train, place, and network a new generation of pastors and leaders for local churches.
Church Conference in Paraná
On March 29th (Easter weekend), will have a Church Conference near Londrina, Paraná. Churches from São Paulo and Paraná will come together for a day of preaching, singing, and eating together. The purpose of this conference is to embolden churches to reach new people for Christ through Evangelism strategies and to inspire churches and their leaders to invest in training the next generation by providing ministry and service opportunities to challenge them to live out an audacious life in Christ, within their church and community.
Request
We humbly reach out to you, our faithful supporters, with a pressing fundraising need: purchase a car. Would you be willing to give for this urgent need?
Due to the increasing demand and rising expenditure on transportation, we urgently need to acquire this vehicle. The estimated cost for this much-needed resource is $10K.
As we step into the new month, we ask for your continued prayers and support. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Let’s continue partnering in this Kingdom work.
Always grateful,
Judson Hatcher
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
