“There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6 (ESV) 

God’s global church is not something I had given much thought to before Impact.  Going to Brazil was something I never thought I’d do before I attended Impact. This month God has blessed me by immersing me into Brazilian culture and showing me the vastness of His global church.  Sadly, our time in Brazil is coming to an end.  It has been full of fantastic community, delicious food, and faithful believers.   

Our team has served alongside an organization called Viver, journeyed to the Amazon, attended the annual LifeShape Conference, and stayed with a Brazilian family in a host home experience.  At Viver, we helped serve kids and witnessed the work the Lord is doing through Viver. After serving there for two days, we flew to Manaus and joined Justice and Mercy on a boat as we prepared to set sail for the Amazon. This trip tested us—we were tired, hot, pushed out of our comfort zones, and sleeping in hammocks. Once again, we had to adjust to a new climate, new food, and the new challenge of life on a boat. Despite all this, God strengthened us, and we faithfully served him where we traveled. We visited three different communities, encouraging and being encouraged by faithful believers. We entertained kids, evangelized, worshipped, swam in the river, swam with dolphins, and shared testimonies. I was incredibly blessed on this trip by the love the communities had for each other, the joy the kids possessed, and the energy and perseverance of those on my team. I was in wonder at the fact that miles away from civilization, in remote villages, there were believers faithfully serving God. God’s global church is beautiful!  

After we returned from the Amazon, we attended the LifeShape Conference and stayed in ‘Host Homes’ with a Brazilian family. Our host home included six guys on our team and our LifeShape leader.  Her and her husband were incredibly kind, and once again we were witnessesof faithful believers in Brazil. At the conference, on the first night, the LifeShape band led us in worship, and their songs were filled with biblical truth. As I sat and listened to hundreds, of people worshipping, and Portuguese mixing with English, I was in awe of the greatness of the God I serve. God’s global Church is powerful! At this conference, we could meet up with other Impact students and hear what they were doing on their teams. During the conference, we were encouraged by talks on the Imago Dei, service, obedience, A.I., purpose, and other workshops and TED talks. This conference continually put me in awe of God’s greatness, mercy, and love. For three days, hundreds of people from different cultures, denominations, and languages all united under one love for one God and a desire to serve Him! God’s global church is unlimited! This trip pushed me outside of my bubble, and God showed me more of His power, His faithfulness, and His love. God humbled me to a point where I could focus on and rely on Him only.  

God grew me and my team so much, and I will always remember the chance I had to widen my glimpse of the God I serve and the church I’m a part of! 

Tanner Gernenz
Class 19 Fellow
Team Norte