Rodolfo de Castro Miranda, from São José dos Campos, São Paulo, is a young man who has experienced ups and downs in his life. He went through the drama of chemical dependency, which brought him to a condition of unworthiness. Life underwent a profound change about two-and-a-half years ago. When he got home, he turned on his TV set, but he did not realize the channel to which it was tuned was TV Novo Tempo, specifically, the program Está Escrito.
There, hope was born vibrantly in Miranda’s heart. He even visited an Adventist church. Unfortunately, the fight against addiction made him fall again. As time passed and the process continued, he drew closer to God and the church. Five months ago, he started participating in a Bible class at Espaço Novo Tempo and met a new friend, who helped him persevere in his faith.
Miranda was baptized Tuesday morning, May 3. The ceremony took place at Rede Novo Tempo de Comunicação, in Jacareí, São Paulo. Through that following Thursday, 106 regional coordinators of the Novo Tempo Bible School from eight countries in South America were gathered there. This group works to strengthen the connection between people who consume Adventist media content and local churches.
Fast Service
Pastor Herbert Boger Jr., director of Personal Ministries for the South American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, explains that the meeting is a great training for these coordinators. The process works like this: At Novo Tempo's headquarters, the Bible school is established. It is an area responsible for organizing all contact with viewers, listeners, and internet users who request materials, especially Bible studies.
In this contact, professionals from the Bible school also direct some of those who are interested in Novo Tempo to the local churches. They are people who want, in addition to a study, visits and closer attention. They want, for example, to get to know the Adventist community near their homes. At the local level, therefore, NT regional coordinators (those at the event) help build this bridge with congregations (usually district pastors).
Numbers that Grow
From December 2019 to December 2021, 164,000 new students were enrolled in this great Bible school. The number of lessons sent in the same period reached 3,485,764. According to the Novo Tempo de Comunicação Network, just over 160,000 completed these delivered studies.
“But those numbers increase every day. Only we wish to be faster. The goal is to respond within 24 hours to each friend who finishes a Bible study and requests a visit or baptism. We also want these people to become missionaries and live the reality of discipleship,” concludes Boger Jr.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s news site