Ride of Hope and Peace

 

A Movement of Compassionate Evangelism and Church Multiplication

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1. Vision Statement

 

To transform moments of despair into encounters with divine peace—mobilizing missionary-drivers who bring the love of Christ to people receiving life-changing diagnoses, carrying the gospel into their homes and communities through compassion and relational discipleship.

 

2. Context and Rationale

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a. The Public Health Crisis

Portugal is currently facing one of its greatest crises of confidence in the National Health Service (SNS). Thousands of families wait months—sometimes years—for specialized exams or consultations. Many who face severe illnesses, such as cancer, discover their condition too late, without the emotional and spiritual support needed to walk through that valley. More than 85 percent of the Portuguese population fears not receiving adequate care in case of serious illness. The pain is real—and so is the loneliness.

 

b. Personal Testimony

This reality is not merely statistical for me. My own father passed away from stomach cancer after living in Portugal since 1996. For years, he suffered from chronic heartburn and sought help through the public health system, yet he was never given an endoscopy. By the time the diagnosis came, the tumor measured 12 centimeters—likely growing for more than a decade. It was too late.

 

But what the health system failed to provide in time, God supplied through faith. My father had a personal and eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. When he received the news of his cancer, his faith did not waver—it grew stronger. During hospital visits, he made sure that doctors, nurses, and patients heard about the hope he had in Christ.There was one single moment when I saw him cry deeply. During an online worship service, his favorite hymn began to play. As he listened, tears began to fall, and he asked me with a trembling voice:

 

“Why is God taking so long to bring me to Jesus?”

 

My father was ready. He did not fear death, because he knew the One who had conquered death. That faith—that unshakable peace amid pain—is what inspires me today to launch the project Ride of Hope and Peace, so that others may also come to know the same Jesus who comforted and gave hope and peace to my father.

 

The Call Amid Suffering

 

Every person who receives a diagnosis like cancer faces not only a physical battle but also an emotional and spiritual storm. The body is affected, but so is the soul. Fear, isolation, and uncertainty become constant companions. And it is precisely there that the Gospel must arrive—not only with words, but with presence.

 

Jesus still calls:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 NASB

 

No one who suffers is beyond the reach of that invitation. Christ Himself understands human pain, for He suffered with us and for us. Thus, He also declares:

 

“Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.

 

Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” — John 14:27 NASB

 

And again:

 

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 NASB

 

These words are the heartbeat of Ride of Hope and Peace. They remind us that even when medicine reaches its limits, hope does not end. There is a peace that transcends diagnosis—a peace that comes from knowing the One who heals the soul.We want to stand beside those who suffer, just as Jesus stood beside the sick and the brokenhearted. We want each patient to know they are not walking alone. And we want every ride to become a seed of faith—an encounter with true Hope.

 

Ride of Hope and Peace exists to be that presence—a practical and spiritual response to the needs of both body and soul.

 

c. The Called Ones

At the same time, a generation of young believers senses a missionary calling yet faces significant challenges in financial sustainability. Ride of Hope and Peace emerges to address both realities—creating a Spirit-led and sustainable movement where every ride becomes a transformation, and every ride can give birth to a House of Peace (Oikos).

 

3. Core Concept: Compassion + Evangelism + Sustainability

 

Ride of Hope and Peace is a missional social initiative that unites compassion, evangelism, and economic sustainability through a legal ride-share (TVDE) model.

 

Missions Connex Portugal partner with a company who will own and manage a fleet of hybrid or electric vehicles leased to missionary-drivers who use them both for professional income and ministry service.

 

4. How It Works in Practice

Ride of Hope and Peace turns moments of pain into opportunities for divine encounter.

 

The mission is simple: to help people who have just received a difficult diagnosis experience the love and peace of Christ — even before they arrive home.

 

1. Presence at the Hospital

Missionary-drivers from Missions Connex Portugal remain stationed at partner hospitals, easily identified by the Ride of Hope and Peace logo.They offer free transportation, compassionate listening, and, when requested, prayer and spiritual encouragement to those leaving the hospital with heavy hearts.

 

2. The Ride of Hope

During the trip, the missionary-driver does more than transport a passenger—they accompany a wounded soul.Every conversation is guided by compassion, and every kilometer becomes an opportunity to sow peace and share the hope found in Christ.

 

3. Follow-Up After the Ride

With the passenger’s consent, the missionary continues contact in the days that follow. This may include a friendly visit, a call for encouragement, or the beginning of a House of Peace (Oikos)—a small group for prayer, Bible study, and discipleship with family and friends.

 

4. Multiplication

Each House of Peace is supported by a local partner church and has the potential to grow into a living, multiplying community of faith.

 

Thus, every ride becomes more than transportation—it becomes the beginning of spiritual and community transformation.

 

5. Biblical and Missional Foundation

 

“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ … Heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” — Luke 10:5–9 NASB

 

“Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:46–47 NASB

 

Every encounter of compassion is an opportunity to proclaim peace, plant the gospel, and form a new community—a House of Peace that multiplies organically.

 

6. Operational Structure

 

A. Missions Connex Portugal – Coordination and Management:

 

Trains, monitors, and evaluates; coordinates partnerships with hospitals, churches, and donors; maintains impact data.

 

B. Missionary-Drivers – Operators and Evangelists:

 

Young adult believers (ages 21–35) trained in ministry by Missions Connex and professionally by a partner company, lease the vehicles from the partner company; dedicate 40 hours per month to ministry; and operate professionally licensed TVDE drivers.

 

C. Set Free Coaching – Training Partner:

 

Provides training in Pastoral Presence, Evangelism, and Trauma Counseling; offers emotional and spiritual support to missionaries.

 

D. Local Churches and Partner Networks:

 

Receive new believers; oversee Houses of Peace; send new teams and leaders.

 

7. The 40-Hour Model

 

Each missionary dedicates 40 hours per month to ministry, distributed as follows:

 

•Compassion Rides (40%) – Free transportation and prayer.

•Relational Evangelism (25%) – Sharing the gospel through conversation.

•Discipleship and Follow-Up (20%) – Teaching and mentoring.

•Formation of Houses of Peace (10%) – New groups and multiplication.

•Meetings and Reports (5%) – Ongoing training and accountability.

 

8. The “Kingdom Fleet” Model (Integrated Ride-Share)

 

Missions Connex Portugal will partner with a business partner who will acquire hybrid or electric vehicles that comply with IMT and Law No. 45/2018 (TVDE) requirements: less than seven years old, five doors, air conditioning, and commercial insurance.

 

Missionary-drivers will lease the cars, covering maintenance and operation costs. This ensures financial sustainability while turning each car into both a work tool and a missionary instrument.

 

The project aims to achieve 70% financial sustainability by the second year.

 

9. Pilot Project (2025–2026)

Location: Greater Porto (based in Vila Nova de Gaia)

Duration: 12 months

Objectives:

•Acquire or lease 3 hybrid vehicles

•Train and certify 5 missionary-drivers

•Conduct 600+ compassion rides

•Share the gospel with over 1,000 people

•Establish 20 Houses of Peace and train 10 new leaders

 

 

11. Expected Outcomes (Year 1)

•5 missionary-drivers trained and commissioned

•600+ compassion rides completed

•1,000+ evangelistic conversations

•100+ new disciples mentored

•20 Houses of Peace established

•10 new leaders trained

•70% financial sustainability achieved

 

12. Long-Term Vision (2026–2030)

To have 100 cars driving for hope and peace = 100 new multiplying churches

 

13. Invitation to Partnership

Missions Connex Portugal invites churches, companies, and Christian foundations to join this movement that combines compassion, social innovation, and disciple multiplication.

 

Ways to participate:

 

•Sponsor a missionary-driver (€1,000/year)•Sponsor a vehicle (€15,000 one-time or €1,250/month × 12)

•Support training scholarships•Become a Partner Church

 

14. About the Director of Missions Connex Portugal

 

The project Ride of Hope and Peace was born not merely from social need but from a life calling. Its founder and director, Dr. Jair Campos, is a missionary, pastor, and leadership trainer with over 30 years of ministry experience in evangelism, church planting, and missionary movement development across multiple nations.

 

Since his ordination in 1992, Dr. Campos has faithfully served in the advancement of God’s Kingdom through both local and international ministries. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Missions Connex Portugal, an organization dedicated to connecting churches, missionaries, and donors in networks of discipleship, evangelism, and church planting.

 

Over the past three years, he has trained more than 1,500 leaders in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Japan, the United States (Texas), and Portugal, equipping them to make disciples who make disciples.

 

Dr. Campos also holds training in theology, pastoral ministry, and professional coaching in mental health and leadership, focusing on emotional recovery, discipleship, and leader transformation. His ministry includes decades of service among migrant communities, church planting in Europe and the U.S., and mentoring pastors and missionaries in contexts of pain and restoration.

 

In the late 1990s, Dr. Campos had the privilege of becoming the first evangelical hospital chaplain in Portugal, serving patients and families in moments of pain and farewell. That experience profoundly shaped his ministry and planted the seeds of what has now matured into the Ride of Hope and Peace project—a vision shaped by decades of service and compassion.

 

Missions Connex Portugal’s vision is to live out and multiply the Gospel beyond traditional structures, serving missionaries and local churches that are often unseen or forgotten. Dr. Campos believes that the “least of these brothers of Mine” (Matthew 25:40) includes missionaries who take the Gospel to the ends of the earth—and that supporting them is an essential part of the Great Commission.

 

Ride of Hope and Peace is therefore a living expression of that calling: to bring spiritual hope, pastoral presence, and missionary action to those who need it most—uniting faith, compassion, and sustainability.

 

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB

 

Join the Mission

 

Every kilometer traveled is a seed of faith.

Every ride is a divine opportunity to bring peace where there is pain.

Missions Connex Portugal invites you to become part of this journey of compassion and hope—supporting missionary-drivers, local churches, and communities being transformed by the love of Christ.

 

You can be part of this movement:

•Sponsor a missionary-driver

•Fund a vehicle in the Kingdom Fleet (partially or fully)

•Support training and leadership development

 

Your involvement can change eternities.“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” — Romans 10:15 NASB

 

Missions Connex Portugal – 2025🌐 www.missionsconnex.org📧 info@missionsconnex.org📍 Vila Nova de Gaia, PortugalWhatsApp: +17134942841 (USA), +351964465750 (Portugal)