While serving in Brussels, Ricardo Perieira felt a burden to serve the secular and post-Christian population. This community is growing, presenting many mission challenges. To address this, Ricardo decided to start a Portugese-speaking church plant, hoping to provide people with an opportunity to encounter God.
“The nickname of Brussels is the capital of Europe because the European parliament is here. We have living in this city of 1.2 million people, 5,000 diplomats and we have people coming from different countries in Europe and around the world, so we have people from everywhere. That makes Brussels the second most cosmopolitan city in the world.”
Ricardo Pereira, a missionary originally from Brazil, came to Brussels to pastor a traditional Portuguese-speaking congregation. It quickly became apparent to him that a large demographic of the city was being overlooked. One of the greatest mission challenges we face today is the growing secular and post-Christian population, and Ricardo felt a burden to reach them with the Adventist message. He knew the only way to do this would be by trying something different. He started with a Portuguese-speaking church plant.
Ricardo partnered with the Global Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission to better understand secular and post-Christian people, and to help them live a real experience with God.
Ana Luisa is a fashion consultant from Portugal, who has lived in Belgium for the past 18 years. Despite having friends and a career, she felt alone in a big city. Ana Luisa was invited to the church by a friend, so she agreed to visit.
“I was very surprised by the way I was welcomed, that I was received. I've never seen that anywhere. In fact, I felt so much love from people. They held me, they even gave me food. I was very shy. So I found it so exceptional. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I was so moved.”
“She was a regular person who never went to church. She never read the Bible, she never prayed. And now she came, She made friends. She loves what we are doing. She became part of the family.”
Since Ana Luisa started coming more than a year ago, her life has been transformed. She no longer feels lonely and started praying for the first time since she was seven years old.
Ana Luisa has committed her heart to Jesus and is now preparing for baptism. There are others like her, who have come to know the love of Jesus through this church plant.
As this church plant looks to the future, they will continue to partner with the Global Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission. Their prayer for this year is to start an English-speaking congregation to respond to one of the city’s biggest challenges. Brussels is a melting pot of cultures and languages, and English is spoken by more than half a million people.
Ricardo has recruited the support of Eliezer Oliveira, an Adventist volunteer, who will be relocating with his wife to Brussels, transitioning from chaplaincy work in Washington, DC.
We invite you to pray as the Global Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission continues to support church planting in Brussels and kickstarts an English-speaking congregation. Pray that God will touch the hearts of those who don’t know Him. As we look at these challenges, let’s remember that they’re also God’s challenges. He has a plan and has invited us to participate with Him in His plan.
