Just two pioneers Daniel Berg and Gunnar Vinnagren, Swedish Baptist immigrants to the USA, started Assemblies of God in Brazil. Their church growth story has much relevance for us today and  is found in a book about the Pentecostal movement in Brazil, called “One Hundred years of Pentecostals” (Alfredo Oliva).

In 1910, Berg and Vinnagren were at a small prayer meeting in Indiana, when a prophetic word was given to them instructing them to go to ‘Para’ to preach the Gospel. They had never heard of the place. On looking it up in a library they discovered it was a state in North Brazil but they were obedient to the command and set out for Belem, the capital of Para. They arrived rather exhausted and in wool suits, hardly what was required in a hot country!

Soon Berg and Vingren started their own church, the beginnings of the Assemblies of God Church in Brazil. Many converts were won. By 1930 they had three church buildings and 1000 converts. Today there are an estimated 22.5 million members of Assemblies of God in Brazil and it is the largest evangelical denomination.

So what led to the spectacular church growth. There are five main reasons that I identified from the book:

1.They preached a very simple message

“Jesus brings salvation, baptises with the Holy Spirit and heals.”

2.They preached a very relevant message

This message was especially relevant to the mainly poor people in Para, who suffered much from the tropical illnesses. Also because preaching a personal salvation meant that they could all enjoy personal intimacy with Jesus and that each one of them could be a worker for God as well. This released many new believers into ministry, sharing their faith and praying for healing of others.

3.Berg was a passionate evangelist

He started a ministry of colporteurs, that sold Bibles, preached the Gospel and distributed tracts. He did this all day long, on the streets and door-to-door just like the Apostles did in the Early Church:

“Day after day, in the Temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news” (Acts 5:42)

Berg distributed a remarkable 2000 Bibles, 4000 New Testaments and 6000 Gospels in just the first three years in Para.

How many believers do this today?

4.They started churches meeting at people’s houses

Then when there was much interest in the Gospel, they started a church that met at someone’s house. This meant that this type of church was able to grow rapidly, as it simply met in people’s houses and was accessible to those in the locality.

5.Berg trained others to do the same

This simple model above, Berg trained others to do. Workers migrating to other regions in Brazil then spread the church to these regions also.

This model God blessed hugely and so the Assemblies of God Church grew very quickly. We can learn from this simple model of church growth today on how to grow the Church.

 For more on revival see my  21 day devotional guide based on revivals and the move of God called “GRACE OUTPOURINGS“.