More than 400 employees of the administrative headquarters of the Adventist Church for the Federal District, Brazil’s Midwest region, and also the office responsible for eight South American countries took to the streets of Sobradinho for the delivery of the book The Great Controversy. The action is part of Hope Impact. In it, more than 5,000 copies of the adult version and 1,000 children's magazines were distributed, dealing with the end-time theme in an accessible way for a variety of readers.

Pastor Jean Abreu, president of the Adventist Church for the Federal District and surrounding area, highlighted the team's feelings when organizing and receiving the colleagues from the other administrative headquarters. "For us, it is a great joy to receive them here in our territory," he said. "The expectation is very high. We are receiving more than 400 employees, and we will distribute more than 5,000 books here in the Sobradinho region. We are very happy and hope that this book can impact the lives of the people with whom we will come into contact."

Pastor Stanley Arco, president of the Adventist Church in South America, said motivation was the differentiator for the employees to take to the streets to impact lives. "We feel motivated by each one of them; when we come together, all three take strength and encouragement. We look into people's eyes and see their motivation," he said.

Arco further explained the content of the book: "This book presents a millennial saga and its surprising ending: the story of the great conflict on earth. Theologically, it presents two things that are essentially important, and this will serve the community, which is the love of God over all things and the importance of the Bible—Scripture as a guide and offering hope for life."

Message of Hope

Pastor Matheus Tavares, president of the Adventist Church for the Brazilian Midwest, emphasized the differential of the delivery of The Great Controversy as a gift to the population: "It is an iconic book in the history of the Adventist Church; it brings what, for us, is the main and central message of the church."

"This was a work that involved many hands; it involved the Evangelism and Publications departments, several collaborators. And, through this, it was possible to impact people who were in schools, hospitals, and local businesses," said Pastor Gabriel dos Santos, Publications director, who recalled that it was a joint effort.

The differential for the well-known volume was the children's magazine, which presented the theme in a lighter, age-appropriate way. "Such a simple, didactic language, in comic book format, and fun to color. So children will learn about the return of Jesus and the conflict that is happening in a very ludic and illustrated way," explained Santos.

Pastor Paulo Prazeres, an evangelist from the Federal District, stressed the importance of the Hope Impact project. "To participate in the program and the project is extraordinary," he said. He also declared, "After the Bible, this is the most powerful book I have ever known.”

Prazeres emphasized the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: "Jesus is coming back, and this is the message that we are announcing—the truth—so that hearts can be transformed and many people can be saved, so that we can be in heaven definitively," he concluded hopefully.

Action on the Streets

The action took place on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in the Administrative Region of Sobradinho, in Brasilia, Federal District. The delivery was one more action of the Hope Impact project, which annually mobilizes the Seventh-day Adventist churches all over South America, in addition to the offices, to deliver different copies to various territories.

In Brazil alone, since 2006 (when the action began), more than 215 million books and magazines have been distributed. In South America, April 1, 2023 was the day when millions of Adventists took to the streets to deliver The Great Controversy, which will also be distributed in 2024. 

The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Portuguese-language news site.