CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF GREAT COMMISSION WORK OF BFM IN BRAZIL

Reflections from Jonathan Turner

I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father and to Baptist Faith Missions for the wonderful privilege that I was given to travel to Brazil on the one-hundredth year anniversary of the Great Commission work of Baptist Faith Missions in that great nation. Accompanying me on this trip was my sister, Kimberly DePalma. She drove from Virginia to meet me. We left my home in Kentucky on Tuesday, September 5th to catch our first flight out of Saint Louis. My father-in-law, Ken Greenwell, who lives in Saint Peters, Missouri graciously allowed us to leave my sister’s car in his garage and then drove us to the airport.

We boarded our flight bound for Houston with much excitement and some trepidation. We were excited because I had not been able to visit Brazil for eighteen years and Kim had not been back for thirty-seven years when she left at the age of seventeen. We were filled with trepidation because I had not been able to renew my Brazilian passport. I have dual citizenship and we were not sure what to expect when we would arrive in São Paulo and would be required to go through immigration.

We left Houston in the evening hours and after an approximately 9-hour flight we arrived in the São Paulo metro area at the Guarulhos International Airport Wednesday morning, September 6th. We went through immigration, and I showed my American Passport. The Federal Police officer looked at my passport, typed some information into her computer, and then asked if I had any Brazilian paperwork. Kim and I had spoken to a Brazilian friend who advised me to take all my Brazilian paperwork with me including my Brazilian birth certificate. I am thankful that I listened to his advice. I showed the officer my birth certificate. She entered more information into her computer and gave me the okay to proceed through. What a relief that was and an answer to prayer! Thanks be to our God who put a friendly face in front of us and who opened the door for us to enter the country legally and without any problems.

From the airport we took an Uber ride across the great city of São Paulo where we saw miles and miles of skyscrapers many of them filled with people who need the gospel of Jesus Christ.  BFM has one missionary family, Judson and Raquel Hatcher and their four lovely children, who are trying to reach those folks. They are worthy of your support. The Uber ride took about two hours due to the distance and the traffic.

Upon arriving at the Hatcher’s Kim and I showered, changed our clothes, packed a few things into our overnight bags and drove with Raquel and her four Hatcher kids for six hours to the interior of São Paulo state. We arrived around 11:00 p.m. at the house of Pastor Sergio Balbo and wife, Cris. They were gracious hosts. We enjoyed our time with them, and I feel like we made some lifelong friends. He is the pastor of the Igreja Batista da Fe in the city of Garça. They will be building a new building soon, God willing. 

The next morning, we went with Pastor Sergio and Cris to the city of Lupércio to attend the one-day conference that Missionary Judson Hatcher had invited us to attend. It was well attended by several churches, their pastors, and pastors’ wives. I had the opportunity to preach that morning, Thursday, September 7th which happened to be Independence Day in Brazil. I was also privileged to sit on two different panels with Pastor David Pitman and several Brazilian pastors and answer questions from pastors and others in attendance. It was a very encouraging time with good music, good preaching, good fellowship, and good food. It was the first time this type of conference had been organized to bring the churches together. Many of these churches were started by faithful missionaries John and Alta Hatcher. The conference was organized to celebrate their shared heritage, to allow the pastors to network, and encourage each other. It was a well-organized event and they have already begun planning next year’s conference. I am so thankful to Missionary Judson Hatcher for the invitation to come and to participate. After a long day we returned with our hosts to their home where we spent the night again.

The next day, Friday, September the 8th, we were picked up by Raquel Hatcher and we made the drive back to São Paulo City. That night Kim and I were privileged to take the Hatchers out for a great meal and to enjoy some great fellowship. Saturday, September 9th, we left São Paulo and flew to Cuiabá. Cuiabá is the capital city of Mato Grosso, a state about the size of Oklahoma and Texas. Cuiabá is the place where Kim and I spent most of our childhood years. It is the place where in 1973 my dad, Missionary Richard Turner, traveled with Missionary John Hatcher to survey the city and to hold some evangelistic services. God blessed and land was bought, a church building was built, and God filled it with people. I would encourage you to visit the website bfmnow.org and read the history of this Great Commission work under our Legacy Library where all the previous letters of faithful missionaries have been digitized. You can read the letters that Dad wrote from this time. That church, Igreja Batista Boa Esperança (Good Hope Baptist Church) is still in existence and several other works have been started out of this church in other locations in the city of Cuiabá and in the state of Mato Grosso. Kim and I had the privilege of spending five days with folks that were saved, baptized, and added to a New Testament church during the ministry years of my parents in Brazil. They shared their testimonies with us and their memories of our parents. This Great Commission work in Cuiabá and the surrounding areas was a great work of God through faithful missionaries, Richard and Wanda Turner, Bob and Betty Creiglow, George and June Bean, and Harold and Ursula Draper.  While we were in Cuiabá, we visited several churches. I preached Sunday morning, September 10th, at the Boa Esperança church. That was a real honor and privilege. It was also a very emotional time for Kim and me to return to the church where we grew up. I was baptized in that church after being saved at the age of seven during our furlough in Lexington. That Sunday night we visited the Igreja Batista Bereana (the Berean Baptist Church). I had the opportunity to speak for a few minutes and share a little of BFM’s history.

Tuesday, September 12th, our host in Cuiabá invited family and friends to his house for a fish fry.  There were approximately 30 people present. He asked me to speak, and I gladly accepted.  Then several others gave testimonies of what my parents meant to them and how God used them in their lives.  Mission dollars from churches and individuals in the United States were used to send my parents to Cuiabá, to buy land, to build a building, to financially support my parents so that the gospel could be given to people in that city.  Some of those people were at that fish fry recounting God’s blessings and their salvation in Christ. Those dollars were not wasted! Let’s be encouraged to support missions, to support missionaries in places like Cuiabá and São Paulo.  There is still a great work to do.  Christ has not yet returned which means that the Great Commission still needs to be the focus of churches. 

Wednesday night, September 13th, we visited the Igreja Batista Jardim do Pinheiros (Garden of the Pines Baptist Church). This was a church started by Missionaries Harold and Ursula Draper.  This church is without a pastor and has been for about two years now. Pray for them.

Thursday, September 14th we began the long journey back to the United States. Our time had flown by, and it was difficult to leave, but we also were missing our families back in the States. We arrived safely back in Saint Louis, Friday, September 15th. My hope is to return, God willing, in a year or two to visit Cuiabá again but also to visit some other works in Brazil. I would encourage everyone to make a trip to the mission field and visit one of our missionaries.

Finally, let me quickly share some other ways God used my sister and me while we were in Brazil. We had some God-ordained appointments to keep that we were not aware of when we got on that first plane in Saint Louis. On our flight from São Paulo to Cuiabá on Saturday, September 9th we sat in a row with a young man named Gladson. Kim was the first to strike up a conversation and he was more than willing to talk to us. After a while, the conversation turned to spiritual matters. He shared with us that he had been raised in some type of Assembly of God Church. However, he could not give us a good testimony of salvation. He also shared that he had been taught and still believed that one can lose their salvation. Kim and I both were able to share the gospel with him. We are now friends on social media, and I am planning on sending him some gospel material. Pray for God to bless those efforts.

Our second God-ordained appointment was with a young man from Sweden. This young man had never heard the gospel. He was staying in the house where we were staying. He was in Brazil doing some volunteer work with two brothers of our host. He went with us to the Sunday morning service at Boa Esperança where I was preaching, and the gospel was given. Imagine that! God brings an American/Brazilian to Cuiabá, Brazil to preach in a service where a Swede who has never heard the gospel will attend a Baptist church service for the first time. Who but God! 

Our third God-ordained appointment was with an Uber driver. He was a young man who also had been raised in some kind of evangelical church but was not currently attending. During our conversation he shared that his mom still attended church, and he tried to do good, and that he said his prayers every day. We were able to share a little bit of the gospel with him during our short ride. Only God knows how those interactions will be used.

I pray this recounting of our trip to Brazil will encourage you and be used of God in some way in your life to bless you and increase your love for missions particularly the work that God is doing through the missionaries of Baptist Faith Missions.

The young man, Gladson, we met on our flight to Cuiabá and were able to witness to.
A view of the church started by Missionary Richard Turner and that has been used to start other churches.
Just a few of our friends came to see us off from Cuiabá to return Stateside. These are folks that were saved years ago and are still serving the Lord.
One view of the attendees of the conference in Lupércio, São Paulo. It was a great event.
A view of the skyline of São Paulo City where Missionary Judson and family are serving. This place is immense. 

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BFM Outreach—G3 2023

Update from Mark Pyles, BFM Director

The G3 Conference in Atlanta on September 21-23 was filled with amazing preaching on the sovereignty of God, and great worship from a crowd of over 8,400 people. And it was such a privilege to represent BFM at our booth and conversing with so many people. Our conversations varied from potential missionaries (one of which was a medical doctor missionary seeking a new agency), to pastors seeking new missions agencies to support, to members from various churches across the country, to friends and acquaintances.

The booth was manned by Sheridan Stanton and myself, joined by John Moore, who oversees the missions ministry at Grace Baptist in Fairborn.

It was such an honor to explain to so many people there what makes BFM so unique — particularly our doctrinal beliefs concerning the sovereignty of God in salvation and that we do not send missionaries but come alongside the local church as they send missionaries. So many people showed great interest in us when we shared those distinctives.

It was a humbling privilege to represent the wonderful missions ministry of BFM. We pray that the contacts made result in new relationships and that God would use them for the furtherance of the gospel across the world!


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The Pitmans – Ministry Trip to Brazil

David & Kym Pitman traveled to Brazil during the month of September to represent BFM.

By the Numbers

  • 2055 miles traveled in 3 states
  • 24 churches visited/influenced
  • 20 pastors & their families received personal visit / ministered/prayed with
  • 21 cities
  • 1 foster care center
  • 9 speaking engagements (David)
  • 2 debate panels
  • 4 speaking engagements (Kym Pitman)
  • 1 pastors & leaders breakfast with 43 participants
  • 5 Sunday services and 320 people total
  • Saturday Churches Gathering in Paraná with 130 present
  • Conference with 250 people present
  • 40 – 50 decisions (salvation, baptism, reconciliation, ministry)
The PItmans with Jud Hatcher’s Family & Friends

Kym Pitman’s Synopsis

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

It was my honor to speak to the ladies of Brazil several times during our visit, concluding with a devotion
on fruitfulness at the September 7th event using the deep-rooted tree of Psalm 1 as my text. The ladies
were very attentive and patient while my translator, Carol, and I did our best to communicate the same
thoughts.

Also, the homes that we visited were very hospitable. And the bond we have in Christ overcame many
language barriers. It was truly a foretaste of Heaven being there with brothers and sisters with whom
we will spend eternity worshiping our Lord.

It was also a trip full of wonder as we saw places that we had only heard about when missionaries were
on furlough, or that we had read about in the Mission Sheets. I am so thankful for the goodness of God
that allowed me to meet in person those ministering in Brazil who still faithfully honor their Lord and
their mentors, to see the places in which they now minister, and to have the opportunity to hear their
prayer requests so that I can understand better how to pray for their specific needs. These are
memories and friendships that I will always treasure. Many thanks to Jud and Raquel Hatcher for their
invitation and their hospitality.


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Field Representative Report – August 2023

An update from Pastor David Pitman, Field Representative

2023 began with George Sledd and Sheridan Stanton presenting BFM to the Founders Conference in Florida.

In March, Darrell Messer and David Pitman were with Pastor Mark Campbell at Emmanuel Baptist, Salyersville, Kentucky.

Our team made its second visit to CBTS in March. 

In March BFM also displayed at the Addyston Baptist Church’s Men’s Retreat (Ohio) and the Spring Conference at Grace Baptist Church of Fairborn, Ohio.

Darrell Messer and Mark Pyles will lead our team’s return to G3, Atlanta in September.

David & Kym Pitman and Jonathan Turner are representing BFM in Brazil.

October 19-20, David & Kym Pitman and Dan Hillard will represent at DBTS in Detroit.

Pray for us!


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State of BFM Activities (2021-2022)

A brief report on the state of BFM activities, especially over the last calendar year of 2021 to present. Update presented by Directors Dave Parks and Jonathan Turner at the 2022 BFM Spring Conference.


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BFM Outreach at CBTS National Conference

An Update from Pastor David Pitman, BFM Field Representative

We are thankful for opportunities to introduce BFM to new friends. We are available to present at conferences and at churches. In March, Jonathan Turner, Darrell Messer, and I met over 250 registrants at the first CBTS National Conference in Louisville, Ky. The conference was also live-streamed to an audience, in English and Spanish, averaging 150 viewers. Our 90 second advertisement, prepared by Philip Hatcher, was broadcast repeatedly throughout the conference and live-stream. We were delighted to meet Paul Washer who was first introduced to missions by our beloved Homer Crain, long time BFM missionary in Peru.

We were delighted to meet Paul Washer who was first introduced to missions by our beloved Homer Crain, longtime BFM missionary in Peru.
Directors Jonathan Turner and David Pitman
Director Darrell Messer
Chatting with conference attendees
BFM ad in the conference program

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BFM National Conferences Outreach

An Update from Pastor George Sledd

“Sheridan Stanton and I represented BFM at the annual 2022 Founders Conference in Fort Myers, FL over January 20-23. It was a great time of fellowship and hearing the Word of God. We were able to distribute nearly 100 BFM books/outreach handouts to those who came by our display booth. We are hoping that God will lead other pastors and churches to come on board to partner and help us with missions.”

Thank you to those who have given and to those who are giving to help with the expenses for these outreach efforts!

A close-up of the conference display booth
Sheridan Stanton & George Sledd, Directors of BFM, at the National Founders Conference in Fort Myers, Florida

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BFM NATIONAL CONFERENCES OUTREACH – WILL YOU HELP US?

Over the past three years, Directors of BFM have been attending and representing BFM in other national Conferences. These Conferences are also attended by numerous pastors and members of like-minded churches that share our core values of the Doctrines of Grace, local church, and Baptist distinctives. There are many such churches and brethren whom we have met and have yet to meet.

Through these contacts, God has been pleased to open their hearts with interest and inquiries concerning the ministries of BFM missionaries. Some have begun partnering with BFM with their monthly support. We bless God and thank them for the opportunities God has opened up for our acquaintance with one another, fellowship around our common convictions, and partnerships in support giving.

All of these efforts have been under the leadership of our David Pitman, our Field Representative. We want to pass on to you a request from him [and us] to help us with the expenses for these and future outreach opportunities we are planning.

Dear Brethren,

I am very thankful that we were able to present BFM at the October G3 Conference to over 6,400 attendees. We are praying for abiding fruit like partnering sending churches and missionary candidates and missionary support contributions. 

There will be no G3 Conference in 2022. I propose that we return to the Founders Conference in January, 2022. What I ask is for 6 churches to give $300 each to help with the cost. I will ask Addyston to be one of those churches. 

Thank you.

David Pitman, Field Representative

Of course, these outreach efforts require expenses. BFM has purchased the opportunity to set up an exhibit table and display along with numerous other ministries in attendance at these Conferences. We have also produced handout cards and other materials to be distributed. We have funded the travel and accommodations for our Directors to attend and personally represent BFM.  

Please join us in praying for the Lord’s pleasure in these activities and in your financial sharing in the expenses to continue this valuable outreach.

Here are some sample images from the last Conference.


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