In 1969, John Freeman, an American businessman and amateur pilot, decided to take his children on a mission and volunteer experience. 

He gathered a group of friends, who also piloted airplanes, and went to an island in the Bahamas with over 20 others to build an Adventist church. At that time, Maranatha International Flights was born. In its first 20 years of existence, it organized several missionary trips throughout the United States, Canada, and Central America, always with the same goal: building churches. 

Meeting Urgent Needs 

“We built a big school in several places. It changes the whole community because they use it for so many different things. It’s not just a building. It’s a place where people come together for everything. It’s the same thing with churches. If people have a church to go to, they know that’s where God is, and they go, and it changes the people, it changes the area around it,” Laura Noble, Maranatha’s charitable giving officer, says.  

The organization's primary goal is to enhance the quality of life in the communities it serves. Installing water wells is often the initial step. In remote areas where people previously had to walk miles to collect a bucket of water, there are now fountains in the courtyards of future churches or schools.

Noble adds, “You don’t realize how important it is until you run out. So when the well is in the church, it says a lot about Christians and the kind of Christians we are.” 

In 2024 alone, the goal has been to build around 300 churches, establish or renovate new school campuses, and drill 255 water wells in 10 more countries in South America, Africa, North America, and Central America. Of these, three projects are in Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay, focused on building churches. All of this work is being carried out by the hands of 1,800 volunteers who left their homes and dedicated time, resources, and efforts to improve the lives of thousands of people.

Often, the construction of schools and wells is the first contact with a community that is not necessarily familiar with the Bible or the message of the gospel. According to Noble, many families might be reluctant to enter a church, but they create a bond with the school, which in addition to formal education, becomes a point of support and social interaction. 

Creating and Strengthening Community 

Noble explains that in Zambia, approximately 3,000 congregations meet under trees, which limits the possibility of inviting more people to learn about the Bible. A more comfortable and pleasant environment facilitates more effective evangelism, and from these new constructions, additional Adventist churches are established in neighboring communities. 

Maranatha was invited to Panama several years ago to build a school in a remote location with few nearby facilities. According to Kenneth Weiss, the organization’s director of operations, there are now 1,400 students enrolled and approximately 30 new churches established in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Each location has its own specific needs and priorities. In some African countries, access to water may be the primary concern, while in others, the focus might be on building schools or churches. In all cases, these needs will be addressed by the efforts and financial contributions of volunteers and donors. Noble explains that much of the transparency in this process stems from the ability of donors to directly observe how their resources are being utilized.

Volunteering 

Volunteer work serves as a significant evangelistic tool, benefiting not only those in need but also attracting individuals who may have little or no previous contact with the Adventist Church. Participation in missions is open to all, regardless of church affiliation, and many people are drawn to the opportunity to contribute positively to their communities. These efforts often introduce participants to the gospel message, leading some to make the decision to be baptized.

This was Noble's experience. She was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in her youth but stopped attending. On a mission, she found her purpose and reconnected with Jesus. “For me, Maranatha is very personal. I feel a great passion for it. We also have people who are not Seventh-day Adventists and who have absolutely no connection to Adventism. And they don’t just go once, they go twice, and suddenly they are going every year, making it part of their Christian experience,” she points out. 

Today, Brazil is second only to the United States in the number of volunteers willing to work on projects promoted by Maranatha worldwide and in its own country. 

Maranatha Volunteers International is a nonprofit supporting ministry and is not operated by the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church. The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese website.