Asia and Africa – Churches Learning Maranatha’s Approach to the Christian Faith

In the last ten years, hundreds of pastors from countries in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe have started learning and implementing Maranatha’s unique teachings and practices.  We have country profiles for about thirty nations where pastors have contacted us through this website and are corresponding with us regularly and receiving teachings and sermons by email and regular post.  We hope that you will find these brief summaries helpful, and will use the special prayer needs listed on each profile as a guideline for your intercession on their behalf.

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Maranatha in Brazil: “Igreja Cristã Maranata - Presbitério Espírito Santense”

In late 1967, a small body of churches emerged in a Brazilian coastal town called Vila Velha (adjacent to Vitoria, the capital of Espirito Santo state), as the culmination of an evangelical revival that had blossomed there.  Completely committed to following the direction of the Holy Spirit in every situation they faced, the churches grew steadily and multiplied rapidly throughout Brazil over the following decades.  As of 2009, Igreja Cristã Maranata had more than 8,000 close-knit congregations, several large seminar or conference facilities arond the country, and branches in other countries, primarily in Brazilian expatriate communities in Europe and North America.  Its headquarters and leadership remain located in Vila Velha, and it is the source of our essential doctrines and practices.

The purpose of this website is to give away the blessings we have received from the Lord through Maranatha.  We believe that other churches would benefit from the revelations and teachings and could have more profound experiences with the Holy Spirit.  Our goal is not to recruit people or groups into the Maranatha organization, but rather to share spiritual tools that would equip others to serve the Lord more effectively and to hear from Him more clearly.  Ultimately, our real goal is that the Lord would have more faithful servants who are attentive to His voice and walking in step with His plans.

We have tried to make the site very easy to navigate so that you can find what you are looking for.  We’ve abandoned the use of passwords on our site for three reasons: 1) passwords unnecessarily hinder pastors in poor, developing countries from using the website by creating problems with older versions of web browsers and slower Internet connections in remote regions; 2) passwords alienate visitors to the site and go against our obvious goal of spreading our beliefs to as many people as possible; and 3) passwords are not very effective in preventing those with bad intentions from accessing the site unless they are very elaborate and complicated.   As part of our move to drop our previous password system, we have also stopped including materials intended for internal distribution within Maranatha Churches in Brazil.

The sermons and articles are all free, and you are welcome to use them, preach them, share them with others, etc.  We hope they produce eternal fruit in the process.  If you translate any of the sermons into another language, please send us a copy so that we can post it on the site and make your translation available to others.  On this site you will already find some translations in Urdu اردو, Chichewa, French, and Swahili.  We hope to have more in the future as readers send us their translations of other sermons and articles.

The materials here were written by members of the MaranathaGlobal website team. Please note that we usually do not post sermons, outlines, or announcements sent to us by others.  It is not the purpose of our site to be a clearinghouse for messages from dozens of different pastors and denominations – there are many other sites that already provide that service more effectively than we could.  Instead, our focus is solely on disseminating the revealed teachings that we have received from the Lord, and articles explaining Maranatha’s beliefs and practices.  The images and graphics on the site are from our personal photo collections, or from sites providing free clipart and photos.

This is not an “official” Maranatha website – it is not endorsed or funded by Maranatha Christian Church or by the Presbytery in Brazil.   The costs associated with this site are covered by private individuals, and it is maintained by a group of devoted Christians located near Houston, Texas.

We hold to the classic truths of the Christian faith (including a belief in the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, Inerrancy of Scriptures, the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and active participation in the Body of Christ). The name “Maranatha,” an Aramaic phrase referring to the Lord’s return, reflects our belief in the imminent return of Christ. Our focus is on fostering individual spiritual growth, learning to have God direct our lives, and working together as the Body of Christ.

Maranatha today is both an organization (that is, a denomination) and an overall approach to Christian spirituality and faith. On the denomination side, Maranatha is a close-knit group of churches (more than 8000 in 2009) based in Brazil, where it has its headquarters, leadership, and most of its pastors and churches (called “Igreja Cristã Maranata”). It also has a few branches in other Latin American countries, in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, which work directly under the Brazilian leadership, and which strive to be identical to the Brazilian churches except in the language used in their services.

Unlike most churches, we encourage pastors to support themselves with secular careers and volunteer their time and talents to the service of the Lord, rather than receiving support or salary from the church. Some Maranatha pastors are attorneys, physicians, accountants, and engineers; others are small business owners, taxi drivers, construction contractors, etc. The lay membership of the local church takes an active role in both the spiritual and practical functions within the church, including many of the functions traditionally performed by full-time ecclesiastical personnel.

In addition, Maranatha churches never solicit offerings during our services or ask visitors to identify themselves or sign up for anything. Our services typically last for an hour or less, and involve singing a few contemporary hymns, prayer, and a brief message from the Bible. Readers who are curious about the official doctrine of the church may find our more detailed Statement of Faith helpful.

As an overall approach to Christianity, we are a growing community of loosely affiliated churches and ministries around that world that are implementing the same basic teachings. We are having similar experiences with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and God’s continuing guidance, direction, and revelation.

We hope that this introduction proves helpful to you. We desire to share with you some of the joy and peace that the Lord has put in our hearts. We have a received a tremendous blessing in Maranatha and we are eager to share it with others. We are not looking for other churches to change their name to “Maranatha” or to merge with our organization; nor are we able to provide financial support to every group that requests it. We simply want to spread the blessings of God’s revelation to as many people as possible. We welcome and desire inquiries through this website by pastors or groups of believers who share similar goals and would like to learn more. If you would like one of our pastors to contact you, please send us an email.

Get the Seven Basic Points of Maranatha’s Approach