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When Pedro Silva heard about the rooster tithe by Maria de Lourdes, he praised her in e-mails sent to large churches in Brazil. One congregation in the Southeast sent her $235. Her family now has another rooster, as well as a bicycle, a refrigerator, and a small television in its spartan house.

The new president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has recognized the social work done through the growing evangelical community. He is calling on evangelicals, who supported him heavily in the fall election, to step up the pace of social reform (CT, Dec. 9, 2002, p. 22).

"I challenge the churches to participate in national reconstruction," da Silva said. "I lean on the evangelicals to help me change Brazil." This challenge includes an invitation to fight hunger. "This is the mission of my life," the new president said. His first official act was to start a Zero Hunger program. Bishop Dom Fernando Saborido, director of the Catholic National Brazilian Bishops Conference in the Northeast, believes evangelicals are up to the challenge.

"In the past, the concern was only the Word, but now evangelicals care about the body, too," Saborido says. "They realized there's no competition when the subject is fighting poverty."

Sebastião Eugênio, called Brother Tião by his friends, has firsthand experience with poverty. He lives 40 miles from Itaporanga in the village of Olho Dágua. Thirty-five people regularly gather at the only evangelical church in the area. As the leader of this small congregation, Eugênio is learning how to read with his Bible. He has eight children and receives no salary from the church, which is unable to pay its bills. But he is not worried.

"God is in control," Eugênio says. "He has never left me helpless. He wants me here talking to those who are like me."

George Guilherme is a senior reporter for Globo TV, a major television network in Latin America, in Recife. He is also a correspondent for Eclesia magazine.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also appearing on our site today:

Brazil's Christian Roots | Since the 1600s, the number of protestants has risen to more than 27 million.

Previous CT articles on Brazil include:

Evangelicals Grow as Political Force in Brazil | New interest in public policy fuels election wins. (Nov. 15, 2002)

Jesus for President | A Brazilian election judge sues Jesus for early campaigning. (July 22, 2002)

Brazil's Surging Spirituality | Churches of all stripes have been growing for decades, as have the controversies and challenges facing evangelicals. (Dec. 21, 2000)

Pie-in-the-Sky Now | Two scholars argue that Pentecostalism, especially in Brazil, is not so otherworldly as many think. (Nov. 27, 2000)

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April 2003, Vol. 47, No. 4