About twenty years ago, I was living in Belem do Para (Brazil) and ran a small business selling fire equipment. I was deeply in debt, yet I didn’t want anything to do with God. My wife went to the Universal Church first because I caused her lots of suffering. I was addicted to alcohol and hated the Church because I was under the wrong impression. I would say: “I’ll only set foot in that Church over my dead body!” I hated the Universal Church so much that I’d cross the street, not to walk in front of it.
But she persevered, fought for me and, especially, for her because she understood that in order to help me she needed to be well. She was already an assistant when I decided to go to the Universal Church. I wanted to pay my debts, but right from the beginning I understood that if I sought God everything else would be easier to attain. So I focused on Him, placing all my strength into having an encounter with Him.
My business started growing and I was prospering. Yet after having an encounter with the Lord Jesus, those things no longer caught my attention. All I wanted was to tell others about what I had found at the Universal Church. I wanted to win souls. I knew that when I finished paying my debts, God would call me. That’s exactly what happened. Once all of my debts were paid, I was called to the Altar. And I left it all behind. It’s at times like these that people think we’re crazy, but I have no regrets and would do it all again.
I had two small children and we all left Belem and went to Santa Catarina. Many places we’ve passed through have left a mark in our lives. I remember Laguna, about 15 years ago. The Church was in an old movie theater and there was a pond across the street. Early in the morning, when it was cold, a mist would come up from the pond and fill the Church. Today, I’m used to the cold because I’ve passed through all the Southern states, but in the beginning it was a challenge.
It was hard, but good because the more difficulties we encounter to win souls for Jesus, the more we want to work, to fight for souls. When we first arrived, there were about 30 members, but as time passed, this number increased as people were being healed and lives were being transformed.
Another place that left a mark in the beginning was Tijuca, in Santa Catarina. This Church was also in a movie theater. We lived behind the Church, in a little house we painted ourselves. My children were about four years old. The house was extremely modest, but we were happy and we spent the day helping others.
Our biggest struggle is the resistance people show us when it comes to accepting the Word that has the power to deliver them. We wish we could bring them to the house of God and show them that their life has a solution, which is Jesus, and He can change any situation. Evil fights back hard because it doesn’t want people to find out they can be happy. My effort has always been great when it comes to this, because I want people to understand that there is indeed a solution.
We would evangelize door to door and sometimes the houses were far away, so we had to walk down long dirt roads because they weren’t paved. There were many times when we almost got lost because people lived in secluded wooden houses in the middle of the woodlands, but we left feeling renewed, since we knew that God used us to help those people. The sacrifices were always worth it. I witnessed many people being healed, delivered and conquering a new life.
Many coatis came into the yard of that house because of a big fruit tree we had in the back. Sometimes they would even come into the house. My son, Jonathan, was still very young and extremely afraid of them invading the house during the night. I remember him asking my wife at bedtime, “Mommy, is the coati going to come into my room?” And my wife would say, “No son, I’ve prayed and God is not going to let the coatis into our house”.
Our whole family had to sacrifice, including the children, who ended up sacrificing along with us. But we saw many people’s lives change, and the souls being won were our joy and our salary.
I remember another instance that marked me very much. We would stand in front of the Church evangelizing, so I went over to a man on a motorcycle, gave him a newspaper and asked if he accepted a prayer. He accepted and came inside the Church with me, where he manifested with an evil spirit and we helped deliver him. Afterwards, he said to me, “Pastor, now I know that God exists. When you called me over, I was about to drive the motorcycle off the bridge. I was going to kill myself.”
We helped this young man, he was baptized and ended up becoming an assistant. If we had not been in front of the Church door evangelizing, that young man would be dead right now. After some time, I was told that he remained firm in the faith as an assistant, winning souls. This is more valuable than any amount of money in this world! A young man that we won for Jesus is now also winning souls!
We passed through several cities such as Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul, Recife, Laguna, Joinville, Tubarao, Tijuca, Curitiba, Chapeco, Ibituba, among many others… My children were at our side during all of the moves and all of the struggles. They sacrificed without having any other option, because they were still very young. Three years ago, in Porto Alegre, when my 17-year-old son was already an assistant, Bishop Emerson Carlos asked me why he wasn’t doing the work of God yet. I couldn’t answer him, I just said that it depended on what Jonathan wanted to do. My son had never told me that he wanted to be a pastor. But one day, without me ever mentioning anything, he said: “Dad, I want to do the work of God.” So, during an Israel Challenge I placed my son on the Altar. The sacrifice was perfect. I presented my material sacrifice, and my spiritual sacrifice, which was my son on the Altar. The same day of the Israel Challenge, he took his suitcase to the Church. I said, “God, here he is: besides my material sacrifice, I am giving You my son on this Altar.” I raised him during 17 years, but I knew that I was raising him for God.
When my wife and I returned home and went into his room, we realized it would be empty forever. But this emptiness brought us joy, because we knew that we had placed him on the Altar to do the work of God. Of course we felt the pain of separation because we are human, but my greatest joy is to see my son doing what I do, which is winning souls.
Some time later, he was in a small town in Porto Alegre and was getting ready to do a concentration of faith. We were on a dirt road that seemed to never finish. It was a very humble place. I saw him from afar, in a soccer field, standing on a sound truck. When I looked at him, I saw myself. He was praying for those in need, handing out food baskets, doing social work. To me, this was priceless.
Today he is 20 years old and taking care of a Church in Rio Grande do Sul. My daughter is an assistant and is going to marry a pastor. This is everything a father could want for his children. My children are serving God and my wife is of God, she’s my companion in times of struggle and victories.
We become involved with the people and end up experiencing what they are going through, so whatever difficulties we might be going through don’t really matter. And God always honors us. With Him, we are happy anywhere we may be. The apostle Paul says that the man of God knows how to live in abundance and suffering need. When you have the Holy Spirit, nothing else in this world matters to you, because you already have what is most important.
Without the Holy Spirit, we can’t achieve anything. With the Holy Spirit, we can withstand all things, but even when passing through struggles, they become insignificant. The greater the difficulty, the more strength we receive.
Pastor Marco Pinheiro Dias
About twenty years ago, I was living in Belem do Para (Brazil) and ran a small business selling fire equipment. I was deeply in debt, yet I didn’t want anything to do with God. My wife went to the Universal Church first because I caused her lots of suffering. I was addicted to alcohol and hated the Church because I was under the wrong impression. I would say: “I’ll only set foot in that Church over my dead body!” I hated the Universal Church so much that I’d cross the street, not to walk in front of it.
But she persevered, fought for me and, especially, for her because she understood that in order to help me she needed to be well. She was already an assistant when I decided to go to the Universal Church. I wanted to pay my debts, but right from the beginning I understood that if I sought God everything else would be easier to attain. So I focused on Him, placing all my strength into having an encounter with Him.
My business started growing and I was prospering. Yet after having an encounter with the Lord Jesus, those things no longer caught my attention. All I wanted was to tell others about what I had found at the Universal Church. I wanted to win souls. I knew that when I finished paying my debts, God would call me. That’s exactly what happened. Once all of my debts were paid, I was called to the Altar. And I left it all behind. It’s at times like these that people think we’re crazy, but I have no regrets and would do it all again.
I had two small children and we all left Belem and went to Santa Catarina. Many places we’ve passed through have left a mark in our lives. I remember Laguna, about 15 years ago. The Church was in an old movie theater and there was a pond across the street. Early in the morning, when it was cold, a mist would come up from the pond and fill the Church. Today, I’m used to the cold because I’ve passed through all the Southern states, but in the beginning it was a challenge.
It was hard, but good because the more difficulties we encounter to win souls for Jesus, the more we want to work, to fight for souls. When we first arrived, there were about 30 members, but as time passed, this number increased as people were being healed and lives were being transformed.
Another place that left a mark in the beginning was Tijuca, in Santa Catarina. This Church was also in a movie theater. We lived behind the Church, in a little house we painted ourselves. My children were about four years old. The house was extremely modest, but we were happy and we spent the day helping others.
Our biggest struggle is the resistance people show us when it comes to accepting the Word that has the power to deliver them. We wish we could bring them to the house of God and show them that their life has a solution, which is Jesus, and He can change any situation. Evil fights back hard because it doesn’t want people to find out they can be happy. My effort has always been great when it comes to this, because I want people to understand that there is indeed a solution.
We would evangelize door to door and sometimes the houses were far away, so we had to walk down long dirt roads because they weren’t paved. There were many times when we almost got lost because people lived in secluded wooden houses in the middle of the woodlands, but we left feeling renewed, since we knew that God used us to help those people. The sacrifices were always worth it. I witnessed many people being healed, delivered and conquering a new life.
Many coatis came into the yard of that house because of a big fruit tree we had in the back. Sometimes they would even come into the house. My son, Jonathan, was still very young and extremely afraid of them invading the house during the night. I remember him asking my wife at bedtime, “Mommy, is the coati going to come into my room?” And my wife would say, “No son, I’ve prayed and God is not going to let the coatis into our house”.
Our whole family had to sacrifice, including the children, who ended up sacrificing along with us. But we saw many people’s lives change, and the souls being won were our joy and our salary.
I remember another instance that marked me very much. We would stand in front of the Church evangelizing, so I went over to a man on a motorcycle, gave him a newspaper and asked if he accepted a prayer. He accepted and came inside the Church with me, where he manifested with an evil spirit and we helped deliver him. Afterwards, he said to me, “Pastor, now I know that God exists. When you called me over, I was about to drive the motorcycle off the bridge. I was going to kill myself.”
We helped this young man, he was baptized and ended up becoming an assistant. If we had not been in front of the Church door evangelizing, that young man would be dead right now. After some time, I was told that he remained firm in the faith as an assistant, winning souls. This is more valuable than any amount of money in this world! A young man that we won for Jesus is now also winning souls!
We passed through several cities such as Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul, Recife, Laguna, Joinville, Tubarao, Tijuca, Curitiba, Chapeco, Ibituba, among many others… My children were at our side during all of the moves and all of the struggles. They sacrificed without having any other option, because they were still very young. Three years ago, in Porto Alegre, when my 17-year-old son was already an assistant, Bishop Emerson Carlos asked me why he wasn’t doing the work of God yet. I couldn’t answer him, I just said that it depended on what Jonathan wanted to do. My son had never told me that he wanted to be a pastor. But one day, without me ever mentioning anything, he said: “Dad, I want to do the work of God.” So, during an Israel Challenge I placed my son on the Altar. The sacrifice was perfect. I presented my material sacrifice, and my spiritual sacrifice, which was my son on the Altar. The same day of the Israel Challenge, he took his suitcase to the Church. I said, “God, here he is: besides my material sacrifice, I am giving You my son on this Altar.” I raised him during 17 years, but I knew that I was raising him for God.
– See more at: http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2014/03/15/the-life-of-a-man-of-god/#more-9132
About twenty years ago, I was living in Belem do Para (Brazil) and ran a small business selling fire equipment. I was deeply in debt, yet I didn’t want anything to do with God. My wife went to the Universal Church first because I caused her lots of suffering. I was addicted to alcohol and hated the Church because I was under the wrong impression. I would say: “I’ll only set foot in that Church over my dead body!” I hated the Universal Church so much that I’d cross the street, not to walk in front of it.
But she persevered, fought for me and, especially, for her because she understood that in order to help me she needed to be well. She was already an assistant when I decided to go to the Universal Church. I wanted to pay my debts, but right from the beginning I understood that if I sought God everything else would be easier to attain. So I focused on Him, placing all my strength into having an encounter with Him.
My business started growing and I was prospering. Yet after having an encounter with the Lord Jesus, those things no longer caught my attention. All I wanted was to tell others about what I had found at the Universal Church. I wanted to win souls. I knew that when I finished paying my debts, God would call me. That’s exactly what happened. Once all of my debts were paid, I was called to the Altar. And I left it all behind. It’s at times like these that people think we’re crazy, but I have no regrets and would do it all again.
I had two small children and we all left Belem and went to Santa Catarina. Many places we’ve passed through have left a mark in our lives. I remember Laguna, about 15 years ago. The Church was in an old movie theater and there was a pond across the street. Early in the morning, when it was cold, a mist would come up from the pond and fill the Church. Today, I’m used to the cold because I’ve passed through all the Southern states, but in the beginning it was a challenge.
It was hard, but good because the more difficulties we encounter to win souls for Jesus, the more we want to work, to fight for souls. When we first arrived, there were about 30 members, but as time passed, this number increased as people were being healed and lives were being transformed.
Another place that left a mark in the beginning was Tijuca, in Santa Catarina. This Church was also in a movie theater. We lived behind the Church, in a little house we painted ourselves. My children were about four years old. The house was extremely modest, but we were happy and we spent the day helping others.
Our biggest struggle is the resistance people show us when it comes to accepting the Word that has the power to deliver them. We wish we could bring them to the house of God and show them that their life has a solution, which is Jesus, and He can change any situation. Evil fights back hard because it doesn’t want people to find out they can be happy. My effort has always been great when it comes to this, because I want people to understand that there is indeed a solution.
We would evangelize door to door and sometimes the houses were far away, so we had to walk down long dirt roads because they weren’t paved. There were many times when we almost got lost because people lived in secluded wooden houses in the middle of the woodlands, but we left feeling renewed, since we knew that God used us to help those people. The sacrifices were always worth it. I witnessed many people being healed, delivered and conquering a new life.
Many coatis came into the yard of that house because of a big fruit tree we had in the back. Sometimes they would even come into the house. My son, Jonathan, was still very young and extremely afraid of them invading the house during the night. I remember him asking my wife at bedtime, “Mommy, is the coati going to come into my room?” And my wife would say, “No son, I’ve prayed and God is not going to let the coatis into our house”.
Our whole family had to sacrifice, including the children, who ended up sacrificing along with us. But we saw many people’s lives change, and the souls being won were our joy and our salary.
I remember another instance that marked me very much. We would stand in front of the Church evangelizing, so I went over to a man on a motorcycle, gave him a newspaper and asked if he accepted a prayer. He accepted and came inside the Church with me, where he manifested with an evil spirit and we helped deliver him. Afterwards, he said to me, “Pastor, now I know that God exists. When you called me over, I was about to drive the motorcycle off the bridge. I was going to kill myself.”
We helped this young man, he was baptized and ended up becoming an assistant. If we had not been in front of the Church door evangelizing, that young man would be dead right now. After some time, I was told that he remained firm in the faith as an assistant, winning souls. This is more valuable than any amount of money in this world! A young man that we won for Jesus is now also winning souls!
We passed through several cities such as Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul, Recife, Laguna, Joinville, Tubarao, Tijuca, Curitiba, Chapeco, Ibituba, among many others… My children were at our side during all of the moves and all of the struggles. They sacrificed without having any other option, because they were still very young. Three years ago, in Porto Alegre, when my 17-year-old son was already an assistant, Bishop Emerson Carlos asked me why he wasn’t doing the work of God yet. I couldn’t answer him, I just said that it depended on what Jonathan wanted to do. My son had never told me that he wanted to be a pastor. But one day, without me ever mentioning anything, he said: “Dad, I want to do the work of God.” So, during an Israel Challenge I placed my son on the Altar. The sacrifice was perfect. I presented my material sacrifice, and my spiritual sacrifice, which was my son on the Altar. The same day of the Israel Challenge, he took his suitcase to the Church. I said, “God, here he is: besides my material sacrifice, I am giving You my son on this Altar.” I raised him during 17 years, but I knew that I was raising him for God.
– See more at: http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2014/03/15/the-life-of-a-man-of-god/#more-9132
About twenty years ago, I was living in Belem do Para (Brazil) and ran a small business selling fire equipment. I was deeply in debt, yet I didn’t want anything to do with God. My wife went to the Universal Church first because I caused her lots of suffering. I was addicted to alcohol and hated the Church because I was under the wrong impression. I would say: “I’ll only set foot in that Church over my dead body!” I hated the Universal Church so much that I’d cross the street, not to walk in front of it.
But she persevered, fought for me and, especially, for her because she understood that in order to help me she needed to be well. She was already an assistant when I decided to go to the Universal Church. I wanted to pay my debts, but right from the beginning I understood that if I sought God everything else would be easier to attain. So I focused on Him, placing all my strength into having an encounter with Him.
My business started growing and I was prospering. Yet after having an encounter with the Lord Jesus, those things no longer caught my attention. All I wanted was to tell others about what I had found at the Universal Church. I wanted to win souls. I knew that when I finished paying my debts, God would call me. That’s exactly what happened. Once all of my debts were paid, I was called to the Altar. And I left it all behind. It’s at times like these that people think we’re crazy, but I have no regrets and would do it all again.
I had two small children and we all left Belem and went to Santa Catarina. Many places we’ve passed through have left a mark in our lives. I remember Laguna, about 15 years ago. The Church was in an old movie theater and there was a pond across the street. Early in the morning, when it was cold, a mist would come up from the pond and fill the Church. Today, I’m used to the cold because I’ve passed through all the Southern states, but in the beginning it was a challenge.
It was hard, but good because the more difficulties we encounter to win souls for Jesus, the more we want to work, to fight for souls. When we first arrived, there were about 30 members, but as time passed, this number increased as people were being healed and lives were being transformed.
Another place that left a mark in the beginning was Tijuca, in Santa Catarina. This Church was also in a movie theater. We lived behind the Church, in a little house we painted ourselves. My children were about four years old. The house was extremely modest, but we were happy and we spent the day helping others.
Our biggest struggle is the resistance people show us when it comes to accepting the Word that has the power to deliver them. We wish we could bring them to the house of God and show them that their life has a solution, which is Jesus, and He can change any situation. Evil fights back hard because it doesn’t want people to find out they can be happy. My effort has always been great when it comes to this, because I want people to understand that there is indeed a solution.
We would evangelize door to door and sometimes the houses were far away, so we had to walk down long dirt roads because they weren’t paved. There were many times when we almost got lost because people lived in secluded wooden houses in the middle of the woodlands, but we left feeling renewed, since we knew that God used us to help those people. The sacrifices were always worth it. I witnessed many people being healed, delivered and conquering a new life.
Many coatis came into the yard of that house because of a big fruit tree we had in the back. Sometimes they would even come into the house. My son, Jonathan, was still very young and extremely afraid of them invading the house during the night. I remember him asking my wife at bedtime, “Mommy, is the coati going to come into my room?” And my wife would say, “No son, I’ve prayed and God is not going to let the coatis into our house”.
Our whole family had to sacrifice, including the children, who ended up sacrificing along with us. But we saw many people’s lives change, and the souls being won were our joy and our salary.
I remember another instance that marked me very much. We would stand in front of the Church evangelizing, so I went over to a man on a motorcycle, gave him a newspaper and asked if he accepted a prayer. He accepted and came inside the Church with me, where he manifested with an evil spirit and we helped deliver him. Afterwards, he said to me, “Pastor, now I know that God exists. When you called me over, I was about to drive the motorcycle off the bridge. I was going to kill myself.”
We helped this young man, he was baptized and ended up becoming an assistant. If we had not been in front of the Church door evangelizing, that young man would be dead right now. After some time, I was told that he remained firm in the faith as an assistant, winning souls. This is more valuable than any amount of money in this world! A young man that we won for Jesus is now also winning souls!
We passed through several cities such as Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul, Recife, Laguna, Joinville, Tubarao, Tijuca, Curitiba, Chapeco, Ibituba, among many others… My children were at our side during all of the moves and all of the struggles. They sacrificed without having any other option, because they were still very young. Three years ago, in Porto Alegre, when my 17-year-old son was already an assistant, Bishop Emerson Carlos asked me why he wasn’t doing the work of God yet. I couldn’t answer him, I just said that it depended on what Jonathan wanted to do. My son had never told me that he wanted to be a pastor. But one day, without me ever mentioning anything, he said: “Dad, I want to do the work of God.” So, during an Israel Challenge I placed my son on the Altar. The sacrifice was perfect. I presented my material sacrifice, and my spiritual sacrifice, which was my son on the Altar. The same day of the Israel Challenge, he took his suitcase to the Church. I said, “God, here he is: besides my material sacrifice, I am giving You my son on this Altar.” I raised him during 17 years, but I knew that I was raising him for God.
– See more at: http://www.bispomacedo.com.br/en/2014/03/15/the-life-of-a-man-of-god/#more-9132