About Us
Mission Brazil supports the planting and growth of Reformed churches in Brazil
Our History
In 1965 a mission committee from the Canadian Reformed Churches in Western Canada decided to start foreign mission in Brazil. The first missionary was sent in 1970, and after a year of language study and a trial period in the city of Chapecó in the state of Santa Catarina, the family moved in April 1972 to São José da Coroa Grande, on the south coast of the state of Pernambuco. About 4 months after the family moved to São José, a group of 12 adults and 20 children were worshipping regularly.
By the end of 2020, the Brazilian Reformed churches, Igrejas Reformada do Brasil (IRB), have a church federation with 9 instituted churches and 10 missionary congregations, 13 ministers and 690 communicant members and 348 non-communicant members, totalling 1,038 people. Currently the IRB has a theological seminary, the Institute João Calvin (IJC), where men are being taught to be ministers and missionaries.
Click this button to see a video that describes the history of the work of mission in Brazil.
Current State
In 2013, Aldergrove Canadian Reformed Church took over the role of sending church. Currently, Aldergrove and the supporting churches throughout Western Canada and the Western United States work to assist the Igrejas Reformada do Brazil (IRB) federation (Reformed federation) in evangelism and mission work.
Mission Brazil supports the planting and growth of Reformed churches in Brazil. Our goal is to assist the Reformed Churches of Brazil to become self-governing, self-sustaining and self-propagating churches.
Mission Brazil supports two missionaries who are involved in supporting the IRB federation in the northeastern part of Brazil, centered in Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco. As well, Mission Brazil supports a Mission Worker who is actively involved in supporting the growth and development of the churches. The Lord has blessed the mission work since it started in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada in 1965.
The Brazil Mission is directed by the Aldergrove Canadian Reformed Church Council (ACRCC). The overall operational responsibilities for the Brazil Mission have been delegated to the Aldergrove Mission Board (MB). The MB has primary responsibility to oversee the work of the missionaries and also has responsibility over the other activities on the mission field.
The MB is assisted in its task through the Mission Promotion Committee (MPC). The Mission Promotion Committee is responsible for promotion at the home front (e.g. communication with churches, newsletter development and distribution, website development and updates).