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Reaching the heart of a new generation PDF Print

 

In eight years’ time, TeenStreet Brazil has grown from a small congress of 160 participants to a year-round ministry with seven full-time staff members. TeenStreet Brazil is not just an event, but a significant effort to assist the rapidly growing Brazilian church in touching teenagers´ lives.
OM_Brazil_TS
“There is a new generation of teenagers in the Brazilian church,” says Weslley Kendrick Silva, coordinator of TeenStreet Brazil. “This generation is growing rapidly. Churches are just starting to work with these teens. That’s why TeenStreet Brazil helps the church to be a blessing for these young Christians.”

Since Weslley and his wife, Eloa, initiated this ministry to teenagers in their own country, the work has grown rapidly. “Almost every year the event has grown by more than 50 per cent," says Weslley. "We started with 160 participants in 2004, and this year 1,200 teenagers attended the congress in Maringá.”

A lot going on

TeenStreet originated in 1992 in Germany and is OM’s ministry to youth around the world. After serving for two years on OM´s ship Logos II, Weslley and Eloa returned to Brazil with a vision for teenagers. They shared their ideas with a group of people, who decided to invest their lives and time in this ministry.

In 2003, the team attended the event in Uruguay to get an idea of what it is all about. The next year, TeenStreet Brazil was born. In January 2004, they held the first congress in Maringá, with the theme “re:Discovering Jesus”.

Since then, on the third week of January every year, hundreds of teenagers travel to Cesumar University in the city of Maringá, southern Brazil. For six days they sing, listen to sermons and take part in different activities challenging them to have a true friendship with Jesus and reflect His love in their world.

“But TeenStreet Brazil is much more than that,” says Weslley. TeenStreet doesn’t end when the annual event has finished. “We have an office with seven full-time and two part-time workers. Our leadership team consists of pastors and business men who meet every week for prayer and meetings. We have a partnership with 15 churches in the area, to which we go weekly for training. In many other churches, we preach and help with their teens. We hope to expand this work, called projeto redes, in the next years.”

Since 2007, the TeenStreet Brazil team has been sending out daily on-line devotionals and producing material for teenagers to study the Bible every day. They also organise a leadership training twice a year, and about 10 to 15 weekend events or camps.

Expansion to the northeast

Brazil_TS_PrayThe purpose of TeenStreet Brazil is to serve the church so that it can impact the lives of teenagers, and now the team is looking to expand the ministry to the northeast region of the country. “Brazil is a huge country,” says Weslley. “For a lot of teenagers from this area, the activities in the south are just too far away.”

Many churches in the northeast region are interested in working with teenagers, says Weslley. “We visited them and talked with several pastors for about two years. Now we decided to start a ministry in this part of Brazil as well.”

The ministry will begin with an event called NordesTEEN from 22-26 June in the city of Salvador. “We hope that about 400 teenagers and 200 adults will attend the event,” says Weslley. Apart from this, they are also growing a daily ministry, with full-time workers who reach out to teens, provide resources and visit churches every week to help train young leaders and pastors.

Weslley and his team are very excited about this new opportunity: “With some creativity, we can reach the hearts, minds and attention of this new generation of teenagers.”

For more information about TeenStreet, visit
www.teenstreet.om.org.

 


Last Updated on Friday, 10 June 2011 10:56
 
Earthquake in Japan PDF Print

On Friday March 11 just before 3pm local time (6 am GMT),  the biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan, struck the north east coast in Sendai, triggering a 10m tsunami that swept away everything in its path.

Latest update: Tuesday 15 March 2011

Thank you so much for praying for the situation in Japan. Here is the latest from our teams:

There have been well over 150 aftershocks, some of them around intensity 5. These are very nerve racking for those who so recently experienced the big earthquake. Another Intensity 7 tremor is forecast on the Pacific Side sometime this week– potentiallyaround Nagoya area.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 13:56
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Voyage of Faith PDF Print
Voyage of Faith
40 Years of OM’s Ship Ministry
Friday 18 February, 2011
Mosbach, Germany: OM’s Ship Ministry celebrates 40 years of global impact today. On Friday, February 18, 1971, OM’s first ship Logos set sail for London from Rotterdam, Netherlands, where the ship had spent four months being made ready for ministry.
“The launch of the first Logos represented years of dreaming, praying and working to do something that had not been done before,” said OM Founder George Verwer who first shared the vision for ship-based ministry to early OM co-workers in 1964. “We have much to be thankful for and celebrate at this special time.”
In these 40 years of ministry more than 42 million people in 164 countries and territories have visited Logos (1970-1988), Doulos (1977-2010) Logos II (1989-2008) or the current vessel Logos Hope (since 2009). Most have come for the quality educational and Christian literature available on board. Many have left with new hope through the testimony and compassion of the international volunteer crew and staff.
Image: A family enjoys browsing the books available on board Logos Hope.
(Reference: 10594, Credit: Thomas Brouwer)
In excess of 35 million books have been distributed through the onboard book fair, with many more donated to universities, schools and libraries in some of the world’s most needy nations. An estimated 50 million Bibles and scripture portions have been given out.
“What began as a God-inspired idea to transport people, vehicles and literature from Europe to India developed into a significant global ministry,” said Peter Nicoll, CEO of OM Ships International. “We’ve seen lives, families and whole communities transformed. Churches and ministries have been established—some even including reference to Logos or Doulos in their names!”
Image: Logos Hope during a recent visit to Valetta on the island of Malta.
(Reference: 12868, Credit: Marina Maddock Lyon)
OM’s newest ship, Logos Hope, celebrates two years of active service just one day later on February 19, having sailed from Koege, Denmark, on February 19, 2009. The ship was rebuilt in Trogir, Croatia, before being outfitted in Kiel, Germany, and completed in Koege after years of dedicated work by skilled volunteers and the magnificent support from partners around the world.
Already, over 1.3 million people have benefitted from Logos Hope’s ‘Visitor Experience’ deck including the ‘Journey of Life’ exhibit and air-conditioned book fair with over 5,000 different titles. Over 2.5 million books have been purchased on board. Visits to 45 ports in 31 countries in Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East have proved that the ‘knowledge, help and hope’ the vessel brings are just as relevant today as 40 years ago.
“The ship offers a unique environment for interaction and engaging with visitors,” said Director Gian Walser from Switzerland. “Our vision for Logos Hope was a ship with greater capacity to serve our visitors in a better way and show them God's love. We have already seen Logos Hope working well in a good number of countries and we are looking forward to welcoming many more people in the ports to come.”
Image: A Logos Hope crewmember connects with a girl at an orphanage visited in Tema, Ghana.
(Reference: 12551, Credit: Marina Maddock Lyon)
It’s not all plain sailing, and the need for qualified marine personnel is just one of the challenges. Work continues on board to make Logos Hope as technically efficient and cost effective as possible. Fuel systems have been upgraded to allow the main engines and generators to be able to run on a much cheaper, heavier grade of fuel. Now planning is well underway to replace two of the generators and the main switchboard, as well as install a heat recovery system, in 2012.
These works behind the scenes will help the ship reach its full ministry potential, enabling visitors to hear the Good News of God’s love for many years to come. For latest news, further information, port schedules and opportunities to participate visit www.omships.org
Logos Hope’s global impact is dependent on the financial partnership of individuals and churches around the world. To support the ongoing ministry of Logos Hope, please contact your local OM office or give online at www.omships.org/donate

40 Years of OM’s Ship Ministry

40 years of OM ShipsOM’s Ship Ministry celebrates 40 years of global impact today. On Friday, February 18, 1971, OM’s first ship Logos set sail for London from Rotterdam, Netherlands, where the ship had spent four months being made ready for ministry.

“It was through the magnificent prayer and financial support from partners around the world that Logos Hope was able to be launched,” said OM’s International Director Peter Maiden. “The ship has proved to be a worthy successor to Logos II, and we give praise and thanks to God for all that has been achieved over these first two years.”

“The launch of the first Logos represented years of dreaming, praying and working to do something that had not been done before,” added OM Founder George Verwer who first shared the vision for ship-based ministry to early OM co-workers in 1964. “We have much to be thankful for and celebrate at this special time.”

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 13:56
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Pakistan Flood update PDF Print

pakistan-floodIt is being called the worst disaster in human history; not in lives lost, but in people affected. An estimated 21 million people have been displaced or left hungry, sick, injured or homeless.  OM Pakistan responded to meet the most immediate needs of food and clean water to those with no resources.

Now work is focused on providing medical care and planning for long-term rebuilding for the poorest families and communities.

Donate now by sending your gift marked Pakistan Flood Relief to OM Ireland, Lacken House, Rahara, Co Roscommon or GIVE ONLINE.

DOWNLOAD PowerPoint Presentation to use in your church or small group.

Updated 22 Dec, 2010
Our response to the needs of the flood victims in Pakistan is changing, along with the weather and general conditions. Winter is upon us, as well as the possibility of disease. Our team has just distributed warm clothing packages to 1,000 in the North and 250 packages to needy families in the South. These packages contain a combination of blankets, clothing and mosquito nets.
A difficult road to travel…
Our OM team loaded 500 packages into a truck for distribution in a remote Northern valley. The truck was so full that on the way it stopped and could not go any further. The road was so badly damaged that the team had to hire two smaller trucks to complete the journey. The OM team finally reached the community where everyone was eagerly awaiting the distribution.
People were very happy to receive the packages. Some of them commented: “We are thankful to you that you came to help us in such cold weather. We have seen you before and you guys do hard work for us and bring things that we need.”
Distributing winter survival packages in the South
In the South, our team leader reports on the latest distribution:
“As we have already served these people during the food distribution phase, we are on familiar ground and have a chance to meet them again and share the great love of Christ in practical ways. With winter coming on, it is really cold here. There are lots of areas where there is not much in the way of buildings or tree. Many people are living in the open air or in houses made by weaving long grasses into panels, and putting these together to form basic structures. During the flood, many people lost everything. They left their villages and went into internally displaced people’s (IDPs) camps, but are now returning to nothing of their own. This latest package enables them to have some form of protection from cold.
We had opportunities to talk with people and share with them. All of them know that this distribution is through the efforts of the Christian brothers and sisters who have given the donations generously for them in this time of need.”
The reconstruction programme
We are very excited by news that the reconstruction of the first 10 houses has just recently been completed, using reclaimed materials and re-using what we can to make good use of existing goods, and keep costs down.

Pakistan Flood Appeal Update 22 December 2010

Our response to the needs of the flood victims in Pakistan is changing, along with the weather and general conditions. Winter is upon us, as well as the possibility of disease. Our team has just distributed warm clothing packages to 1,000 in the North and 250 packages to needy families in the South. These packages contain a combination of blankets, clothing and mosquito nets.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 13:54
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OM responds to earthquake in Chile PDF Print

Rebuilding a nation in distress

Santiago – In no more than a few minutes Chile has become a nation in distress. After the devastating earthquake last Saturday, over two million people have become homeless and many are left without food and water. The team of Operation Mobilisation (OM) in Chile tries to reach out to people in need.

“It was three in the morning and we woke up with our building moving. It seemed a dream that became a nightmare as we came to understand what was happening.” Carlos Alberto Correa, field leader of OM Chile, describes the situation he found himself in last Saturday. “The earthquake just touched our country”, he states, “and it was terrible”.

In the streets of Chile’s capital Santiago, the sounds of glasses breaking and people screaming mixed with sirens of police and fire brigade. People stayed outside all night, afraid to go back into their houses.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 13:55
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