Encounter with Christ supplies grants for ministry

ATLANTA – In 2024, Encounter with Christ (a ministry partnership between the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas, the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Global Ministries) awarded grants to 11 mission partners from the permanent fund of Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ministries receiving these grants will benefit hundreds and thousands of people in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The total amount awarded was $196,088.

Global Ministries established a permanent fund called Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean (Encounter with Christ) by vote of the Board of Directors in 1992. When the fund reached $1,000,000 in donations in 2005, grants began to be distributed by Global Ministries. Since then, Global Ministries has awarded more than $1,500,000 to regional mission partners.

Encounter with Christ tells the story of vibrant mission in South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The Methodist churches in Latin America and the Caribbean work to advance mission with some of the most marginalized populations in their communities, including women and children, immigrants, Indigenous communities, and those suffering from racial and gender inequality. The Encounter with Christ permanent fund supports Global Ministries’ efforts to partner with national and regional churches and ecumenical partners in the region by providing program funding for social justice and evangelism outreach efforts.

One of the projects approved this year will help reach new people in the remote area of Caruaru, a town in Brazil 166 kilometers west from the Central Methodist Church of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, which is on the east coast of Brazil just south of the city of Recife.

Central Methodist Church started a new mission in Caruaru in 2014 and was able to form a new faith community in this impoverished area of Brazil. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Central Methodist worked hard to help alleviate suffering by distributing food and providing support for the most vulnerable living in the town. A $20,000 Global Ministries grant from the Encounter with Christ permanent fund will help build a meeting place for the new faith community and support a missionary living in the area. One of the ministries of this new faith community is assisting women who are victims of domestic violence. Central Methodist has partnered with the Maria da Penha Institute, female police officers and local social workers to provide holistic support for women and their children.

The Evangelical Methodist Church of Bolivia (IEMB) received a $20,000 grant from Global Ministries using Encounter’ with Christ’s permanent fund to promote spirituality and renewal of ministries with children, youth and Methodist women of the IEMB. The program will distribute written resources that help strengthen biblical-theological knowledge among children and adolescents. It will train youth in holistic development with the aim of providing leadership in the local church and at district and national levels. It will also promote spirituality among Methodist women in Bolivia.

To reach these goals, workshops will be given in each of the districts of the IEMB. Written resources will be published for different age groups, including a guide and biblical notebook for children 4-6 years old, 7-9 years old, 10-12 years old and 13-15 years old. A national gathering of youth of the IEMB will be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia. There will also be a national gathering of Bolivian Methodist women.

The above projects are just samples of the 11 grants awarded to mission partners in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela. For a summary of all 2024 grants, click here.

The Rev. Dr. Douglas W. Ruffle is the mission interpreter for Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Encounter with Christ continues to raise funds to add to its permanent fund so that more support can be given for the region. To learn more about Encounter with Christ, visit its website: https://umc-encounter.org/. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit this page.