Brazil: From a mission field to a mission sender

In chapter 1 of Brazilian Evangelical Missions in the Arab World, I attempt to sketch out the backdrop of Brazilian evangelicalism and missions:

[My] purpose . . . is to historically locate the work of Brazilian evangelical missionaries in the Arab-Muslim world by exploring the narrative of how Brazil went from being a mission field—a country that has historically received missionaries—to a nation that also sends missionaries to the rest of the world . . . Following a very brief survey of the Portuguese conquest and subsequent Roman Catholic missions in the sixteenth century, I will narrate the rise of evangelical missions in the country beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, a movement led primarily by mainline denominations from North America. The history of this first wave of evangelical work will be followed by a discussion of the emergence of Pentecostal missions beginning in the early twentieth century. Assessing the history, methods, strategies, and values of the pioneer evangelical missionaries in Brazil will have a number of helpful outcomes. First, it will become evident that this movement was probably a consequence of evangelical awakenings, particularly those in North America and most likely the Second Great Awakening. Second, it will help to clarify Brazil’s evangelical identity—one that is much more inclusive than its North American or European counterparts.

A portion of this chapter was published in 2010 in the South African journal Verbum et Ecclesia as "The Impact of Evangelical Revivals on Global Mission: The Case of North American Evangelicals in Brazil in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries." 

Finally, you might enjoy Luis Bush's 1994 article from Mission Frontiers, "Brazil, A Sleeping Giant Awakens." 
 

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