South American Call: Ministry on the Amazon
Where you come from or how old you are shows no discrimination when following the call of God upon your life to be involved in missions.
Just ask Joe Mercer, who, born on a little farm in Louisiana, and later in 1999 after pastoring for many years, experienced the influence of a career missionary that was the catalyst for God to point him in the direction of where he is today … the director of South American Call.
Initially, Joe went to Peru, where he spent several years working high up in the Andes Mountains, building churches. One large church was built in Huaraz, 10,000 ft. high. Then, God began pushing Joe toward the Amazon River, specifically the cities of Pucallpa and Iquitos. In Iquitos, the ministry used a large boat to preach to every village while digging water wells and offering hygiene instruction. But, Pucallpa was a different story—a nasty, dangerous, noisy, horrible place to work. Joe had asked God to not send him there, but his request was not granted. Yet, thousands have been saved as a result of the work done on the Amazon River.
The ministry has progressed to a different venue where a Congresos on the river is held three times each year ($6,000 to $12,000 per event), with once a year where a soup kitchen is provided ($2,000 to $3,000). Countless other activities happen on multiple trips including Pastors of the River; feeding 120 children per day, teaching them about Jesus and the Bible; Christmas at the soup kitchens to provide clothes, shoes, underwear, and school supplies for the kids; the School of Christ program; and new for 2018 will begin a yearly teaching conference for pastors and leaders on the river.
More and more people are being reached with the Gospel in the jungle. Those who are taught go back into their villages, spreading the Word of God, tripling South American Call’s efforts.
But, with success comes added financial responsibility, as inflation affects this ministry, as well. Please pray about God speaking to your heart concerning one of these projects. To support, please contact Church of God world Missions and designate project #065-0125.
(Source: Church of God World Missions)
