CONPLEI: Three-wave Movement in Brazil
by Craig Combs
Brazil
A surge of Living Water is poised to wash over and bless the nation of Brazil – and the peoples of the surrounding countries as well. This surge has gained strength by the joining of three waves. These waves, while starting in sequence, have not merely replaced one another. Rather, they have joined together as evidence of a powerful, irresistible movement of the Holy Spirit.
As in most other places around the world where missionary activity has been engaged for perhaps a century or more, the effort to bring the Gospel message to the people of Brazil has happened in a sequential pattern, in a series of “waves”:
First came the missionaries of the West and North, Europeans and Americans who responded to Christ's command to "disciple the nations" and came to Brazil to share God’s message of redemption with its people. The first ones reached, naturally, were those who were the most accessible: Brazilian citizens living in coastal areas and in towns and cities.
The second wave emerged from the resulting church in Brazil, national believers who in turn obeyed the Great Commission and began to reach the indigenous tribes within the borders of the country - in more remote, hard-to-reach areas like the Amazon watershed. Others came to join the effort, including those who began to translate the Bible into the languages of the Indian nations.
The third wave is still emerging and gaining strength. This wave is comprised of a growing movement from within these indigenous groups, a movement born out of a desire that their brothers who have yet to be reached will be reached. This still-young church, formed as a result of the first two waves of missionary activity, is ready and eager, in its turn, to assume that responsibility.
In most times and places, in the history of the spread of the Church, this sequential pattern has been more like separate waves of a rising tide on a beach. Each, in turn, rises, gains strength, breaks, then disappears as the next wave begins to form and gain strength. Each, in its turn, might contribute to a gradual rising of the tide - but they do not work together; they remain essentially disconnected.
But not here, not this time. Something new is happening in Brazil, and it is powerful!
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" -1 Cor. 12:21
It is probably not a common phenomenon - yet - that such a "missionary movement" would arise from the church within indigenous people groups most recently reached. But there is more. Not only do these new churches in the tribal areas desire to take the message of the Gospel to their neighbors (even more remote and isolated than themselves), but they want to join hands with those who came before. They want to partner fully and meaningfully with those from the first two waves! This kind of heart can only have come from the Holy Spirit. How did this happen?
CONPLEI: A Movement
In 1990, in the nation's capital city, Brasilia, a quiet and unassuming meeting took place at one of the nation's universities. Twelve tribal Christian leaders and pastors - each from a different language group - came together under a common desire: that the church within the indigenous nations of Brazil (and beyond) might be unified and mutually encouraged.
Out of that meeting the Conselho Nacional de Pastores e Líderes Evangélicos Indígenas (National Council of Indigenous Evangelical Pastors and Leaders) - CONPLEI - was born. CONPLEI is first and foremost a movement. It clearly did not begin or grow due to the mere efforts of people alone; God's work is evident everywhere in it. Key elements of this movement include: 1) a conscious joining together in interdependent partnership with waves one and two (foreign and national missionaries and their organizations); and 2) wholistic ministry: relevantly meeting the needs of the people at all levels - individual, community, national.
Other goals of the movement include: promoting mutual encouragement among and between the tribal churches; gaining knowledge and skills in the use of various tools for discipleship; presenting and incorporating models that really work; and maintaining focus on simple gospel truths. Above all else, their focus is on individual and corporate spiritual vitality (life with God) and on missionary work (taking the Gospel to those yet unreached).
CONPLEI: An Organization
To give shape and direction to that movement, CONPLEI has also emerged as an organization. In the 18 years since its inception, CONPLEI has held six nationwide conferences - bringing together church leaders from dozens of tribal groups from Brazil and neighboring countries, Brazilian missionaries and agencies, and foreign missionaries representing a growing list of partner organizations.
The most recent conference, the 6th CONPLEI, was held between 4-7 September 2008 near the town of Itacoatiara - about 185 km east of Manaus, the capital city of the State of Amazonia. The most obvious observation a visitor could make on that conference was: It's theirs. They ran the show; others joined in. They chose the program and focus; others were there by invitation, to support the movement as requested. And it was done excellently.
The conference was attended by pastors and leaders from 48 different tribal communities. Some of these leaders traveled literally for weeks, down jungle trails and river systems, to arrive in time to participate. In all, an estimated 1,500 people were housed, fed, taught, equipped and encouraged through this effort. Significant time was spent in corporate praise and worship of their Lord, as language groups in turn led with songs written and performed according to their unique cultural patterns.
In concert with the goal that the movement should be wholistic - relevant to the needs of the people - two major issues were focused on during this conference: infanticide and alcoholism. These are huge, widespread problems among the tribes of the Amazon basin. And CONPLEI did not shy away from dealing with those issues head-on.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. –Eccl. 4:12
Unity is a hallmark of CONPLEI. Three waves, joined together, make up a powerful, irresistible force – a flood sweeping across the land to bring the blessing of the knowledge of God to all touched by it. In a similar way, three strands of a cord, joined together, make up a unit that is able to withstand the forces that would tear apart any one of its components.
Steve Saint was one of those invited to address the gathering of CONPLEI ’08. As he concluded his talk, he recalled the 1968 “I have a dream” speech of Martin Luther King. Saint said, in part, “I have a dream – that from now on, God will write our stories into His story is such a way that they become one story, inseparable.”