Igreja Presbiteriana de Manaus (IPM) translates to First Presbyterian Church of Manaus. IPM is a large church whose vision for outreach includes medical care, church planting and leadership training in the rural outlying villages around the city of Manaus. Currently, the church hosts four Sunday services at their main campus. In addition, they have 35 other churches throughout the city of Manaus and an additional 109 along the rivers and tributaries in the Amazon basin.
Their weekly attendance is estimated at about 10,000 attendees. The church is very active in reaching out to people who live in remote areas along the Amazon River and its different tributaries. They maintain and staff five medical mission boats which take regular trips up the river. Each boat includes a doctor’s office, dentist’s office and a pharmacy well stocked with medicine and equipment. Staff and leaders of IPM have a great vision to reach the Amazon River basin and all of Brazil with the gospel. They have shared many times that while they know they can get so far through their own capacity, they know they can go twice or three times as far with the help of their partner churches.
Faith’s Connection: In 2016, Faith Church began a partnership alongside IPM. We’ve built a vocational school in Intapeacu, a jungle village up the Amazon River where IPM has two missionaries. In 2017, Faith Church sent a team to partner with IPM and serve on their medical missions boat. They ventured up the Amazon and visited three villages including the vocational school Faith supports. We are excited to be sending another short-term team this summer.