In October 2022 leaders at the Annual Council of the Seventh-day Adventist Church introduced a revamped way of doing mission. “We need to look at our global challenges to finally preach the gospel of the kingdom to all the world,” General Conference secretary Erton Köhler said during the meeting. Köhler and other leaders then introduced Mission Refocus, a plan to redistribute human and financial resources to regions with the most pressing mission challenges. Southeast Brazil Union Conference (EBUC) president Hiram Kalbermatter supported the new initiative, but he also understood firsthand the evangelistic challenges throughout his territory.
Although Brazil has an Adventist membership of more than 1.8 million, in the state of Minas Gerais (population 21.3 million) there are still hundreds of cities and towns with no Adventist presence. “It was clear to me that while we had been supporting the church’s global mission and were planning to keep doing so, we had a mission problem at home,” Kalbermatter shared. “We needed a new evangelism model.”
A New Mission Plan Is Born
Dozens of informal and formal discussions among EBUC leadership eventually led to En Cada Cidade Uma Igreja (A Church in Every City). The initiative focused on reaching towns and small cities with no Adventist presence across the state of Minas Gerais, which has an area of 226,459 square miles (586,526 square kilometers). In addition to church fields in Minas Gerais, Adventists in the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, which also are part of the EBUC territority, committed to supporting the initiative as well.
At a regional EBUC church gathering, leaders introduced the project to acquaint other leaders and church members with the challenges ahead. “We showed them the names of the cities with no Adventist presence [and] their population and began to pray about it,” Kalbermatter shared. The carefully developed project soon enlisted the support of various levels of church administration, including the South American Division, he reported.
A Church in Every City called on every church region to “adopt” between three and six nearby towns or small cities with no Adventist presence, covering the costs of a mission pioneer in each place—usually a Bible worker and their immediate family—for at least three years. Other regional organizations—a large school, an Adventist hospital, and the local ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) branch office—also adopted one unreached town or city. The EBUC named a pastor to serve as coordinator of the initiative, and the regional church headquarters selected a town to support by sending volunteers from its staff and financial assistance from its own budget.
Kalbermatter explained that after arriving in an unreached town, a Bible worker usually begins by visiting those who are already interested in studying the Bible because of previous contacts with the ubiquitous TV Novo Tempo (the Adventist TV network in Brazil). “Even in many places with no official Adventist presence, we know that there are people who have contacted Novo Tempo to request Bible studies,” Kalbermatter explained. “So when a newly sponsored Bible worker moves to the town selected, [the worker begins] by visiting those who watch Adventist TV,” he said.
After the first baptisms take place in an area, Bible workers lead the formation of a core group that starts meeting every Sabbath, usually in a rented facility. The church region that adopted the fledgling congregation continues to support the newly formed group with church member visits, volunteer initiatives, and any needed financial assistance. As the congregation becomes more firmly established, subsequent steps include officially registering the congregation and then looking for ways to purchase a plot of land on which to one day construct a church building of their own.
Initiative’s First Results
Leaders voted for the regional initiative at the end of 2023 and launched it in early 2024. The various entities of the EBUC targeted 44 towns and cities in Minas Gerais with no Adventist presence. “The idea was to help participants in the project say, ‘Yes, I know I have challenges in my own territory, but others have bigger challenges, and it’s our duty to support them,’ ” Kalbermatter said.
By the end of 2024, leaders reported tangible results. Besides the 44 towns and cities that first became the focus of the initiative, local churches across the region also voted to join the outreach effort. Soon they began to establish an Adventist presence in an additional 18 cities. The year closed with 555 baptisms and another 928 people from places with no Adventist presence studying the Bible. Leaders supported the rental of meeting halls in 29 cities, and one church building was completed and inaugurated. Congregations in 10 cities ended 2024 with a plot of land of their own, where they are planning to build a church.
The trend hasn’t slowed down in 2025. Adventist groups continue to spring up in an increasing number of towns across the state, leaders reported. These include Astolfo Dutra (population 13,000), with 11 baptisms and a recently purchased plot of land; Bom Sucesso (population 17,000), with 9 baptisms and a plot of land; and Lagoa Dourada (population 12,700), with 12 baptisms and a newly acquired plot. “Every member who desires to do so is getting involved by supporting the initiative with their prayers, time, and funds,” Kalbermatter reported. “Recently we enlisted the help of 10 retired pastors, who are also helping to visit the interests and strengthen the new converts.”
Leaders Explore Options With a Supporting Ministry
Despite significant progress, the challenges are daunting, Kalbermatter acknowledged. “We still have hundreds of unreached towns and cities across Minas Gerais, a state where traditional religious beliefs are deeply entrenched,” he said.
Another problem existed as well. While the church administration is knowledgeable and trained regarding evangelism and church planting, Kalbermatter felt they needed help with a key component of the project: building churches. “We know that if a fledgling group does not own a building, the odds of growing and thriving are much lower,” he explained. “Without a sanctuary, some might even disband.”
Several years ago, when Kalbermatter was serving as president of the Bolivia Union Mission, he had partnered with Maranatha Volunteers International, a donor-based supporting ministry of the Adventist Church that builds churches and schools and drills water wells around the world. Maranatha has ample logistical expertise with church construction, having served for more than 55 years in almost 90 countries. “The Maranatha model of building mostly small and economical sanctuaries is just what we need in Minas Gerais,” Kalbermatter said. “If they help us to start building, we can eventually provide a customized facade for each new temple and give each building its finishing touches.”
Maranatha leaders have followed closely what has been happening in this region of Brazil. Finally, from June 3 to 5, 2025, they visited the area to discuss possibilities of involvement and collaboration. The team, which included Maranatha president Don Noble; his wife, Laura, who is in charge of donor relations; and vice president Kenneth Weiss, left impressed with what they saw. “We have received more than 100,000 requests for help and support from around the world,” Weiss commented. “But what impressed us about this initiative is the level of buy-in and commitment of every level of church administration and from lay church members. It’s a serious plan that includes human resources and budgetary considerations, and I believe something positive will come out of these discussions.”
Kalbermatter agreed. “There are hundreds of members pitching in—praying, donating funds, volunteering, joining A Church in Every City to help the project grow,” he said. “And we are getting up to speed. If Maranatha helps us to build churches, thousands more will help God’s message of hope for this time and will soon be drawn to Him and His church.”
Maranatha Volunteers International is a nonprofit supporting ministry that is not operated by the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church.