Amazon Pastor's Conference 2026

What an amazing week at our Justice & Mercy International Amazon Pastor’s Conference. We were blessed with 160 jungle pastors, wives, missionaries, Justice & Mercy Amazon Staff and our team from the States. Our God moved in a mighty way, and so many lives were impacted for Christ. The stories these pastors share with us are incredible, and they are truly reaching “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) for Christ. Thank you for your prayers, support and investment in God’s Church at Rolling Hills, JMI, JMA and the work to impact this world for Jesus Christ. We spend the week teaching, praying, counseling and supporting these godly leaders who then go back and take the Gospel to indigenous tribes and unreached people throughout the Amazon jungle.

Here are a few of the stories from this year:

“You Are Loved”

During the first day of teaching, I felt God prompting me stop and say, “You are loved.” Something so simple. The room fell silent. Then people started crying. It was a Holy Spirit moment.

Many of the pastors just sat there weeping. We stopped and prayed.

Sometimes the most powerful message a weary pastor and wife can hear is the simplest one:

God sees you.

God knows you.

God loves you.

Many of these pastors and their wives have never had a vacation. Some in 14 years - no vacation, no conference, no time to get away. They serve the Lord faithfully, but what a blessing to be able to be in a safe place, with three meals a day and surrounded by other Christ-followers in worship and Bible teaching. It is a gift and an oasis for those on the front lines of ministry.

A Pastor Who Almost Quit

We had some amazing conversations with so many of the pastors and their wives. One young pastor told us his story. He had moved with his wife and children to a small village to serve Jesus. His salary was only 170 reais a month. (That’s about $40 a month) The ministry was hard, and he was close to giving up.

Then the mission team arrived. There were doctors, nurses, children’s ministry, food bags, etc., there to serve. He said the team accomplished almost a year’s worth of ministry in one day. One man hugged him and prayed with him, and the Holy Spirit met him in that moment. His church began to grow. He raised up a leader and moved on to plant another church in a new village.

Today, the church that he started is flourishing with 60 families. Praise God for not giving up! So many lives being impacted for Christ! All glory to our great God.

A Life Restored

Then, there is Pastor Josiah, who shared his testimony. In 2019, he came to the conference ready to quit. “I felt like my life was broken into pieces,” he said. But at that conference, he encountered the Lord. God restored his calling. Seven years later, he stood before us again—not broken, but restored. Today, he serves as a pastor and missionary, and in the last two years alone, he has ministered in over 50 villages.

He looked at us and said: “My marriage, my children, my grandchildren… only God.”

A Drunk Who Became a Pastor

Another pastor shared a story about his own life. He had once been addicted to alcohol. Always drunk, angry and mean. At this time in his life, his wife became a Christian. Night after night, she prayed for him. One evening, he woke up and found her standing over him, crying and praying for his soul. God broke through. He gave his life to Christ and said, “I will never drink again.” And he hasn’t. Today, he and his wife serve the Lord together in ministry.

When Prayer Changed a Community

Last year, on the final day of the Pastor’s Conference, a pastor asked us to pray for his community. Drug gangs were targeting the young people. Families were devastated. So we stopped everything and prayed. Two days later, the pastor returned home. At 5:00 AM, the police were there—something that had never happened before. At that very moment, they arrested the leader of the drug gang. Since then, the drug problem has disappeared from the area. The church has grown. Young people are coming to Christ. Prayer changes everything.

A Baby After Two Miscarriages

Last year, one pastor’s wife came to the conference grieving. She had suffered two miscarriages. Mary Katharine prayed over her and prayed for God to bless her womb.

This year she wasn’t at the conference. Why? Because she was home with their four-month-old baby. God answered that prayer.

God Is Moving

That’s what this conference reminded me of. While the world talks about darkness, we watched pastors: restored from brokenness, freed from loneliness, planting churches in villages, raising up leaders, seeing communities transformed, holding babies that were once only prayers and in a jungle conference center knowing God is sending out redeemed, restored, healthy servants of Jesus into the mission field.  Jesus loves him.

God is moving. Sometimes in pulpits. Sometimes in villages. Sometimes in hotel lobbies. And sometimes…in a jungle conference center in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. Lives are being impacted for Christ, who will then go out to the “ends of the earth.”

I pray you will be encouraged today. Encouraged to live every day on mission in your home, workplace, school and “village.” Encouraged that God is moving in a mighty way throughout the world. Encouraged that God sees you right where you are. And, encouraged that He loves you. God loves these jungle pastors, and God loves you. You are loved!