September Month of Prayer for the Gaúcho People

The Metropolitan Porto Alegre area of South Brazil is home to more than 5 million Urban Gaúchos, less than 1% of whom have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. September is an important month for the Gaúchos, as it marks the anniversary of their civil war against Brazil which shaped their distinct cultural pride and fierce independence. Millions of Gaúchos turn out to celebrate their culture and heritage in civil war reenactments and celebrations this month. The Month of Prayer for the Gaúcho People recognizes the spiritual significance of this month and draws together believers across geographical, cultural, and denominational lines to declare that September is a turning point when through prayer, the Gaúchos who have lived in darkness WILL see a great light, and that the gospel will take firm root and spread throughout this spiritually needy land. Pray that God would raise up more prayer warriors to stand with us and the Gaúchos before the throne of God and declare that God will raise up His church and that His light will shine brightly in Porto Alegre!

September 30 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

As the Whitentons begin to find their place in ministry in the city of Porto Alegre, please pray that they would develop a deep love for the Gaúchos and find creative ways to share the gospel. Ask that they would develop relationships with the Gaúchos that will lead to the reproducing of disciples, and that the Lord will provide opportunities for them to be a part of Bible studies in the homes of Gaúchos that will lead to the planting of new churches.

September 29 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

As you continue to pray for the Whitenton family, please pray for their adjustment as a family to a new culture, schooling situation, and language. As they begin homeschooling their children, pray for their successful learning and for a positive experience for everyone, to the glory of God. Pray that they will adjust to the many changes they are facing and that they will grow according the will of God. Also pray for their marriage to be strong and healthy and that it will continue to grow to be a witness to others around them, as well as asking that each member of their family will be protected spiritually, psychologically and physically from the attacks of the enemy.

September 28 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for IMB missionaries Joel and Tamara Whitenton and their family who have also just arrived in Porto Alegre after a time of Portuguese language study in the city of Riberão Preto. Please pray that each member of their family would become fluent in Portuguese as they continue to learn the language with tutors. Pray also that they would grow in their knowledge of the Gaúcho culture so that they can live and minister effectively.

September 27 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

As you continue to pray for the Ward family, please pray that a new Bible study or house church forms as Dee and Laura form new relationships.  Ask God to assist them in developing friendships as they learn the language and that He will open the hearts of unbelievers to be receptive to studying His Word in small group settings. 

September 26 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for new IMB missionaries Dee and Laura Ward, who have recently arrived in Porto Alegre. They are currently studying the Portuguese language full time with tutors.  Please pray for quick language learning and the ability to recall what they have learned while speaking with people in the city.  Also, please pray for their three young children, two of whom are attending Brazilian schools.  Pray they make new friends quickly and that their transition into school goes well.  Ask that this family will grow to love the people of Porto Alegre and will be used by God to spread His Good News.

September 25 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the Dunson family as they serve as missionaries with the IMB in Porto Alegre. Pray that their home schooling goes well, as both boys and Cam are adjusting to new curriculum this year. Pray that they would learn well and that their school and outside activities would all be done to the glory of God. Pray for spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial protection for the Dunsons as they live and serve in an environment full of witchcraft and false religions. Also ask God to grant them His wisdom, courage and power to proclaim His Word and the fullness of His gospel as they should.

September 24 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for IMB missionaries Jeff and Cam Dunson and their sons Blake and Parker. Jeff serves as the Team Strategy Leader for the IMB missionaries in Metropolitan Porto Alegre and works with Brazilians to help start new, reproducing churches. Jeff and Cam are also the mentors for the new missionary couples in the city. Please pray that God will give the Dunsons wisdom to know how to join with God in what He is doing in Porto Alegre. Also pray that they will know how to guide and help their new colleagues so that they can adjust well and move seamlessly into ministry in this desperately needy city.

September 23 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the ministry of the IMB missionaries of Team Gaúcho in Metropolitan Porto Alegre. There are currently three missionary families on the team, and there is an ongoing search for two more families. Pray that God would lead the right families to the team at the right time.  Pray that God would pour out His Holy Spirit on these missionaries and that they would bear much fruit. Ask Him to lead them to the right people to work with and to influence for the Kingdom.

September 22 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the church planting efforts throughout the Metropolitan Porto Alegre area. Over 5 million people live in this area of vast urban sprawl, and there is only about one Baptist church for every 125,000 people. Ask God to raise up workers for the harvest who have a heart for starting and multiplying new churches. Pray that God would pour out His Holy Spirit in a way that has never been seen before, and that a tremendous spiritual awakening would sweep through the area which would bring lasting Kingdom transformation.

September 21 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

During the Summer months of December-March, millions of Gaúchos escape the heat of the cities in Metropolitan Porto Alegre and head to the coast. E. is leading a church plant in the coastal city of Tramandaí. Pray that E. would have the favor and anointing to reach both the permanent residents of the town as well as the tourists who flood the area in the Summer. Pray that God would use the light of the gospel in the lives of the believers to push back the darkness in this town which serves as a center of idol worship.

September 19 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for A.L. and his wife I., who are serving as the leaders of their local Baptist Association and revitalizing a church in the city of Guaíba. A.L. has a passion to lead his Association to have a vision for evangelism and church planting. Pray that God will give him strategies and the wisdom to know how to cast a new vision for expansion in an area where there has been little growth of new churches up until this point. Pray that new churches will be started and will thrive throughout this vast and needy area. Pray that God would bless their family.

September 17 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the church planting efforts in the Vila Jardim neighborhood of Porto Alegre. Pray that God would raise up church planters who can dedicate the necessary time to evangelizing the neighborhood and conducting Bible studies.  Pray that God would push back the strongholds that hold the neighborhood in darkness and that the gospel would take firm root. Pray for much fruit and a strong, solid, and reproducing church to be firmly established in this neighborhood.

September 16 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Pray for M., a new Brazilian Baptist Home Missionary in the city of Arroio dos Ratos. M. has a tremendous heart for evangelism, and has become known throughout the city as the “man of faith with the bike,” as he rides his bicycle around and plays Christian music and preaches over the built-in sound system. Pray that M. would remain faithful and that God would bless him and his young family with much fruit. Pray that the church would be firmly established very quickly and that this church would become a base for starting new churches in the surrounding cities of Triúnfo and São Jeronimo.

September 15 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the community development work of Mont’ Serrat Baptist Church on the “Island of the Flowers” in the Guaíba river in Porto Alegre. Pray for S. as she leads this project and reaches out to the poorest of the poor who live off the scraps of garbage from the city. Pray that God would show her how to prioritize her time and where to focus her energy in the midst of so many overwhelming needs. Pray that God’s love would shine brightly and that many lives would be transformed as God’s people serve as His hands and feet to those in need.

September 14 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the new church plant in the Lomba do Pinheiro area of Porto Alegre. This church plant in a shockingly destitute slum was started by the church plant in the Partenon neighborhood and is outgrowth of several years of social outreach in the community. Pray that God would bless this new church start with growth and physical and spiritual protection, as well as provide them with the financial resources to help effect positive physical change in the lives of those in this needy community.

September 13 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for G. and R. and the church plant in the violent, drug-ridden Porto Alegre neighborhood of Partenon. A large witchcraft center with a gruesome idol out front is located just yards from the front door of the church building. This new church has lively, vibrant worship and an active outreach to the families of inmates and the poor and destitute around them. They are currently planting another new church. Please pray that God would keep G. and R. strong and holy, and that He would continue to grow the work in Partenon and expand their vision for starting new works and reaching more people for Christ.

September 12 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for E., who serves as the Executive Director for the State Baptist Convention of Rio Grande do Sul. E. left the business world, and took the position at the State Convention during a leadership and economic vacuum. His skills brought fiscal and administrative stability and accountability. Despite some serious health difficulties, he has been a tireless advocate in favor of church planting in Rio Grande do Sul throughout the nation of Brazil. Please pray for E’s health and ask that God would give him tremendous wisdom and vision as he leads the Baptists in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

September 11 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for A. and S., who are starting a church in the downtown area of the city of Gravataí on the outskirts of Porto Alegre. The church meets in a storefront and draws a mix of people from both the downtown area and the outlying slums. Ask God to bless the efforts of A. and S. to plant a relevant church in a strategic location, and to give them wisdom in knowing how to move forward and meet the spiritual needs of a diverse group of people. Also ask God to bless their young family.

September 10 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for B. and B., a young couple with the Brazilian Baptist Home Mission Board who are starting a new church in the Bom Jesus (good Jesus) neighborhood of Porto Alegre. Pray that God would anoint them with wisdom and maturity, as well as great favor with the people in the community they are trying to reach. Ask that God would multiply their efforts and give them His power and grace as they face opposition from spiritist and other religious groups.

September 9 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for E. as he serves as the outreach and missions pastor of a strategic church in Porto Alegre. Pray for E. as he supervises and recruits church planters and leaders, and ask God to give him a clear vision of His mission for the church. Ask God to bless his dedication with a flood of new churches spreading through the Metropolitan Porto Alegre area.

September 8 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for G. and his family and who are planting a church in a large slum in the city of Gravataí near the capital city of Porto Alegre. The church meets in the small open courtyard of a local public school. The church has excellent relationships with school officials and has more children than adults, but has not seen much numerical growth since their initial beginnings. G. and his family are also involved in helping another church plant more than two hours away. Please pray that the church would grow in maturity and numbers, and that God would raise up more leaders to come alongside G. and his wife.

September 7 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for R. and A., church planters in a desperately poor slum on the outskirts of the city of Porto Alegre. The church plant started several years ago, and has met in homes, a public school, and rented facilities. They are currently meeting in a former grocery store. R. and his wife A. have moved into the community and immersed themselves in the struggles and day-to-day lives of the people.  Please pray that they will be able to build relationships which will enable them to share the gospel and establish a solid foundation in Christ for the work. Pray that this church plant will soon begin to birth other church plants and that R. and A. will be encouraged and stay strong and holy in the Lord.

September 6 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for E., a young believer in the Italian community of Alto Caraá on the outskirts of the Southern Brazilian megacity of Porto Alegre. E. was won to Christ as the result of the ministry of a new church plant in a community several hours away, and was the first believer in Jesus Christ ever in his community. E. has remained faithful despite misunderstandings and persecution, and continues to learn how to reach out to his community and a nearby Indian tribe. Please pray that he will remain strong in the Lord, and that the Holy Spirit will bless his testimony and life with great fruit.

September 5 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Praise God for what He is doing in and through the lives of F. and A. This young couple is leading the new church plant in the Menino Deus neighborhood after having planted another church on the outskirts of Porto Alegre. They have faced a series of health situations, but have persevered despite the difficulties. Please pray that God would completely heal all the members of their family and that He would use what they have gone through to help them to reach out to others.

September 4 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the brand new church plant in the Menino Deus neighborhood of the city of Porto Alegre. Missionaries have prayed and planned for years for a church plant in this area, but it has never taken root until now. The neighborhood is strategically located in the heart of the city and the residents have shown openness to the gospel as it is presented within the context of relationships with trusted friends. Two home groups are in place and the church will be holding its third monthly celebration service this month.  Pray that the gospel will firmly take hold and that this church will grow strong and healthy.

September 3 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for the church planting efforts among the urban poor in the city of São Leopoldo in the Southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.  A. and T. were trained by IMB missionaries and are leading a group in their home with the principles they learned. Please pray for A. and T. as they work bi-vocationally and lead this group, and ask the Father to give them time, courage, and wisdom to know how to reach out to their unsaved neighbors. Ask God to multiply their efforts and to use both them and their church plant as an example to other leaders of how to plant new, highly reproducible churches.

September 2 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

Please pray for R. and I., who are in the beginning stages of starting a new house church in the city of São Leopoldo on the outskirts of Porto Alegre. Ask God to give them the time they need to build relationships and evangelize, even as they work and study. Ask God to lead them to people of peace and to have the wisdom to know how to disciple them and bring them to maturity in Christ.

September 1 Prayer Request for the Gáucho People

The Metropolitan Porto Alegre area of South Brazil is home to more than 5 million Urban Gaúchos, less than 1% of whom have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. September is an important month for the Gaúchos, as it marks the anniversary of their civil war against Brazil which shaped their distinct cultural pride and fierce independence. Millions of Gaúchos turn out to celebrate their culture and heritage in civil war reenactments and celebrations this month. The Month of Prayer for the Gaúcho People recognizes the spiritual significance of this month and draws together believers across geographical, cultural, and denominational lines to declare that September is a turning point when through prayer, the Gaúchos who have lived in darkness WILL see a great light, and that the gospel will take firm root and spread throughout this spiritually needy land. Pray that God would raise up more prayer warriors to stand with us and the Gaúchos before the throne of God and declare that God will raise up His church and that His light will shine brightly in Porto Alegre!