Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008
Phil and Donna Kesler
Ethnic ministries, Brazil
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 Baptist for your prayers — which are essential for keeping us on 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.