Harold and Lilian Gilmer
South America Director, Church Planter and Bible Translation in São Paulo, Brazil.
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
According to the latest census, in thirty years the number of “Evangelicals” in Brazil went from 6.6% of the population to 22.2%. We cannot assume that all of these are true born-again believers, but we are seeing openness toward the Gospel as never seen before in Brazil’s history. This is prime time to sow the Precious Seed.
Bible Publication
The printed Word of God is foundational to the Church and is vital for effective missionary work. For this reason we are actively involved in the printing and distribution of
the Word of God in Brazil.
The Lord has given me the opportunity to serve as the Executive Vice-President of Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil, where I met my dear wife, Lílian, who served as the secretary and now continues to serve as a proofreader.
We have had the joy of seeing over five million copies of the Scriptures distributed during our ministry, already. To God be the glory! Our mission is get a faithful copy of the Word of God into hands of every person, and our primary purpose is the glory of God and the salvation of men, women and children.
Our ministry extends to all Bearing Precious Seed type ministries, providing the text of the Bible for printing and helping them get Scriptures into Brazil. We are now reaching out to other languages, such as Tetum, in East Timor, working to provide faithful translation from the Greek Textus Receptus and Hebrew Massoretic.
Team Church Planting
Getting new churches underway in co-operation with national pastors and missionaries is a pressing need in a city of almost twenty-two million people. Why team work? When Jesus sent out His disciples, He sent them out two by two. The Apostle Paul was most effective when working with others, rather than alone. We find this true in our personal experience.
God has given us a wonderful Church Planting Team to establish
Bible-believing churches in Brazil. In addition, by God ́s grace,
both Lílian and I grew up in church planting families, giving us
much needed experience. Besides the Churches we were involved
in from childhood, the Lord gave us the opportunity to help start
in a team effort:
(1) Igreja Batista Jesus Salva (Jesus Saves Baptist Church) in one of Brazil ́s largest slums (Paraisópolis);
(2) Igreja Batista Nova Vida em Jardim Ingá (New Life Baptist Church in Jardim Ingá); and
(3) we are currently helping start the Igreja Batista Nova Vida em Vila Guacuri (New Life Baptist Church in Vila Guacuri).
Seeing people saved, baptized, discipled and discipling others, is what this
ministry is all about. Please prayerfully consider being our partner in this ministry. Prayer is vital.
