MAPI, a Sepal ministry, began in February of 1992 in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The initial four day pastors’ retreat about discipling leaders quickly spread to various Brazilian states and denominations. Books in this area were joined by others about small groups (or cell groups), ministry teams, and emotional restoration. The movement grew beyond its focus on discipleship (1992-1994) to envision nine strategies of a healthy church. Our vision became “Healthy Pastor, Healthy Church, Healthy City”, and began reaching other countries starting with Portugal and Bolivia.
At the end of 2003, we discovered that the slogan above included everything, from social and political responsibility in the city, to the inner life of the pastor. We were good at a lot, but not excellent at anything. God led us to narrow our focus, dedicating ourselves to supporting pastors to be healthy. Today 1100 pastors meet regularly in small groups in most states of Brazil and more than 40 denominations. More importantly, MAPI exists to catalyze a pastoring pastors movement in the denominations and councils of pastors in Brazil and beyond.
