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Will This Rock in Rio?: Finding God in an Urban Culture
Spreading the kingdom of God through relationships.
In the mid-1960s, two college friends, Ken Lottis and Jim Petersen, along with their wives and small children, embarked on a surprising adventure. They settled in the Brazilian university city of Curitiba with the objective of launching a ministry among students. They faced overwhelming obstacles. But emboldened by biblical promises, they walked the streets and prayed that God would open doors of friendship with students.
One by one, they watched initial friendships become networks that included friends, classmates, hometown sweethearts, relatives, and parents. A slow trickle became a steady stream as a new generation of young Brazilians came to faith in Christ. A crucial moment came when Ken and Jim helped several growing believers move to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to find work and settle down with their families. They found that the lessons they learned in Curitiba also worked in the hustle and bustle of Rio and São Paulo, cities of more than eight million each.
As the Lottises and the Petersens immersed themselves in the Brazilian culture, they left behind the familiarity of their North American evangelical heritage to map out new paths for nonreligious people to find their way into the kingdom of God. The lessons they learned proved cross-culturally transferable, not only to Rio and São Paulo but also to other cities around the world. Anyone interested in reaching a city with the gospel can benefit from these remarkable stories and lessons.
Also included in this Jim Petersen’s “Six Critical Factors to a Multiplying Ministry.”
In the mid-1960s, two college friends, Ken Lottis and Jim Petersen, along with their wives and small children, embarked on a surprising adventure. They settled in the Brazilian university city of Curitiba with the objective of launching a ministry among students. They faced overwhelming obstacles. But emboldened by biblical promises, they walked the streets and prayed that God would open doors of friendship with students.
One by one, they watched initial friendships become networks that included friends, classmates, hometown sweethearts, relatives, and parents. A slow trickle became a steady stream as a new generation of young Brazilians came to faith in Christ. A crucial moment came when Ken and Jim helped several growing believers move to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to find work and settle down with their families. They found that the lessons they learned in Curitiba also worked in the hustle and bustle of Rio and São Paulo, cities of more than eight million each.
As the Lottises and the Petersens immersed themselves in the Brazilian culture, they left behind the familiarity of their North American evangelical heritage to map out new paths for nonreligious people to find their way into the kingdom of God. The lessons they learned proved cross-culturally transferable, not only to Rio and São Paulo but also to other cities around the world. Anyone interested in reaching a city with the gospel can benefit from these remarkable stories and lessons.
Also included in this Jim Petersen’s “Six Critical Factors to a Multiplying Ministry.”
- GenresChristian
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2010
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 28, 2025
Wow what an incredible story!!!!! Literally think I might start it over from the beginning. I don’t know that I would recommend this book to most people, but anyone who’s currently in overseas ministry in a very relational, warm-culture location NEEDS to read it. And then anyone who’s in ministry (especially with college students or young couples or church plants) could REALLY benefit from it. And then any believer could be encouraged about how God works through prayer and perseverance!
February 26, 2016
In this autobiographical work, Ken Lottis with the help of his teammate Jim Petersen describe the process of beginning what later became a movement among students in Brazil in the second half of the XX century. This process was filled with surprises and discoveries about matters such as mission work, evangelism, and church in Brazilian context. The book is a valuable resource for beginning missionaries as an example of work on a mission field in Latin America. To get a grasp of Lottis and Petersen's work, one can read the appendix B, which describes the six components of their work with examples.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews