Suriname's Seventh-day Adventist Church: Embracing Diversity, Empowering Communities
After 130 years, the Seventh-day Adventist church In the heart of Suriname is seeking to swim against the tide of secularism, apathy, and a culture that nurses more than eighteen different languages.
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After 130 years, the Seventh-day Adventist church In the heart of Suriname is seeking to swim against the tide of secularism, apathy, and a culture that nurses more than eighteen different languages.
Part of the mission's strategic initiative is to reach out to the Brazilian community, a segment of society that Adventists had not tapped until recently. Growing numbers of people from Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic are traveling to Suriname to work in the gold mines of Suriname, to visit, or to work. The Adventist church seeks to minister to these people which represents about more than 10 percent of the society.
More than one year ago, Pastor Amazias and his wife Bianca Costa from the North Brazilian Union, left his two districts in the South Para Conference and accepted the call to serve God in Suriname. The move was inspired by his wife’s dream from God which confirmed the call to mission territory.
Brazilians in the northern part of the island are warmly welcomed to Sabbath services for prayer and Bible studies. They form part of the community that the church diligently serves. Image courtesy of SM Media.
In 2016 the present Treasurer of the Suriname Mission Pastor Steven Tulp was sent to Brazil to study Theology. There he met Pastor Amazias while he was a student. Part of their school’s requirement was to develop a report on setting up a center of influence among the Brazilian community. Pastor Tulp and Amazias developed a friendship that also invited the support of the mother of Pastor Tulp. The Costa family loves Suriname, the food, and the people, and when moving to Suriname they were sure God was calling them and that He would take care of their needs regardless of the current inflation in the country.
Until 2019, there was no Brazilian group within the Suriname Mission although Brazilians make up 10% of the Surinamese population. Together with his wife Bianca Ps. Amazias serves people from Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and other Spanish and Portuguese-speaking people. They also take care of two Pathfinders clubs and an Adventurer Club for the children of these communities. “We work together to make our congregation healthy and vibrant, we’re building our youth and outreach programs, which are a big part of the church’s programming. But without a place to meet together, it’s difficult.” Pastor Amazias stated.
Pastor Amazias and his wife Bianca Costa were officially inaugurated as the church's new pastoral couple by Executive Secretary and Ministerial Secretary of the Suriname Mission, Pastor David Daniel. Image courtesy of SM Media.
Today, approximately 30 members of the Brazilian group worship in the multifunctional space of the Mission office, during the Sabbath and prayer services. The Brazilian group contributes to the Mission tithes in a very important way. Among the Brazilians are the small-scale gold miners, called garimpeiros, who are working in the interior.
The pastoral couple has a big dream to set up a center of influence in the North of Suriname, where the majority of Brazilians live. In that way, they hope to reach and serve a bigger group of Portuguese and Spanish-speaking people and hereby prevent the movement of members to other denominations located in the Northern neighborhoods of Paramaribo, Suriname. They are encouraging the members to remain faithful to God while they are far from home.
With the support of Adventist World Radio (AWR) the Communication Department of the Caribbean Union has ordered a supply of godpods, which can be used by the Brazilian group to promote the spreading of the Word of God and enhance Bible studies among the Portuguese and Spanish speaking group.