God has been making good use of DNA materials and trainers in Brazil the past few years, pairing up the DNA with energetic, kingdom-minded groups like Instituto Um27, Universidade Livre Transforma, Lagoinha Church, Centro de Assistência e Desenvolvimento Integral and many others.
In April, DNA co-founder Darrow Miller spent two weeks with local leaders of this DNA movement in Brazil, spreading DNA teachings across multiple cities and helping young people wrestle with their faith, vocation and how to disciple their beloved nation. He returned invigorated and encouraged by the ambitious local leaders bringing DNA teachings to Brazil.
Nurturing the Nations often has a powerful effect on readers as it deals with one of the most core issues of who God created us to be. In Brasília, the nation’s capital, one woman approached Darrow to say she works for a Brazilian senator and is concerned about the plight of women in her country. She hopes to arrange a meeting between Darrow and the Brazilian government next year.
In addition to Nurturing the Nations, the volunteer-driven DNA team in Brazil has translated Discipling Nations and LifeWork into Portuguese. To get any of these books in Portuguese, email Rodrigo Tapia who has been leading this effort.
Generation next
At an event in Maringá advertised as the largest youth missions conference in the nation (hosted by Associação de Missões Transculturais Brasileiras), Darrow taught on LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day. Resonating deeply with the youth, the topic continued to feed discussion that week.
The highlight, Darrow says, was when he sat down for lunch with a young believer and didn’t get up for six hours—engaging the whole day in lively discussions with people who would come and go from the lunch table. At one point, he said, 40 youth were seated around him and the same question was never repeated twice. Darrow recalled what another young Brazilian told him recently: they are the “fatherless generation” because even if a father lives in the home, he often is too consumed with his work to commune with his family. The youth appreciated Darrow’s attention and serious conversation that week.
A biblical worldview of food?!
After one of Darrow’s speaking engagements in Curitiba, two women approached him to share what they had done after reading Discipling Nations and LifeWork. One a ballet dancer and the other a theater actress, the women collaborated on a course for people in the food-service industry: to evaluate how animistic, secularist and biblical worldviews see food. They wrote a play about family and food, offering a dinner theater serving the same food as was being discussed in the play. How creative! It’s wonderful to see how people all over the world have taken these biblical ideas and applied them to their lives and societies.
Servant leadership at the core
Nelson Monteiro of Instituto Um27 and the DNA Global Leadership Team has provided excellent leadership to this movement by applying DNA materials in his own ministry in Joao Pessoa, organizing the 2013 DNA Global Forum, and continuously seeking ways to spread the “virus” that is the DNA movement. A true servant leader, Nelson embodies the DNA foundational principle “We seek neither power nor glory.”
“We look forward to hearing stories about how God is transforming local communities in Brazil through the work of the local church,” Nelson says. “Please, contact our DNA team in Brazil and let us join efforts in this movement of God.” To connect with the DNA network in Brazil, email Nelson Monteiro.
