Luz Project currently focuses on 8 ministries. Our mission trip volunteers serve in 7 of these each summer, while “Food For Favelas” is a ministry ongoing throughout the year in communities throughout Alagoas, Brazil. See below for details about each ministry!
We believe that the “church” is a body of believers. Our focus is building sanctuaries for church bodies so they can worship in communities where they cannot afford it. Since 1998, our mission team has partnered with the Alagoas Southern Baptist Convention to build over 31 churches in needy areas throughout the state.
Throughout the year, we collect clothing & small toy donations. On each mission trip, we schedule times in communities to distribute the clothes to children and families in need. Our significant focus is baby & kids clothing.
Each mission trip, we focus on distributing food in needy communities in two ways: soup kitchens & food baskets. Our food baskets include basic Brazilian cooking staples like rice, beans, pasta, farinha, flour, oil, powdered milk, sugar etc. Each of these baskets will give a family of 4 enough food to last an estimate of 2 weeks. The cost of each basket is approximately $40. Since 1998, we have been able to distribute over 1850 of these to assist needy families.
Also during the year, we collect personal hygiene and first aid items. Items may include: tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, shampoo, anti-itch cream, Neosporin, bandages etc. We distribute these items to families that may not have the resources or availability to purchase themselves.
Each mission trip, our children’s ministry team works with children to deliver the gospel through Bible lessons, crafts, games and music. This ministry is based on the curriculum of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) and has been very effective through the years where hundreds of children have come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Many women on our mission team serve in a ministry focused on leading a Bible study to teach the word of God and encourage Women and Teens in their daily struggles of living in a dark, poverty-stricken society. This ministry is also aimed towards making each person feel special in God’s eyes in how He created them. We also serve the ladies by offering to style their hair, provide manicures & pedicures, and ultimately share the light and love of Christ.
Each summer, our sports ministry conduct clinics for kids teaching them basic basketball fundamentals of dribbling, passing, and shooting. In addition, this ministry’s team members provide daily devotions, personal testimonies and participate in several scrimmages with club level Brazilian teams.
Food For Favelas is an ongoing ministry throughout the year where our Brazilian volunteer team serves needy communities by distributing food and clothing to families in need. We focus on serving 6-8 areas in a year. These “favela” or slum town communities we serve are the most poverty stricken areas in the state. In many of these communities, houses are made of plastic or scrap wood and do not have access to electricity or running water.