From Brazil to B.C. and back

“What do Canadians think of when they picture Brazil?” The question came from a fellow pastor in a crowded family restaurant serving churrasco, a variety of barbequed meats sliced at the table, rodizio style. As a server arrived with more meat (clearly not a great place to visit if you’re a vegetarian!) and thick cuts of pork slid onto our plates, I responded, “It’s hard to say, but I think for many of us we think of large cities like Rio or São Paulo, the Amazon rainforest and beautiful beaches.” I paused, “What do Brazilians think of when they consider Canada?” “Hmm,” my dining companion responded, “A big country with friendly people, bears and lots of snow.” I laughed and said, “That’s about right.”

I was visiting Brazil for the first time this fall, at the invitation of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPCB). I have had many wonderful students from Brazil over my years of teaching at the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s college at the University of British Columbia. Some have stayed in Canada and now serve as pastors in Presbyterian churches; others have come for their degree programs and then returned home. God has taught me so much from the international community of students who call St. Andrew’s Hall home, and it was a gift to visit Brazil and experience a first-hand glimpse of the church’s mission in that place.

Small, but growing

When I landed in Brazil, I was met by my former student Paulo Jr., who lived at St. Andrew’s Hall for many years while I supervised his Master of Theology in Evangelism. Paulo now serves a historic downtown Presbyterian church in Curitiba, a beautiful city of nearly two million people in the state of Paraná. I met with members of the local presbytery, para-church leaders working with university students, and preached in their Sunday service. The IPCB is one of several Presbyterian denominations in the country, often positioned theologically between conservative and progressive polarities. For example, the denomination ordains female pastors and holds a traditional view of marriage.

Founded in 1903 by Rev. Eduardo Carlos Pereira, the IPCB sought independence from foreign missionaries and began with only seven pastors and fifteen elders. Today, the denomination has nearly 100,000 members and over 500 congregations. In conversation with pastoral leaders, it was clear that in a Roman Catholic dominated country and culture like Brazil, those expressing a Reformed faith understood themselves to be a minority expression of Christianity, yet one that actively sought to evangelize and welcome newcomers into their community. Paulo emphasized the twin challenges of church planting and revitalization facing his Presbyterian denomination in Brazil, noting that Presbyterians are only present in eight percent of Brazil’s municipalities.

“Today, church planting must expand strategically even as existing congregations recover sustainable pathways in membership, leadership formation and financial health,” Paulo told me. “Currently, we have 34 church planting fields in Brazil.”

Reflecting on these challenges, he added, “We need to plant broadly, renew deeply and reconcile wisely – this is how the Independent Presbyterian Church can serve Brazil and the Lusophone [Portuguese-speaking] world with Reformed theological clarity and pastoral courage.”

Metropolis ministry

Next, I travelled to São Paulo, one of the world’s biggest cities, a vibrant and textured metropolis of more than 23 million residents. The city has a mix of high-rise luxury buildings, a centre for commerce and other neighbourhoods of varying character, including favelas, with their high concentration of people, poor infrastructure and safety concerns. After exploring the beautiful, historic downtown, I met with Principal Marcos Nunes da Silva and the faculty at FATIPI, the São Paulo School of Theology, appropriately located on Geneva Street (Rua Genebra). I compared notes with colleagues on developments in theological education, discussing the growing impact of distance education and the equipping of elders and lay leaders for ministry.

As the world’s largest Portuguese-speaking country, there was also an awareness of the opportunity (and to a certain degree responsibility) of a ministry to Reformed churches in Portugal, as well as former colonies such as Angola, that have large numbers of Presbyterians, often without the theologically trained clergy to support their ministries. That evening, I offered a lecture to faculty and students, drawing on my own recent study of Christianity in Vancouver as published in my book West Coast Mission. We had a rich and engaging question and answer period with participants who acknowledged the growing impact of secular thought on their own country, long known for its deep Christian identity.

Hugs not handshakes

After bidding farewell to my colleagues in theological education, I then travelled with colleagues to the city of Sorocaba, with a little less than a million residents, to participate in a church planting and revitalization conference with Presbyterian pastors. Hosted by Caio Batista at his growing church plant, the gathering was a time of worship, learning and encouragement for those beginning new ministries and seeking to renew congregations across Brazil. In addition to my own presentations, exploring the nature of Christian witness and evangelism, the conference heard from speakers such as IPCB President (Moderator) Sergio Gini, and the denomination’s evangelism leader Jacqueline Paes. It was fascinating to listen to the faithful stories of a diverse set of leaders ministering in different, and often difficult, socio-economic contexts, seeking earnestly to share the gospel while forming and nurturing new and renewed communities of Christian faith.

As a Canadian Presbyterian coming from an ecclesial culture sometimes described as “God’s frozen chosen,” I appreciated the warmth of relationships modelled by the church leaders in Brazil. Personally, I tend to opt more for a handshake than a hug, so I took note of the affection shown between these pastoral leaders. Their emphasis on family and community was an especially meaningful part of my experience.

After learning so much about the small but growing Presbyterian presence in Brazil, I had one more unexpected stop to make before returning home to Vancouver. Two former students, one Brazilian (Lucas) and one Canadian (Angie), reached out to say that their wedding was taking place the week I was visiting the country in Lucas’ hometown of Botucatu. The invitation to attend and co-officiate a Brazilian wedding was too good an offer to pass up.

We gathered in the downtown Presbyterian Church in Botucatu for the special evening service. The city is home to a university, and the Presbyterian church has a reputation for both intellectual rigour and a deep integration with the arts. That meant that the two-and-a-half-hour wedding service included a beautifully decorated sanctuary and a bridal party that rivalled the size of a football team. While the praise band led us in worship throughout the service, the choir also offered a beautiful piece of music, while a member of the congregation offered a Cirque du Soleil-like aerial silk performance in the sanctuary. It certainly was a night to remember, at the end of a fascinating exposure to what a Reformed witness looks like today in Brazil. I left the next day, both encouraged and inspired by the glimpse I was given of what God is doing in and through the churches in a country with potential to shape the global church’s witness for decades to come.

This article is also available in Portuguese thanks to Vida & Caminho.