Rev. Dr. José Carlos Pezini

When you recognize your lack of skill and begin the daily discipline of personal growth in leadership, exciting things start to happen.
 –Vernon Samuels
 
When we are attentive to the movement of God around us on a daily basis, we rejoice in seeing how amazing he is and how he uses us as instruments in his hand despite our weaknesses. Through the years I have faced many challenges, but each one has been conquered in Christ Jesus. The following is a summary of my work since the last Board of Trustees’ meeting:
 
In October, I was in Boston for a leadership training event and to visit the Brazilian church in Fall River, Massachusetts. The Southern New England Presbytery asked me to help them find a pastor for Christ Life Community Church. I met with the search committee and members of the Presbytery to discuss and to help the committee understand the process of calling a new pastor.
 
In November, I represented The Outreach Foundation at a meeting in Recife, Brazil. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the major mission initiatives of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil in which The Outreach Foundation has been involved since (in some cases) 1999. The meeting was wonderful as we heard the accomplishments of our partnerships in NE Brazil, the Amazon, and Southern Brazil. One of the results of that meeting was the decision to create a written agreement between TOF and the IPIB Evangelism Department in order to facilitate and strengthen our partnership.  
 
In December, I went to Portugal to participate in the first graduation of the Leadership Training Center that I helped start. In addition to attending the ceremony, I spent a week preaching, teaching, and training pastors from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Portugal as well as pastors from Methodist and Baptist congregations.
 
The Rev. Mario de Gois, Secretary of the Evangelism Department of IPIB, came to the U.S. in January 2011    to work with me on the Memorandum of Understanding between his department and TOF. I hosted him as he visited partners in the Atlanta area and the office of The Outreach Foundation in Franklin, Tennessee.
 
I was back in Brazil from February 22 until March 10. While in Brazil, I met with the Rev. Aureo Oliveira, the new Moderator of the IPIB. I am very excited about his vision for the church, and how much he wants to invest in our partnership. I also led a team of students from Pittsburgh Seminary to study new church developments in Rio de Janeiro and Manaus. I consider this one of the most effective trips I have led in terms of the effect it had on the participants and on the way that the Brazilian hosts interacted with them. We had a follow-up meeting in early April with these students.
 
My ministry of coaching pastors through the internet is growing rapidly. I have been coaching fifteen pastors in the U.S. and around the world. This part of my work is time-consuming. I spend about three hours a day answering e-mails and talking on Skype, but I feel that it is part of my calling. Just yesterday I spent one hour with the Rev. Mario Gois (who is also a local church pastor) and his ministry team. We have been “meeting” by Skype every Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. for about two months.
 
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for your prayers and support during all of these years. Without them, I could not accomplish the will of God. It has been a privilege for me to work with all of you. 
 
Blessings,
Rev. Dr. J. C. Pezini
 
 
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