Brazilian Church in St. Louis
Pastor Mario and Claudete Carneiro are missionaries in the U.S. from the Assemblies of God in Salvador, Brazil. They moved to St. Louis, MO in 2019 and decided to start a Bible study in their home for Brazilian residents. After posting an ad on Facebook, they immediately got a response from someone inviting them to join a Brazilian group at West County Assembly of God in Chesterfield, MO.
Attending their gatherings, and becoming more acquainted with the people around them, Pastor Mario received a couple of opportunities to preach and share what the Lord put in his heart to the group. When COVID-19 hit, the leadership of that Brazilian fellowship was given to the Carneiro's. Though they started from the bottom, as some people of the group scattered to other states and other churches due to the pandemic, they moved forward, and the Lord surprised them with many successful strategies to reach more Brazilians in St. Louis. They overcame challenges to successfully establish the first Brazilian Church in the area, and are still currently meeting at West County AG.
Pastor Mario is an ordained minister within the Assemblies of God, and has held positions as co-pastor, senior pastor, and District pastor in Brazil. He holds a Bachelor in Law with a MBA and MDiv degrees. Meanwhile, his wife, Claudete, is an Early Childhood Development professional who loves to educate children. She has graduate degrees in the childhood development field, and not only is she professionally qualified, but she has been an outstanding helper for the children's ministry, and for the development of the Brazilian church in St. Louis overall.
Mario and Claudete have two daughters, Nicole Carneiro and Helle Lima, their son-in-law Nilton Leandro Lima, and their two grandsons, Miguel and Emmanuel Lima. Leandro is also an ordained pastor of the Assemblies of God in Brazil. The Carneiro's are looking forward to the Lima family's future help in the mission to reach more Brazilians here in the U.S.
The name of the church in Portuguese is "Igreja Brasileira em St. Louis" or "IBSTL". The Carneiro's look forward in seeing what God has in store for the Brazilians in St. Louis, MO.