Portuguese Ministry

When Marina Araújo entered the Young Scientist Contest in Brazil, she had no idea she would be meeting—and having an opportunity to witness to—Brazil’s president, Dilma Vana Rousseff. The 15-year-old from Rio de Janeiro submitted a project which earned her third place in the high school category. Marina is the youngest student to receive this prestigious award in the last 25 years. At a December 6, 2011 ceremony in Brazil’s capital city, Brasília, President Rousseff presented the Prêmio Jovem Cientista (Young Scientist Award) to Marina. Marina’s parents, Presbyterian pastor Rev. Marcus Vinícius and his wife Rose, an environmental engineer, were also present at the presentation. After Marina received her award, she gave a gift to the President: a copy of Back to God Ministries International Portuguese Cada Dia Natal (a special Christmas devotional booklet) and a beautiful Bible from her church, the Boas Novas Presbyterian Church in Rio de Janeiro,…[Read More]

Praise God that our Portuguese ministry distributed a record 914,000 Christmas Cada Dia devotional booklets throughout Brazil. This year’s distribution surpasses last year’s record of 720,000 (see Christmas Outreach in Brazil.) Each month LPC, Back to God Ministries Portuguese outreach, prints and distributes more than 20,000 Cada Dia booklets. But at Christmas, many who receive these monthly devotionals —as well as members of local congregations and several businesses—order a special Christmas version, Cada Dia Natal, to distribute as Christmas cards to friends, neighbors and business acquaintances. LPC (Luz Para o Caminho—Light for the Way) partners with many churches on this project. Their goal is that those who received these booklets as gifts will subscribe to the monthly devotional and daily continue to seek God’s Word and His will. Several new churches and new companies joined in the effort this year. Rev. Hernandes Dias Lopes, Portuguese ministry leader and director of…[Read More]

Rita from Campinas in Brazil is fighting a serious illness with no known cure. The 64-year-old woman is unable to move around by herself. At times the discouragement is so overwhelming, Rita had wondered if she wanted to keep on living. One day, Rita’s daughter-in-law placed a phone call to the Disque Paz (Dial Peace) telephone ministry so Rita could hear our daily recorded devotional. As she listened to the message from God’s Word, Rita says, “I received from the Lord comfort and peace.” Rita now listens every day to the Disque Paz messages, and one day decided to call the follow-up number given at the end of the recording. She spoke with Rev. Flávio Santana, who coordinates our spiritual counseling ministry in Campinas, and told him that Disque Paz has been her “comfort in hard times.” “This ministry has blessed me tremendously,” Rita testified. “I now have a strong…[Read More]

Every year LPC (Luz Para o Caminho), Back to God Ministries International Portuguese media outreach in Brazil, creates and distributes special Christmas devotional booklets called Cada Dia Natal. Praise God that this past Christmas friends and churches in Brazil distributed a record 720,000 copies of the Cada Dia devotional throughout Brazil! One woman, who received a copy from her doctor, wrote, “I read the messages about Jesus and was moved to trust in Him.” This year’s theme centered on the names of Jesus. The woman who wrote the letter noted that the specific message that touched her was the passage about Jesus, The Righteous Advocate, “because He is the advocate for the lost cause.” “We are pleased to partner with the Presbyterian Church of Brazil on this project,” said Rev. Hernandes Dias Lopes, Portuguese ministry leader and director of LPC. He was also the author of the 2010 Cada Dia…[Read More]

Katia works at a call center in Brazil. Most of her colleagues were checking the daily horoscope to find out how their day was supposed to turn out. But Katia told Back to God Ministries International Portuguese media team: “I’ve been taking Cada Dia (daily devotional) to my job every day since January 2010.” Katia also said she made it a habit to leave the Cada Dia visible on her desk each day. One day when her co-workers couldn’t find the newspaper to read their horoscope, a colleague asked if she could read Katia’s devotional for that day. “Something amazing happened,” reports Katia. “Now my co-workers compete for the Cada Dia to see what it says each day!” Katia observed how the messages reached into the hearts of those who read the daily devotional. “Each person was surprised with the message that was coming to her eyes. Even a colleague…[Read More]

Hugs and laughter, music and memories, profound gratitude and deep joy filled the room on March 23, 2010 when more than three hundred people gathered to dedicate the new International Ministry Center in Campinas, Brazil. BTGMI representatives from North America joined the Latin American ministry team and local partners to recall God's faithfulness over the course of forty years of media ministry and look forward to the new opportunities for reaching people made possible by the new facilities.    "Our partnership in mission today jumps language barriers and links continents," BTGMI Director Bob Heerspink remarked to those gathered for the ceremony. "Our partnership testifies to the unity of Christ's church and witnesses to the one mission we all share as we bring the Gospel to the people of Brazil, Latin America, and the world." The service was marked by joyful singing and a fantastic choir composed of several local church choirs.…[Read More]