Killaloe –  As the new minister at Grace Evangelical Missionary Church in Killaloe steps into his role, he continues paving his path following God’s footsteps to the ends of the earth.

Brazilian-born minister Adauto Rezende is a modern-day disciple. He exemplifies a true shepherd to his flock, letting Jesus take the wheel more often than not, which can be seen not only in his daily behavior but the legacy he leaves behind.

He first came to Canada in 1988 after studying theology at a Bible college program through his local church in Brazil, where they taught in Portuguese. His career serving God started in Cambridge, where he would go on to plant several churches for the local Brazilian/Portuguese communities.

He continued serving as a self-proclaimed missionary for the Portuguese community when he decided to open up an English-speaking church. It wasn’t long before it started getting popular and Rev. Rezende started working as a bilingual pastor. He aimed to improve the English skills of the local second-generation Portuguese and even published a monthly evangelical outreach newspaper with a print run of 10,000.

“I noted that the kids could not understand my Portuguese, because the accent is different and they just had basic conversations with their parents,” he said. “So they couldn’t grab what I was preaching. Then it became a multicultural church. We had all types of people. So we had about 100.”

He said his next calling was to go to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Canada and Portugal to plant churches. He was called to the archipelago of Azores, a collection of nine major volcanic islands and an islet cluster, where the smallest settlement has about 450 people and the largest has about 100,000.

“We prayed and we decided to go to plant a church in the second smallest one with about 3,500 people, seven years ago.”

When he realized his work there was completed, he left for a town called Shediac, just outside Moncton, NB. He planted a church there and stayed for about half a year. His next destination was home to the second-largest Muslim population in the world, Pakistan in South Asia.

“Our short mission trip there was a very great blessing,” he remarked. “It’s a very tough country for Christians. A lot of persecution, it’s a very dangerous place.”

He then relocated to Sombra, Ontario, just south of Sarnia, where he was a pastor at an evangelical church throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rev. Rezende and his wife, Gina, were just getting ready to return to Brazil at the end of October when he received a sign from God to go to another place he’d never been, the quant village of Killaloe.

“For some reason, the Lord brought me to this church here. So we prayed and decided to obey the Lord’s calling,” he explained. “I won’t go to Brazil now. I will be here until the Lord tells me to go or to stay or whatever. It’s His plan, not mine.”

He elaborated on his deep connection with God and the divine revelations telling him what to do.

“I had a question I struggled in my heart to know. My question was, ‘How can I get to heaven?’ Because my mom’s instructions and the system we are in fear of the reality of heaven and hell,” he explained. “The theology was, if you are a good person, you might make it…So I try my best to be good.

“In 1973, I had a powerful experience understanding what Jesus Christ came to do for us,” he said. “Even though in our religion we heard about Christ, we don’t really know what it means to follow him.

“I worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant and there was a guy. And this man was a murderer. He killed two people; he was a drug dealer at the time.

“He’d come to the restaurant always wanting to kill somebody. Very dangerous man. I heard this man many times saying all the things he would do, shooting people, selling drugs and everything.”

He said the next time he saw the man at the restaurant, he saw an entirely new person.

“He was no longer cursing or screaming. He was singing. Three days after, I asked him, ‘What happened to you?’”

“I have Jesus,” he said.”

“You have Jesus?” he posed. “And I said, ‘I have Jesus too! We have five Jesus’ at home!’

The man pointed out how he may have had Jesus hanging over his stairs but questioned if he truly had Him in his heart. The man then gave the 19-year-old Mr. Rezende his first bible.

Rev. Rezende said he was puzzled to realize just how powerful faith can be. The engagement prompted further investigation and would set him on a lifelong path of success.

When he picked up his Bible and started reading seriously, he found himself curiously enjoying the first book, Genesis, the story of creation. The rest is history.

As he gets set in his fresh dwellings, Rev. Rezende brings decades of pastoral experience to the Killaloe community on his mission to deepen his spiritual growth and that of those around him.

You can find Grace Evangelical Missionary Church at 15069 Highway 60. For more information, email gracemckillaloe@gmail.com or call (613) 757-0082.