In February 2015, Deacon Larry Oney, founder of Hope and Purpose Ministries, was invited to preach and teach at several of the sessions during the annual Come and See religious event during Carnival in Mato Grosso, Brazil. 120,000 people gathered from February 14th through 17th for four days of preaching, teaching, fellowship and sharing the joy of Christ Jesus. The sincere devotion and humility of Brazilian Catholics created a faith-filled atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit moved in a powerful way.
Deacon Oney preached at several sessions on four key scriptures:
Since we live by the spirit, let us keep step with the spirit (Galatians 5:25);
But you dwell in holiness O Praise Israel, (Psalms 21:22);
I came to serve not to be served (Mark 10:45);
Do whatever He tells you (John 2:5).
What a great time Hope and Purpose Ministries and Deacon Larry Oney had with the people of Brazil! You can view a video interview between Deacon Larry Oney and the hosting Archbishop, Archbishop Milton of the Archdiocese of Cuiaba, Brazil where over 85% of the population is Catholic. Note in the interview, the Archbishop mentions that over 120,000 were gathered during the 4-day annual “Come and See” (Vinde E Vede) event. We were very blessed to be a part of this great event and have an opportunity to preach the Word of God to and to minister to so many. Particularly since many gathered were young people and were eager in their praise and to hear the word of the Lord! At one moment, it started to rain very hard and Deacon Oney exhorted the young people to praise the Lord for the rain and they let out a shout that certainly was heard in the heavenly places!
Through events like Come and See in Brazil, Hope and Purpose Ministry moves forward to fulfill its core mission founded on three Scriptures: to expand the Kingdom of God, (Matthew 10:17, NAB); to heal the broken-hearted (John 10:10, NAB); and to give people hope and purpose (Jeremiah 29:11, NAB).
You can view the interview with Archbishop Milton and the playlist of the other videos from the Conference (the videos will play one after the other in the playlist.
Deacon Larry Oney taught at the CCR National Conference in Brazil.
The conference was held in the city of Aparecida (2 hours by car from São Paulo) where the airport is. This city is very meaningful to Brazilians because it is where the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is (Pope Francis was there the year before the conference). The event was held at the Event Center of the National Shrine in Aparecida / SP . What a joy! There were over 4,000 people at the conference. Deacon Larry also had the opportunity to visit with one of the founders of one of Brazil’s largest Christian tv networks.
The National Congress is the event that brings together all the charismatics Catholics in Brazil. It was a time to pray for our country, states, dioceses and Prayer Groups. It is the opportune moment when God sends His blessing.
The theme for the Conference was “Fulfil my joy by abiding” (Phil 2:2).