SALVADOR, Brazil (BP)–Brazilians like to flock to the beach whenever there’s a holiday.
This past October, there were two such opportunities — Children’s Day and the Day of the Deceased, which is similar to Memorial Day in the United States.
International Mission Board missionary Danny Callis and a group of Brazilian Baptist partners took advantage of the throngs at the beach to present the gospel in various ways.
They set up a table and chairs with a sign that read: “Study the Bible in 5 Minutes.” People stopping by out of curiosity heard the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The Baptists used “power bracelets” to share testimonies and a card with a math trick to guess a person’s age.
The pastor of the church presented an “illustrated paint talk” on the beach. At first they set up on a sidewalk about 200 feet from the water’s edge and had pretty good results. But they decided to move down closer to where the people were.
“He actually wound up standing in the water,” Callis said. About 150 people gathered around.
One person was so enthralled she watched the message twice, the missionary said. Then she exclaimed, “Now I understand the message and can tell others!”
In the two days, 15,000 tracts were distributed and 53 people received Jesus as Savior. They signed commitment cards asking to receive Bible studies.
“Our church hasn’t been geared up to send out such studies, but now we will start,” Callis said. “Last week, through a friend from the U.S., we received several packets of Bible study courses that we will use with new Christians. It came just at the right time!”
