How We Got Started: Brazil
July 2025
The Birth of the Movement in Brazil
Our story in Brazil began in 1948 when Clarence L. Sickel (missionary to Argentina) was sent to survey the country and assess its potential as a new mission field. After his initial survey, Encompass chose to send missionaries to the extreme northeast region of the country, since other mission agencies were already working in the southern, more densely populated regions. This laid the groundwork for our movement to grow throughout Brazil. In 1949, Keith and Vivian Altig accepted the call to become the first Encompass missionaries to Brazil. They had a pioneering spirit and immersed themselves in local communities, learning the language and culture. Just one year after their arrival, their church plant held its first service on January 1, 1950. Edward and Eileen Miller soon joined their team, followed by additional missionary couples in the early 1950s. Together, they worked in Icoaraci, a small town near Belém, establishing a movement that would grow and spread across the country.The Growth of the Movement in Brazil
God led these early missionaries to choose strategic locations to plant churches, focusing on areas where they could engage with both urban and rural communities. As our number of missionaries increased, so did their reach. They established churches beyond Icoaraci, moving into cities like Macapá and Capanema. They even ventured into regions of the Amazon! These missionaries prioritized relationships with the local population, often using creative evangelism methods such as outdoor meetings, slideshows depicting Bible stories, and social gatherings. By the mid-1950s, they established evangelical schools, providing much-needed education while spreading the gospel. They also invested in training national leaders, empowering them to continue the work long after the missionaries completed their work. Today, the Charis Alliance in Brazil has grown to include 32 churches and 10 points of light across the country. The movement continues to extend into new regions, including the southeast and northeast, with plans to plant additional churches in the South.A Call to Prayer and Support
Charis Alliance churches in Brazil are passionate about spreading Jesus’s love and planting new churches, but they still need our prayers.- Ask God to fill the people in Brazilian churches with a deep, unwavering love for Jesus’s cause.
- Pray for our churches in Brazil to operate with increased interdependence that is in line with the early church of the New Testament.
- Ask God to raise up new, capable leaders to guide the future of the Charis Alliance in Brazil.
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