One of the first things Virginians Phil and Donya Kesler noticed
when they moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2006 was the international
connections the city offered—produce shops managed by Chinese workers
and Arabic mosques and churches were all just a short distance from
their home.
As an ethnic ministries coordinator, Phil travels throughout the
country training Brazilian missionaries in cross-cultural outreach.
It’s a perfect fit with Phil’s natural gift for language. He can read,
write and speak Portuguese, Arabic, French, Chinese and Spanish.
Phil and Donya teach a specific method for church planting known as
“Churches Multiplying Churches.” The idea is to start a new church
while simultaneously training local believers to assume leadership
roles. Once the church is established, missionaries can move on to
begin work in another area.
“Brazil is the next major country, we believe, to send waves of
missionaries to help [spread] the Gospel from the unreached places in
Brazil to the farthest nations on earth,” Phil says.
Because you give:
“We would like to thank Southern Baptists for your prayers—which
are essential for keeping us in the field—but also for your generous
giving that makes it possible for us to recruit, mobilize, train and
equip Brazilian missionaries as well as strategic partners,” Phil says.
