This past weekend, we had the opportunity to celebrate a huge milestone with our friends at C3 Church, Santos. They moved into a beautiful new facility and asked Annie and I to be a part of the opening ceremonies. Several people from C3 Curitiba wanted to be a part as well so we rented a van for the six hour drive. We left early Sunday morning, taking a group of ten people to Santos.
Pastors Fabio and Dani have been doing an incredible job building a great local church in Santos. They planted the first C3 Church in Brazil, as well as South America, a few years ago. This new building was a big step of faith for them. The facility that they had been using was not a permanent location and was very small. This new facility is bigger, in a much better location, and is leased exclusively to the church for the next two years.
Fabio kept the doors closed to the new auditorium while the band warmed up. Our worship leader at C3 Curitiba, Felipe Souza, his wife, Vanessa, and drummer, Tiago Goosen, were part of the team that went. Working with the musicians at C3 Santos, the worship team prepared for the service. The buzz in the lobby was almost tangible as people kept coming in. So many people at Fabio’s church had worked so hard to make this night happen.
When Pastor Fabio opened the doors to the auditorium, it filled up quickly and it became
apparent that we were going to need more chairs. Even after they put out more chairs, there were still a few people that had to stand. There is not much that makes a pastor happier than to fill up on opening night.
The worship was incredible and the crowd was into every song, singing with all their hearts. Fabio showed a great video from Pastor Ronald Berg, of C3 Curitiba, congratulating Fabio, Dani, and their church. Fabio had also asked me to speak to his church. I congratulated them on their milestone and talked about our relationship with Fabio and Dani.
God gave me a verse for Pastors Fabio, Dani, and their church from Revelation 3. “Behold, I have set before you an open door that no one can shut…” That open door represents Opportunity and Provision. They are going to have greater opportunities to impact and influence their community and city. Provision was going to come from people who came through that open door. Their provision was not only going to be money, it was going to be people to serve their vision. God was going to provide more people to labor with them.
Pastor Weber, also from C3 Curitiba, put our trip to Santos together and was with us. Weber, Annie, and I laid hands on Fabio and Dani. We prayed for them and their church. Pastor Fabio then preached a great message on “Which Piece of the Puzzle are You?” He traced the history of where they started as a church and his vision for the future. If you would like to see a little of the history of C3 Santos, check out this short video that Fabio put together and showed during his message.
After the service, everyone hung around for about an hour eating and chatting. Around 10:30 pm, the group from Curitiba loaded up and drove through the night back to Curitiba. Everybody on the team had to work the next day. It was a whirlwind 24 hours but we would not have missed it for the world!
Would you like to be a part of our ministry here in Brazil. Click on the link below! Obrigado! (Thank you!)
https://thec3church.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/12/responses/new
