Brazil, the largest country of Latin America, boasts the world's eighth largest economy. The evangelical church over the past 20 years has been growing at three times the rate of the population. Today, Brazil's evangelicals number some 19 million, or approximately 12 percent of the population.

In spite of the tremendous growth of the evangelicals, Brazil is far from being reached. Within its vast borders there are some 240 Indian tribes which represent today one of the biggest challenges facing the evangelical church.

The Sad State of Brazil's Indians
Brazil's Indian tribes are generally not large. Although there are some which have populations above 20,000 (Tikuna, Kaingang), most are somewhere between 100-1000. The small size of most tribes reveals a tragedy that has too often gone unnoticed. Diseases contracted by their contact with the white man have decimated many Brazilian tribes. Despite efforts by the Brazilian government to provide health services in remote Indian areas, many tribes continue to see their numbers shrink as they succumb to pneumonia and influenza passed on to them unwittingly by civilization.

Added to this sad situation is the greed of farmers, miners and cattle growers who often invade Indian lands, by force at times, and wreak ecological havoc as they burn the rain forest and push the Indians further into the jungle.

Relatively few of Brazil's government leaders care about the Indian tribes. The Indians' small numbers, geographical isolation, and lack of political know-how generally mean that they are often ignored when it comes to receiving government help for better education, health supplies or defining and defending the borders of their tribal land.

It's no wonder then that in some tribes many Indians take their own lives. With no hope for the future and precious few who seem to care about them, the suicide rates in some tribes are extremely high.

The Different Kinds of Tribes
Not all of Brazil's Indian tribes are alike. Besides the obvious differences of language, there are significant differences in how the Indians live.

The Village dwellers: Most of Brazil's tribes fall into this category. The Indian tribe has its land on which are many separate villages. Each village might have some 50-60 people who work together in the hunting, fishing and raising of crops. Most villages are situated on or near rivers. The tribes have their own chiefs, or sometimes a council of elders, who make the decisions.

The Protected: In the Valley of the Xingu River there are some 11 tribes living on a reserve that is protected by the government against incursions by any outsiders. While this has helped preserve the Indians' physical health, the government will not allow any missionaries to enter, even when the tribes request it. And the chiefs of several tribes have made such requests.

The Portuguese speaking: Many tribes are now physically located near cities where the influences of civilization have had their effect. Some tribes have become assimilated into Brazilian culture. But others, though no longer speaking their native language, have maintained their tribal customs, cultural values, and world-view. They speak Portuguese, but remain culturally distant from those that surround them. This is especially true in the Northeast region of Brazil where there are some 25 Portuguese-speaking tribes who have maintained their ethnic distinctives.

The Uncontacted: As amazing as it might seem, there are still primitive tribes hidden in Brazil's jungles. Recently a friendly contact was finally made with a tribe called the Korubos. No one yet has learned their language because the tribe is still afraid to maintain long-term contact. How many more tribes are there? No one really knows. But there are reports of many.

What Indians Believe
Indian belief is basically animistic. They believe in the existence of a spirit world, which interacts with the natural or physical world. The shaman serves as the mediator between the two worlds. Indians believe that everything has life, even inanimate objects like water and rocks. Some tribes even believe that certain spirit entities actually inhabit the water, rivers and jungles. Indian mythology, which consists of a series of legends passed orally from generation to generation, serves to explain the various phenomena of life: birth, death, the existence of good and evil, pain and suffering, as well as the origin of all things. The relationship between the spirit world and the natural world is so close that the origin of disease or illness, and the cause of crisis situations is always considered to be spiritual. Whenever someone becomes sick, for example, the shaman, or "doctor" is called upon to restore harmony with the spirit that has caused the infirmity. The same is true with such activities as hunting, fishing, and raising of crops. It is necessary to avoid breaking the established taboos in order to please the spirits and guarantee success.

The Advance of the Gospel
Missionary work among Brazil's Indians began in 1913. Until the early 1980s, foreign missionaries (New Tribes, Wycliffe, and others) conducted most of the work. How far has the gospel advanced over these years? We can rejoice in several key areas. In eight of Brazil's tribes there is an established evangelical church where the leadership has been passed into the hands of its own native leaders and pastors. Today there are several seminaries for training Indian pastors. Several tribes are now sending out their own missionaries to other tribes! There is an active work going on by evangelical missionaries among 100 tribes. Some are in the beginning stages of learning the language. Others have translated significant parts of Scripture and are evangelizing and planting churches. Still others are training native leaders and getting ready to pass the leadership on to the indigenous believers.

Despite the good news of what the Lord has already done, the challenge of the unfinished task is daunting. More than half of Brazil's tribes are still without any evangelical missionary presence. Can they hear the gospel in some other way? Sometimes yes. The 25 tribes of the northeast which speak Portuguese have the best chance to hear the gospel. But for the remaining tribes (more than 100) the opportunities are greatly reduced due to their linguistic and geographic isolation.

The Translation of God's Word
We see a similar situation when we inquire into the progress of the translation of Scripture over the past years. There is much for which to be thankful: 26 tribes already have the New Testament, and in 57 tribes there is translation work currently in progress.

But there is much to pray about. At least 33 tribes definitely need their own translation (no other language is similar enough). These still do not have one verse of God's Word translated into their language! There are another 87 tribes whose situation needs further study, but many of these will certainly need their own translation as well.

Brazil's Evangelical Church
Although in the past foreign missionaries have conducted much of the work among Brazil's Indian tribes, big changes are now happening. The Brazilian government no longer issues visas to foreigners intending to serve as missionaries among the Indian tribes, so the young evangelical church of Brazil must take an even more active role in reaching its own Indians. Brazilians have already been very involved for many years. New Tribes of Brazil now sends out some 150 Brazilians to the tribes, joining those sent out by the Brazilian Baptist Convention (30) and some 20 other agencies. In all, some 500 Brazilians are already serving as missionaries among Brazil's Indian tribes.

But the potential is much greater. In Brazil today there are some 70,000 evangelical churches and a growing missionary movement. Back in 1987 Brazil hosted a huge Ibero-American missions conference. Since that watershed event, the number of Brazilian missionaries serving outside of Brazil has tripled! We can rejoice that 13 percent of all Brazilian cross-cultural missionaries are serving among peoples in the 10-40 Window.

However, the number of Brazilians serving among the Indian tribes has remained static. Back in 1989 some 500 Brazilians worked with Indians. Today there are still only about 500. That's why new efforts are being made to help the Brazilian church understand the great needs represented by Brazil's Indian tribes. A special edition of an Adopt A People Manual has just been published which highlights the challenge of Brazil's Indians. Together with a set of prayer cards and transparencies on the Indians, this "Indian Awareness Kit" is now being used in churches around Brazil.

New cooperation among the Brazilian mission boards and agencies which work with Indians is now helping to better strategize and deploy resources. Some national initiatives, like Brazil 2010, will be including all of Brazil's Indian tribes as target areas in their effort to mobilize Brazilians toward fulfilling the goal of seeing a healthy church planted in every community by the year 2010.

The Challenge of the New Millennium
Certainly there are other people groups within Brazil which are very needy: the large Japanese and Chinese immigrant communities, the Gypsies, and the two million Muslim Arabs there represent key challenges. Also there is the challenge of the Portuguese-speaking Amazon River dwellers, some five million, who are separated from the gospel primarily due to their geographical isolation. Thus, as we move into the 21st century we pray for the Lord to move in mighty ways to complete the unfinished task represented by Brazil's Indian tribes. The challenges are great. The jungle can intimidate many with its isolation, dangers and disease. The tribal populations are small, so it's a labor of special love and divine compassion. Language learning can be an intimidating task requiring patience and perseverance. The government and secular sociologists do all they can to discourage mission work. But we know that our Lord is greater. And His desire is to redeem precious lives from EVERY nation, tribe, people, and language.

Interceding with the Father
As we look to the future, may we rejoice for what the Lord has already done, the fruit of many years of sacrificial service. But may we also be interceding for what He yet desires to do.

• Pray for the Brazilian church to catch a greater vision for the urgency of reaching the remaining unreached tribes.
• Ask God to bless the cooperation among Brazil's mission boards and agencies and cause it to increase.
• Pray for more Brazilian young people to become inflamed with a passion for the Indians and be willing to face the challenges of reaching them.
• Intercede for the Brazilians who train new missionaries, especially the specialized courses offered in linguistics, anthropology and jungle survival.