Jesus gave the “Great Commission” command to the apostles shortly before He ascended into heaven, which essentially is a Christian’s job description. It is interesting that, in the original Greek, the only direct command in Matthew 28:19-20 is “make disciples.” That is what disciple making is. Commanding people to come to faith in Christ the way Jesus Christ described it and then teach them how that life as Christians is to be lived.
Looking at the 27 books of the New Testament, God describes His children close to 100 different ways. The top 7 descriptions based on frequency that God calls us in reverse order:
#7: Christians (3 times; twice in Acts 1 & once in 1 Peter 4)
#6: Followers of the Way (Acts nine times)
#5: Witnesses (27 times, most frequently in Luke)
#4: Saints (62 times)
#3: Followers (+100 times)
#2: Believers (266 times)
#1: Disciples (300+ times)
In Matthew 28, Jesus Himself sums up all these various ways of naming and describing us into one all-encompassing term which is disciples. That is why the most frequent term for us in the New Testament and the clearest target for all our lives is to be focused upon making disciples.
Jesus deu a ordem da “Grande Comissão” aos apóstolos pouco antes de ascender ao céu, que é essencialmente a descrição do trabalho de um cristão. É interessante que, no original grego, a única ordem direta em Mateus 28:19-20 é “faça discípulos”. Isso é fazer discípulos. Ordenar às pessoas que cheguem à fé em Cristo da maneira como Jesus Cristo a descreveu e depois ensiná-las como essa vida como cristãos deve ser vivida.
Olhando para os 27 livros do Novo Testamento, Deus descreve Seus filhos de quase 100 maneiras diferentes. As 7 principais descrições baseadas na frequência com que Deus nos chama na ordem inversa: #7: Cristãos (3 vezes; duas vezes em Atos 1 e uma vez em 1 Pedro 4), #6: Seguidores do Caminho (Atos nove vezes), #5: Testemunhas (27 vezes, mais frequentemente em Lucas), #4: Santos (62 vezes), #3: Seguidores (+100 vezes), #2: Crentes (266 vezes), #1: Discípulos (mais de 300 vezes)
Invasion Area “Área de Invasão”
On the outskirts of the city of Manaus, “invasion areas” can form almost overnight. These areas are the primarily made up of people from the interior of the Amazon, Venezuelan refugees, and Brazilians that are looking for a new start. The thing all of these people have in common is that they have very little resources and they are all looking for a safe community to live in. Therefore, these people come together to “invade” government land that is unused and build humble homes using whatever resources they can find. As they find work and earn a little money, they begin to purchase better materials and build better homes. Over time (sometimes a decade or more), these communities receive infrastructure (such as: running water, electricity, paved roads, etc) and become a recognized neighborhood.
In the Fall of 2021, a new invasion area was formed. This community is known as “P2” and has an estimated 2500+ families who have settled in the invasion in just 1 year. Many of these families are looking for a better life in Manaus but currently are living in impoverished conditions. Living in poverty can mean inadequate health and dental care, chronic malnutrition, poor hygiene and unsafe sanitation conditions, and preventable diseases going untreated. The invasion area has minimal infrastructure and is currently not governed. Therefore, law enforcement is rarely present which makes it an easy territory for criminals, gang affiliations, and those running from the law to hide out and set up business. The potential for crime, inadequate health, and dental care, is why we at Guerreiros de Jesus want to do ministry and provide medical and dental care, sport activities, especially among children and youth, and show these families the most powerful alternative, the most powerful path, the path to eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.
