2017 ANNUAL MISSIONARY REPORT
NAME:
BROLM
- Brazil River of Life Ministries (Jeff and Monica Fife)
MAILING ADDRESS/EMAIL/WEBSITE/TELEPHONE:
P.O. Box 8262 – Gray – TN – 37615
Skype:
Jeff.fife
Facebook:
Jeff E Monica Fife
In Brazil: 55-11-9-9511-2436
FORWARDING AGENT/SENDING AGENCY/CONTACT INFORMATION:
MISSION FIELD AND PEOPLE GROUP:
Portuguese-Speaking
World (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São
Tome and Principe, Portugal, and USA)
MINISTRY MISSION STATEMENT:
Mission: Reach the Portuguese-Speaking world
for Jesus Christ so they can reach the rest of the world.
Vision: Reach the lost through Evangelism,
Mentor and Equip through Discipleship, Plant New Churches, Provide Assistance
and Justice where needed.
IN THE PAST YEAR, NON-CHRISTIAN INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BECOME
CHRISTIAN INDIVIDUALS AS A RESULT OF THE WORK WITH WHICH GOD HAS ENTRUSTED
BROLM: Over
200
HOW LONG SERVING ON THIS FIELD:
Monica
and I have been serving in the Portuguese-Speaking World together for 29 years.
BROLM been serving this same people group since 2001.
ORIGINAL TIME COMMITMENT TO THIS MINISTRY AND CURRENT TIME
COMMITMENT TO THIS MINISTRY:
Our
original commitment to this ministry is for life and it continues to be for
life.
HOW IS GOD CURRENTLY WORKING THROUGH YOUR MINISTRY AND WHAT WERE
YOUR PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST YEAR?
GOD’S WORK THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF THE PAST YEAR:
1.
BROLM is accomplishing its goals through evangelism, discipleship (personal
discipleship and “Hands On”
Bible College) and new church plants, promoting social work and justice where
needed.
2.
During this year BROLM promoted an average of 3 evangelistic outreaches per
month throughout the churches that BROLM has planted in the Southeast, Midwest
and Northeast Brazil.
2.
BROLM offers monthly discipleship materials to all the BROLM churches and to
many other Christian Churches throughout the Portuguese-Speaking World.
3.
The “Hands On” Bible College is being offered at 4
BROLM congregations in the Southeast, 1 in the Midwest, 1 in the north, and 1
in the Northeast. BROLM coordinates the “Hands On”
Bible College in Mozambique and Portugal. Jeff and Monica plan to teach in
Portugal Sept 19 through 29, 2017 and will teach in Mozambique in 2018.
4.
BROLM is helping plant the church in Areias, Recife. At the same time, BROLM is
preparing new teams to plant future new churches.
5.
Jeff and Monica have invested their time in strengthening the leadership at the
local churches. Thus they have promoted several leadership training events,
they visited all the churches and are encouraged to see each of them growing.
6.
BROLM has been giving assistance to the work in Mozambique since 2003 where
they celebrated 21 years of ministry in Oct 2017. The churches in Mozambique
continue growing; it has been a hard year with the death of 3 church pastors
and lots of sicknesses among the members of the churches. The grade school has
over 1000 students. The Hope Home has the boys and girls homes with about 80
children.
7.
This year Jeff and Monica also had the opportunity to speak at the World
Convention of the Stone/Campbell Movement in India.
8.
Jeff is also pastoring two local churches, Pirituba and Bom Retiro. New pastors
are currently being trained to pastor these and other churches through the “Hands On” Bible College.
9.
BROLM promoted the fourth National Leadership Summit Oct 27 through 29, 2017
where Dr. Wilbur Reid and Mark Haga were the speakers.
10.
BROLM was blessed purchasing almost 6 acres of land to build a retreat/camp.
PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST YEAR:
Monica
and I are very happy to see our sons growing and maturing, however more
important, it has been to see their commitment with the Lord!
To
see Isaac finish his first year at Johnson University and come to Brazil for
his internship this summer was a great blessing. Isaac preached, led worship,
did Communion and Offering Mediations and worked with the youth groups. His
commitment with the Kingdom is contagious!
Roger
came to Brazil in August for 18 days and he taught at the “Hands On” Bible College, what teaching gift
he has, he takes after his grandpa Tom Fife. What a blessing! People love his
teaching!
Overall,
the biggest highlight in our personal lives is to be found by God to be worthy,
and it is He that makes us worthy, to work for Him in His Kingdom! In spite of
us, He is merciful and He uses us for his honor and glory!
God
has blessed us tremendously to see so many souls reached for Christ and His
kingdom growing. It is an honor to be used by God in His Kingdom!
TYPE (S) OF MINISTRY:
Evangelism,
Church Planting, Equipping/Discipling, Missionary Assistance, Benevolence,
Missionary Preparation, Translation Services, Counseling and Short Term
Missions.
DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AND PRIMARY MINISTRY ACTIVITIES:
In
the mission field there are no typical days, however here are some of the
things we are sure to do every day:
Devotional
(Prayer and Bible Readying).
Teaching
and Sermon preparations.
Contact
Church Leaders and Members.
Answer
e-mails and other correspondences.
Family
Time.
Here
are some other activities:
Every
Sunday – Preach at Bom Retiro and Pirituba Churches.
Every
Monday – Teach at “Hands On”
Bible College at Pirituba.
Every
Tuesday – Teach at “Hands On” Bible College at Campo Limpo Paulista.
Every
Wednesday – Discipleship at Pirituba
One
Thursday per month – Discipleship at Campo Limpo Paulista.
One
Thursday per month – Discipleship at Jundiai.
One
Friday per month – Teach at “Hands On”
Bible College at Jundiai.
One
Saturday per month – Teach at “Hands On”
Bible College at Sao Mateus.
Once
a month meet personally with the church pastors.
Every
couple months – Teach Thursday, Friday and Saturday at “Hands On” Bible College at Palmas, TO.
Every
three months – Meet with all church leaders (pastors, elders and ministries
leaders)
WHAT MARKERS HAVE YOU USED OVER THE PAST YEAR TO MEASURE YOUR
MINISTRY’S EFFECTIVENESS? HOW WELL HAS
YOUR MINISTRY MET THESE MARKERS? PLEASE
EXPLAIN.
The
markers we use to measure our ministry effectiveness are:
1.
God’s approval – Everything we do is first presented to God in prayer, as we
pray we ask God to show us where He is working so we can put our hands with
His. When God opens the doors providing the volunteers to do the work and the
resources we know that He is approving.
2.
People to be reached, baptized and discipled - For each congregation we set
tangible goals and as we start to do our part through evangelism we see the
Holy Spirit do His work of saving souls in our midst and the churches have
grown. We try not to focus only on numbers, but on lives transformed by God’s grace; thus we work in discipling.
3.
Hands On Bible College – We have set a goal to have a HOBC at each congregation
and we have seen this goal happen before our eyes, with more students at each
location.
4.
Church Plant – We focus on planting new churches that will grow to become
strong congregations that are ready to plant other new congregations. After
moving back full time to Brazil in 2015 we have consecrated on helping make
these congregations stronger and God has given the blessing to see them grow
stronger with vision for the future every day.
GOALS AND VISION FOR THE NEXT YEAR:
1.
Continue to help the local congregations and future church plants evangelistic
outreach.
2.
Continue to produce monthly discipleship material for the local congregations
and other churches throughout the Portuguese-Speaking World.
3.
Continue to offer the “Hands On”
Bible College at the local congregations in Brazil, Mozambique, and Portugal.
The goal is to offer the “Hands On”
Bible College at all BROLM Churches; for this to become a reality we are
training new teachers.
4.
Promote leadership training by visiting the local churches and encouraging
them.
5.
Promote the fifth national Leadership Summit.
6.
Visit the work in Mozambique.
7.
Attend ICOM 2018, and continue the plans for Jeff’s ICOM 2019 presidency.
8.
Raise funds and start building the retreat/camp.
PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST YEAR:
Our
personal highlight is the fact to be found by God worthy to work in His
Kingdom.
Even
though Monica has so many health limitations, it is great to see her commitment
with the Kingdom and always looking forward to what God has next.
God has
given us health—especially spiritually and mentally.
To
see our sons, Roger and Isaac serving the Lord and willingness to come to
Brazil and add to God’s Kingdom!
CURRENT FURLOUGH PLANS:
Monica
and I will be in the USA from Nov 15 to Dec 15, 2017 and we would love to visit
you, please, give us a date during the days we will be in the USA and we will
be happy to report to you at this opportunity. Thanks!
CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION AND RETIREMENT PLAN:
See
below BROLM 2016 Audit Financial Report and 2018 Budget.
We
have an IRA retirement plan and we pay social security.
CURRENT PRAYER NEEDS, FAMILY NEEDS, AND FINANCIAL NEEDS:
Please,
pray for Monica’s health. She has had many health
problems through the years and she has had many of the same symptoms that she
used to have before she had the brain tumor removed in 2008.
Pray
for our sons Roger and Isaac who are studying in the USA. Roger feels that his
calling is teaching and he is being prepared for that and Isaac has a calling
for missions and he is being prepared for that.
Pray
that will give me (Jeff) wisdom to do God’s
will and lead the ministry among the Portuguese-Speaking World with good health
for His honor and glory.
Please,
pray for each church and church leaders for God to give them wisdom to do His
will.
We
are in many ways attacked by Satan. The battles are many, but we know that
Satan and his kingdom are defeated in Jesus name. We all need to keep our focus
as we have seen his big trick is to take us off course attempting to change our
focus. Thus we need your prays to “deliver us from the evil one”.
To
launch the “Hands On”
Bible College at other local churches in Brazil and to keep the “Hands On” Bible College in all the locations
in Brazil, Portugal, and Mozambique we need $10,000.
To
build the first phase of the retreat/camp we need to raise $120,000. This first
phase will make it possible to accommodate 100 campers.
We
believe, all of our current supporters will continue supporting BROLM in 2018.
If that is the case, we will be able to maintain the ongoing ministries without
any extra funding; however, the “Hands On”
Bible College and the new church plants are urgent needs. We also believe that
God will continue to be gracious and will permit us to build the
retreat/camp—all for His honor and glory.
BROLM 2016 FINANCIAL REPORT:
FROM JANUARY 1ST TO DECEMBER 31ST
2015
Designated gifts carried over to 2016:
“Hands-On” Bible College $ 9,965.25
New Church Plants $ 5,600.00
Retreat Center to be built in Brazil $
45,500.00
Monica’s Medical Expenses $ 1,129.98
Total
$62,195.23 (A)
2015
Undesignated balance carried to 2016 $29,652.69 (B)
Total
bank balance on 12/31/2015 $91,847.92 (A+B)
Support
in 2016:
Undesignated
Support & Gifts $72,576.00 (C)
DESIGNATED
SUPPORT:
Work in Mozambique $ 6,370.00
Carnival Camp $ 3,000.00
Van – Brazil $ 6,925.00
Retreat Center $48,000.00
Sao Mateus Rent $ 2,400.00
Travel Expenses $ 1,300.00
Jeff & Monica’s Salary Increase $12,000.00
Church Planting – Brazil $11,820.00
Total
Designated Donations $ 91,815.00 (D)
Total
Support in 2016 $164,391.00 (C+D)
Total
Funds Available for 2016 Mission Work (A+B+C+D) $256,238.92 (E)
Expenses
in 2016:
BRAZIL
MINISTRY
Evangelism ($ 3,600.00)
Discipleship ($ 3,000.00)
Retreat Center ($ 230.00)
New Church Planting ($12,000.00)
Van – Brazil ($ 3,909.00)
Carnival Camp ($ 3,000.00)
Ministry/Missions/Benevolence ($ 8,756.36)
Sao Mateus Rent ($ 1,800.00)
Government Taxes and Bank Fees ($ 660.00)
“Hands-On” Bible College ($ 9,074.69)
Travel Expenses ($ 5,008.16)
Total
Brazil Ministry Expenses ($51,038.21) (F)
MOZAMBIQUE
MINISTRY
Mozambique Ministry ( $7,380.00)
Total
Mozambique Ministry Expenses ($ 7,380.00) (G)
OPERATIONS
EXPENSES - USA OFFICE
Benevolence/Missions ($1,800.00)
CPA Fees for Tax filings ($ 995.00)
Office Expenses (stamps, toner, paper) ($ 720.05)
Charitable Org Renewal fee w/ State of TN ($
230.47)
Travel to Churches ($ 651.44)
Total
Operation Expenses - USA office ($4,396.96) (H)
LIVING
EXPENSES
Salary ($39,840.00)
Total
($39,840.00) (I)
Total Expenses (F+G+H+I)
($102,655.17) (J)
Ending
Balance in Bank Account
December
31, 2016 (E-J) $153,583.75 (K)
Designated
Gifts included in above bank balance carried over to 2017:
Retreat Center to be built in Brazil
$93,270.00
“Hands-On” Bible College $ 890.56
New Church Plants $ 5,420.00
Sao Mateus Rent $ 600.00
Monica’s Medical Expenses $ 1,129.98
TOTAL
$101,310.54 (L)
After
deducting designated funds from the bank account, the amount of BROLM's
undesignated balance at 12/31/16 is $ 52,273.21 (K-L)
GIFTS
THAT WERE GIVEN TO BROLM IN 2016:
38.54% COME FROM CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
61.46% COME FROM INDIVIDUALS (Family and
Friends)
Thanks
for your support!
BRAZIL RIVER OF LIFE MINISTRIES 2018 YEARLY BUDGET:
BRAZIL
MINISTRY
Evangelism $ 3,600.00
Discipleship $ 3,000.00
New Church Planting $12,000.00
Ministry/Missions/Benevolence $ 3,600.00
Government Taxes and Bank Fees $ 600.00
Total
Brazil Ministry $22,800.00 (A)
“HANDS-ON”
BIBLE COLLEGE $ 15,000.00 (B)
(Angola, Brazil,
Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and Portugal)
MOZAMBIQUE
MINISTRY $ 4,800.00 (C)
OPERATIONS
EXPENSES OFFICE USA
Operations $ 1,000.00
CPA $ 1,000.00
Newsletters and others $ 1,800.00
Traveling Expenses $ 2,000.00
Total
Operations Expenses $ 5,800.00 (D)
LIVING
EXPENSES
Salary $18,600.00
Home Allowance $ 11,400.00
Medical & Life Insurance $ 3,300.00
Retirement and Social Security $ 2,700.00
Total
Living Expenses $36,000.00 (E)
TOTAL
2018 EXPENSES (A+B+C+D+E) $84,400.00
BRAZIL
RIVER OF LIFE MINISTRIES 2017 YEARLY SUPPORT:
CHURCHES
– REGULAR SUPPORT:
Bethany Christian Church $ 3,800.00
Braceville Christian Church $ 1,500.00
Coffee Creek Christian Church $ 480.00
Colonial Heights Christian Church $ 6,000.00
Cornerstone Christian Church $ 6,000.00
Howard Christian Church $ 1,836.00
Journey Christian Church $ 7,300.00
Seymour Heights Christian Church $ 9,480.00
TOTAL
$36,396.00 (F)
INDIVIDUALS –
SUPPORT (Friends and Family):
$ 120.00
$ 360.00
$ 600.00
$ 600.00
$ 1,200.00
$ 1,200.00
$ 1,200.00
$ 1,200.00
$ 3,600.00
$ 6,000.00
TOTAL
$16,080.00 (G)
DESIGNATED
SUPPORT:
NEW
CHURCH PLANT:
First Christian Church $ 7,980.00
Seymour Heights Christian Church $ 3,840.00
TOTAL
$11,820.00 (H)
MOZAMBIQUE
SUPPORT:
Seymour Heights Christian Church $ 3,240.00
TOTAL
$ 3,240.00 (I)
TOTAL
SUPPORT (F+G+H+I) $67,536.00
BROLM 2018 Yearly Budget for the ministry in
Brazil, “Hands On” Bible College, Mozambique, Operations, Living and Mission
Trips is $96,400.00. If the supporters that have supported BROLM in 2017
continue with their regular support in 2018, between churches and individuals
that support the ministry in Brazil and Mozambique, we have committed
$67,536.00 FURTHERMORE, FOR BROLM TO REACH ITS GOAL FOR 2018, WE NEED
AN ADDITIONAL 24.98% OR $16,864.00 IN SUPPORT.
We
are praying that in 2018 we will begin building the Retreat Center in Brazil.
The estimated cost is $120,000.00 and we have received $7,210.00 towards this
goal so far in 2017.
We believe with all of our heart that God will
move peoples' hearts as He has moved yours, and we will reach this goal for His
honor and glory. We have many goals for Brazil River of Life Ministries for
2018 – We want to continue reaching many souls for the Lord in 2018, please
continue supporting BROLM!
Thank
you very much for supporting us! Your prayers and financial support are vital
for our lives and ministry.
May
the Lord richly bless you! God is good, He is among us, and He is acting!
In
His Love and Service,
Jeff and Monica Fife
