Igreja Reformada do Brasil em Maragogi – Colombo (mission congregation)

MISSÃO EBENÉZER (Ebenezer Church)

About Colombo

Colombo is a city of about 247,000 inhabitants in the Southern Brazilian state of Paraná; is the third largest city in Greater Curitiba, with the largest one being Curitiba.

Where we are located

Our church is located in COLOMBO, in the state of Paraná, Brasil
Location: Rua Alfredo Miguel Badui, 629 – Jardim São Gabriel – Colombo – Paraná

Our History

The history of the Reformed Church in Colombo goes back to 1950 when a group of members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands moved across the Atlantic Ocean. They came to live and work in Brazil, in Monte Alegre in the interior of Paraná. These brothers encouraged their home churches to look at Brazil as a missionary field for them. Years later, in 1963, the Liberated Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (GKVs) sent their first missionaries to Brazil. They chose the city of Curitiba, the capital of the State of Paraná and the most populous in the South, as the location.

For a long time, various evangelistic work was carried out in universities, high schools, radio programs, and home studies. In 1974, two sisters were the first to make profession of faith. However, despite a lot of missionary effort, the work did not bear fruit in Curitiba. It began to produce more significant results in the municipality of Colombo – in the larger metropolitan region.

On March 11, 2000, the Reformed Church was established in Colombo, bringing the GKVs’ missionary work status to an end. The GKVs continued to financially help the Reformed Church in Colombo to support its two ministers of the Word.

At the time of institution the Reformed Church in Colombo was made up of 100 members (60 communicants and 40 baptized). The Council was composed of 2 ministers of the Word, 3 elders and 2 deacons. However, from 2004 onwards, due to various fundamental problems and untreated sins, the church began to lose office-bearers and members, coming close to its end in 2006.

In 2006, the work in Colombo lost its status as an established church, becoming a supervised congregation. Initially supervision was carried out by the Reformed Church in Unai and, since 2010, by the Reformed Church in Maragogi.

Financial cooperation with GKVs returned. It was this cooperation that ensured oversight of the congregation in Colombo. Cooperation with the GKVs provided security for the Reformed Church in Maragogi to extend a call to Pr. Adriano Gama in 2013. This call was aimed at revitalizing the congregation to recover the status of an established church, and the opening of new work in the South.

Our Church Today

The Reformed work in Colombo is the fruit of the missionary work of the Liberated Reformed Churches of the Assen-Drenthe region (GKVs). Now, Aldergrove Reformed Church is our new supporting church.

At the end of 2023, an agreement was signed with the Reformed Church in Maragogi which supervises the Ebenézer Reformed Church. This agreement began in January and will last until the end of 2029. The cooperation is for the support and logistics of the missionary work in the South. In addition, the cooperation provides ﬁnancial support for missionary trips to the region of Içara and Criciúma – in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

We thank the Lord for using the long-standing cooperation and love of the Liberated Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (GKVs) who have invested prayers and ﬁnancial support for decades in the emergence and development of the work in Colombo. We regret the GKVs’ path of rupture with biblical orthodoxy. This breakup put an end to our fraternal relationship.

Our Status: mission congregation of the church of Maragogi

Membership: 52

Local Leadership: 1 minister, 3 elders, 2 deacons

Pastor / missionary: Pr. Adriano Gama

Mission Work

The Igreja Reformada Ebenézer (Reformed Church of Ebenezer) has been working to implement a project in the Içara/ Criciúma region. Pastor Adriano administers the Word of God at the devotional meeting on Sunday morning. Trips to Içara are monthly. The financial costs of these trips come from IR Ebenézer, the members in Içara and cooperation with the CanRC in Aldergrove. They currently have 18 members. We started the profession of faith course for the members of Içara. There are eight participants. Classes are every week via the internet.

We are also in contact with another group in Santa Catarina, the Reformed Church in Blumenau (SC). This church is not part of the IRB. In the past it was a neo-Pentecostal denomination. But nine years ago a reform process began. Today it is an independent church that has adopted the Westminster Standards as its symbols of faith. It is made up of 90 members. The IR leadership in Blumenau followed IR Ebenézer on the internet. Furthermore, it received good recommendations to invite Pastor Adriano to minister the Word at the Easter Retreat of this church. It was a moment of great communion and good contacts that made the IRBs better known to these brothers and sisters from Blumenau.

Fun and Fellowship

May 1st is a public holiday in Brazil. It was a special opportunity for us to have a whole day of great communion through study of the Word, games, meals, ﬁshing and good conversations.

The location was the camping house of one of our members, which served all those participating in this day of fellowship with great hospitality.

The life of faith includes this and much more than attending Sunday services. An opportunity such as this does much to build us up as a body of believers.