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Acts 13:47
…‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Who We Are:
We are the Hansons! Robert, Jenni, and our six kids Bobby (13), Sarah (12), Hannah (11), Becca (9), Sammy (6), and Elizabeth (3).
Robert and Jenni both lived lives of drugs, alcohol, and self-serving before they encountered Jesus. They understand what it means to be under bondage to the enemy and they know the path to true freedom. That path is Jesus. The true Jesus that calls the sinner to repentance and turning from his sins. The Jesus that breaks every chain, heals the sick, and opens blind eyes. (Luke 4:16-18) The Jesus that still speaks, still moves, still saves, and still sets the captive free. It is He that they seek to magnify, exemplify, and take into the dark places in the world.
In 2008, Robert and Jenni were called by the Lord to take the Gospel to Portugal. Shortly after hearing the call, they were married, went to Bible College and began to seek the Lord on what exactly He wanted them to do in Portugal. In the last 15 years, He has developed a desire in them to see the church grow to maturity. They desire to see the lost saved, the oppressed set free, and the church walking in obedience to the Word of God. The Lord has used them in ministry over the last 15 years, and grown them in their ability to reach the lost, minister to the broken, and help people find freedom in Christ.
Why Portugal?
Apart from hearing the call of the Lord to “Take the Gospel to Portugal”, Portugal is a strategic “port” or gateway into the rest of Europe and many other places in the world. Portugal is a post-Catholic nation that has less than 2% evangelical Christians. Portugal is part of the 10/40 window and included in the “least reached” statistics. The Joshua project defines the “least reached” as a people where there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize themselves without outside assistance. All drugs and prostitution have been decriminalized. The “new age” has exploded in popularity as people are hungry for more than what “religion” has offered them. Portugal has never experienced revival. We believe that the time is now, the harvest is ripe and the people in Portugal are ready for a true encounter with the Living God who changes everything.
Our Vision: Plant healthy churches that plant churches
The gospel of Jesus Christ arrived in Portugal within 200 years of the birth of the Christian church. Sadly, current estimates are that only 0.5-1.5% of the population know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The traditional church model does not appeal to the Portuguese people as there is a strong aversion to the church. For centuries the church has stood for legalism, bondage, and dead religion full of rules and regulations. The Portuguese are hungry for more than religion. They are hungry for an encounter with the living God.
When Jesus called us to take the gospel to Portugal, He gave us a vision to see entire communities impacted by the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. We believe that this can happen through making radical disciples that obey the words of Jesus and do the works that He called us to do (Matthew 10:7-8, Luke 10:2-11, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-20). The best way to make radical disciples is to go back to the original church model as revealed in the book of Acts and the New Testament. The early church continued in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, meeting multiple times per week in their homes. They shared meals, helped meet one another’s financial needs, shared communion, and stirred up their spiritual gifts. They prayed and fasted regularly, waiting on guidance from the Holy Spirit. They were in unity and one accord sharing the church’s duties rather than letting them fall on one or two men. The church was healthy and reproduced itself by sending out many disciples (Acts 2:42-47, Rom. 16:5, 1 Cor. 16:19, Col 4:15, Phm 1:2, 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Cor 12:7, 11-28, Rom. 12:3-8, 1 Cor. 14:5, 13, 26, 29,31, 1 Thess. 5:19-21, Acts 13:3).
Our vision is to create a network of smaller home church gatherings that meet multiple times a week for fellowship, discipleship, study, prayer, and worship. The goal of these small gatherings is to disciple men, women, and children to maturity in Christ so that they can use their spiritual gifts to serve the body of Christ and create more disciples. We believe that by going back to the original church model, we can see exponential growth in the church and body of Christ. We believe that all believers have something unique to offer the Kingdom of God. It is the role of the church to help members discover their gifts and calling as we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).
We know God wants to move in Portugal and throughout Europe again. He loves the Portuguese people and desires to see them set free from sin, bondage, and death. Portugal is in a strategic location as it is a crossroad for many economic migrants from Africa and the Middle East. As Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).
How You Can Get Involved:
First and foremost, we want you to partner with us in prayer. Pray for divine connections, pray for open doors, pray for our sensitivity to the Holy Ghost and boldness to do whatever He is saying to do. Pray for an explosion of true believers in Portugal and that as we step out to witness that the Holy Ghost will confirm the word preached. (John 6:29, Mark 16:20) Pray for supernatural protection and provision for our family and that our children would continue to grow in the grace, stature, and knowledge of the Lord. Pray however the Holy Ghost leads you, He knows what we need more than we do…(Rom 8:26)
Secondly, partner with us financially. The Lord has called us to this work and we trust Him fully to provide while knowing that He often uses people to fund His mission. He is the one that gives seed to the sower. (2 Cor 9:10)
So we are simply asking you to ask Him if you should partner with us, and then just be obedient to His leading on the matter. Our heart is to give our all to this ministry and serve in a full-time capacity. To do so, we need to step away from the security of our “American dream” and into faith as the Lord leads us.
Our greatest financial needs are for monthly commitments. The Portuguese government looks at monthly revenue as the basis for our qualifications to be in the country. They don’t care about savings or other assets, they only look at monthly income. So if you were compelled to give a one-time gift, it would actually be more helpful for us if you were to split that gift up over monthly recurring payments. Whatever the rate we appreciate and love you all and are eternally grateful for whatever you can give. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this with us in person.
All for His Glory!
Much love,
The Hansons (Robert, Jenni, Bobby, Sarah, Hannah, Rebecca, Samuel, and Elizabeth)
robert@freedomportual.com | +1 303.909.5832 (iMessage / WhatsApp)
jenni@freedomportugal.com | +1 602.463.4287 (iMessage / WhatsApp)
Budget update: March, 2024. 72% of monthly support committed.