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Pastor Tarcío Barros, 31, leads a religious project that operates inside and outside the prisons of Acre to offer a new life opportunity to young people and adults involved with crime. Five years ago, he has been preaching in the prison units, where, he reports, thousands of people have heard the word and many have decided to abandon the crime.
The pastor has a project that rescues people from prisons and streets through faith/photo: ceded
“I began to preach the Word of God within prisons, many young people began to accept Jesus. I never missed a religious visit, rain or sun, always believed in their change. After preaching, I always ask who wants to accept Jesus as their only Savior and, when they accept, we come to accompany them inside.
The initiative also extends out of chains. Currently, four young people who left the prison system live in the church itself, called Elected Generation, located in the Sobral neighborhood of Rio Branco. “I rescued them because they had nowhere to go. One of them spent seven years stuck, has no father or mother and says that today I am as a father to him. I became the father and mother of many who were abandoned,” said the pastor.
The pastor also works in women’s prisons/Photo: Ceded
The work, however, faces financial limitations. The church survives with few offers and donations. “We have the challenge of paying rent, energy and even guaranteeing breakfast, lunch and dinner for young people who live there. We have no fixed partnership, we run after donations, sometimes we got it, sometimes no, but never missed,” he said.
According to the pastor, more than two thousand people have been through the church activities. Many returned to studies, attend college, found a job or moved to other cities in search of new opportunities. “Not everyone congregates in our church, but many today are structured, with new life,” he added.
The above case shows the evolution of one of the people helped by the pastor in a year/photo: ceded
In addition to young people and former detainees, the space also welcomes people in search of spiritual strengthening and emotional support. “We work with healing and spiritual liberation. Many seek us with depression, anxiety and Panic Syndrome. We also received health, safety professionals, elderly in medical treatment and unemployed people. We have reports of job doors that opened after they strengthened the faith,” he said.
For Pastor Tarcío Barros, the motivation comes from the Holy Scriptures. “In Luke 19:10, it is written that the Son of man came to seek and save what had been lost. This is what I believe. I am happy to help them all,” he said.
The Elected Generation Church is located at 15 Rua Sobral, Rio Branco, and is still working based on voluntary donations and social work developed with young people and families in vulnerable situations.
