www.conhecerdeus.com está a chegar!

Over 200 million Portuguese speaking people in the world need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Around 10 million live in Portugal, plus an additional 10 million are Portuguese immigrants living mainly in Western Europe and North America. Over 40 million live in the Portuguese-speaking African countries, and the remaining majority lives in Brazil. They need to know that there is new life and eternal hope in Christ that goes far beyond the rituals and dogmas of the Roman Catholic tradition, in which many of them have been brought up. On the other hand, they need to realize that however tempting, the cults of Jehovah's Witness, Mormonism, Buddhism, Scientology and New Age will not fill their spiritual void. They need to understand that pagan rituals and superstitions are inconsistent with Biblical Christianity and that in the truth there is freedom and not oppression. They need to feel connected to Christ Himself, and experience the newness of joy that comes from a relationship with Him. They are seekers looking for the true God and Savior.

The Church of Christ in Portugal has been challenged in recent years to unite and take heart in the pursuit of the Great Commission. Under the sponsorship of the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance (AEP) Missions Committee, and in response to the many church growth examples throughout the Christian world, the Project Global Mission (GM) 2015 has been launched, with the vision statement: A church accessible to all people throughout the country, this generation!

With the significant expansion of internet audience in Portugal, namely through the government support making it easily accessible since first grade education and distributing computers to students and teachers of the secondary level, the time is right for the church to use the internet as an outreach tool, to bring the truth of the Gospel at the distance of a click to many people who are seeking God and some true meaning for their lives in cyberspace. This is particularly significant as there are in Portugal many places without any biblical Christian church, where people have currently no practical access to the true Gospel message.

A partnership between MEVIC and Top Chrétien will accomplish that very goal. The translation of the evangelical website Connaitre Dieu or "Knowing God" into Portuguese will serve as an essential tool for MEVIC in reaching out to Portuguese seekers on the internet. The site will lead seekers to a prayer of salvation, at which time they will be asked to provide information that would ultimately allow MEVIC to connect them to a church in their region. MEVIC will use its network of partnering churches, with AEP sponsorship, to provide follow up and to disciple seekers and new believers in the faith. In time, this movement will create the opportunity to start new Christian communities in places previously unreached, thus contributing to the fulfillment of the GM 2015 goals. Top Chrétien will provide technical support and website content, and MEVIC will translate and manage the content for the new site.

Based on survey data of Connaitre Dieu's historical impact and outcomes, the following projections reflect the success expected in the first 12 months of operating a Portuguese language site:
• 150,000 unique site visits,
• 18,000 prayers to accept Christ (based on 12% of the unique visitors),
• 3,000 requests for follow up are answered (based on 2% of the unique visitors),
• At least 1,000 people are in an online discipleship course,
• Mail at least 1000 Bibles,
• At least 500 people are connected to a local church.

In 2008, the internet is a meeting place. Its audience is a community. Its power is phenomenal. MEVIC believes that the indigenous physical church and the internet community can and will become symbiotic in the church’s greatest charge - discipling and baptizing the nations in the name of Christ.

The translation of connaitredieu.com into Portuguese will target the Portuguese speaking internet audiences who are hungry for the truth and who are searching for God online.

Language: According to the Wikipedia, Portuguese is one of the world's major languages, ranked 4th according to number of native speakers (approximately 250 million). It is the language with the largest number of speakers in South America, spoken by nearly all of Brazil's approximately 186 million population. It is also a major lingua franca in Portugal's former colonial possessions in Africa. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, also being co-official with Spanish and French in Equatorial Guinea, with Cantonese Chinese in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, and with Tetum in East Timor. It is also spoken by substantial immigrant communities, though not official, in Andorra, France, Luxembourg, Jersey, Paraguay, Namibia, South Africa, Switzerland, Venezuela, Canada and in the U.S. In some parts of India, such as Goa, Daman and Diu, Portuguese is still spoken.

Portuguese is one of the fastest-growing European languages, and, according to estimates by UNESCO, Portuguese is the language with the highest potential for growth as an international language in southern Africa and South America. The Portuguese-speaking African countries are expected to have a combined population of 83 million by 2050.

Use of Internet Technology: In Portugal, as of October 2006, 36.8% of households had high-speed Internet services and 78% of companies had Internet access. Paid Internet connections are available at many cafés, as well as many post offices. One can also surf on the Internet at hotels, conference centers and shopping centers, where special areas are reserved for this purpose. Free internet access is also available to Portuguese residents at "Internet Spots" across the country.

According to an official survey, it is expected that household Internet penetration will reach around 46 per cent by the end of 2007. This means that, on that date, most households with a PC will have an Internet connection. Recent data from the Eurostat Agency indicates that Portugal is among the top countries for internet usage, with 8 million users, corresponding to 73% of the population, which is clearly above the reported ratio for other western EU countries (EU 15), ranging between 55% (FR) and 66 % (UK).

A partnership between MEVIC and Top Chrétien will result in the translation of the evangelical website connaitredieu.com into Portuguese. The Portuguese version of "Knowing God" will be an essential medium to reach Portuguese seekers on the internet. The site will lead seekers to a prayer of salvation, at which time they will be asked to provide information that would ultimately allow MEVIC to connect them to a church in their region.

MEVIC will use a network of local churches affiliated in the AEP to provide follow up and to disciple seekers and new believers in the faith. MEVIC will make contact with responders by email, and will seek to answer every single inquirer personally through a team of trained and dedicated counselors, which will be formed by mature Christians from the partnering churches. In time, this movement will create the opportunity to start new Christian communities in places previously unreached, thus contributing to the fulfillment of the GM 2015 goals, and to the new church planting strategy promoted by MEVIC.