West Mato Grosso Mission

The West Mato Grosso Mission (MisOM) is an administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church located in the territory of the West Central Brazil Union Mission (UCOB).

The West Mato Grosso Mission’s temporary headquarters are based at Rua da Bondade, 182, Jardim Gloria II, 78140-770 Varzea Grande, MT, Brazil.

MisOM’s territory includes the municipalities of Nova Monte Verde, Colíder, Alta Floresta, Colniza, Aripuanã, Juína, Juara, Tangará da Serra, Barra do Bugres, Curvelândia, Cáceres, Poconé, Pontes e Lacerda, Guarantã do Norte, Matupá, Peixoto de Azevedo, and Sinop e Várzea Grande. The field has 18,853 members divided into 107 organized churches, 119 groups, and thirty pastoral districts.¹ With a total population of 1,373,083 inhabitants in the region,² the average is one Adventist per seventy-two inhabitants.

The West Mato Grosso Mission manages three schools, which at the time of writing enrolled 2,618 students. The Varzea Grande Adventist Academy in the city of Várzea Grande enrolled 923 students, the Caceres Adventist Academy in Cáceres enrolled 751 students, and the Sinop Adventist Academy in Sinop enrolled 944 students. The Hope Channel Brazil broadcasts on channel 3, an open channel, in the city of Colíder with a potential reach of 33,438 people.³

MisOM employs a staff of forty-one people, twenty of whom are support personnel, seven are credentialed workers, and fourteen are licensed workers. The field employs thirty-five pastors, twenty-one of which are ordained and fourteen licensed.

The Origin of the Adventist Work in the Mission Territory

Adventist work began in Mato Grosso around 1920 when the territory was combined with Mato Grosso do Sul to form a single state. Canvassers Antônio Souza and Egídio Machado initially arrived in the southern region of the state. In November 1920, Max Rohde accompanied by Antônio Souza visited the city of Entre Rios where he organized the first Sabbath School with ten members.⁴ Rohde also met a group of Sabbath keepers at a place “in the middle of a huge virgin bush” in the region, and organized another Sabbath School class with twenty members.⁵

In 1921, Rohde visited the city of Ponta Porã on the border with Paraguay in the current territory of Mato Grosso do Sul. There he met the couple, Israel and Castorina do Amaral, who had known the Adventist Church while living in Argentina. Rohde held Bible study meetings in Ponta Porã and, on May 29, 1921, performed one of the first recorded baptisms in the territory.⁶ In the same year, the Mato Grosso Mission was established with Rohde as president and the only licensed minister. The mission headquarters were located in the city of Campo Grande.⁷ Rohde's tireless work for the Adventist mission ended up damaging his health, requiring him to retire in 1927. He remained as superintendent of the Mato Grosso Mission until 1929.⁸ During 1930, the mission remained without a director⁹ until Elmer H. Wilcox, then president of the South Brazil Union Conference, took over in 1931.¹⁰

Amid administrative changes, evangelistic work did not stop in Mato Grosso. In the early 1930s, Longino Niz arrived in Cuiabá to do canvassing work.¹¹ In May 1933, he had sold more than “ten contos de réis¹² in literature” (about US $ 3,250.00) in materials.¹³ At that time, Niz served a population of about 18,000 inhabitants in Cuiabá and nearby cities, such as Poconé.¹⁴ In July 1934, thanks to the canvasser's work, Cuiabá already had four Sabbath School classes organized and ten people ready to be baptized.¹⁵

In 1934, the South Brazil Union Conference sent Alfredo Méier to work in the Mato Grosso Mission.¹⁶ In 1936, Méier assumed the presidency of the mission, still based in Campo Grande.¹⁷ The Mato Grosso Mission held its first general conference from July 18 to 22, 1934. Pastor E. H. Wilcox baptized three people in Cuiabá days before the conference and five others in the city of Poconé.¹⁸

The advancement of the work and conferences held in 1938 and 1939 enabled the inauguration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuiabá at the beginning of the year 1941.¹⁹ That same year, José R. dos Passos accepted the leadership of the Mato Grosso Mission and started to concentrate efforts on evangelizing the northern region of the state. Until then, the mission only had four organized churches, seven groups, and 174 baptized members.²⁰ In 1943, the number of Adventists across the state of Mato Grosso rose to 225.²¹

There is no record of when the Adventist message officially arrived in the city of Várzea Grande. However, in September 1942 Revista Adventista (Adventist Review) reported that there was a group of forty-five to sixty regular attendees at Saturday and Thursday services in the city.²² In February 1943, the Oscar dos Reis reported that there were fifty-six people enrolled in the Sabbath School, and nine people had been baptized.²³

The Church in this region was very concerned about education. The mission provided a teacher for Várzea Grande who taught the primary admission course.²⁴ It was the beginning of the city's Adventist school, which became the Varzea Grande Adventist Academy, as it is known today. The classes at the new school started on March 15, 1943, under the direction of Rubens Ségre Ferreira, offering the four primary school grades and the admission course to enter secondary school. In August 1943, the school had forty-five students enrolled in both courses.²⁵

With the founding of the Varzea Grande Adventist Academy, considered the first Adventist school in the territory, Adventist work in Mato Grosso started to grow. In 1945, the state had 260 members;²⁶ in 1950, the number of members had reached 299.²⁷ Facing a population of about 520,000 inhabitants, the number of Adventists in the state achieved 529 in 1955.²⁸ Evangelistic work also advanced in the city of Cuiabá, which registered fifty-nine baptisms in March 1958 after a large series of evangelistic meetings started in April 1957.²⁹ Due to these efforts, by 1960 the Adventist Church in the territory had 1,272 members.³⁰

In the 1960s, the Adventist message reached more distant municipalities in Cuiabá and Campo Grande, such as Barra do Bugres. In 1966, the Adventist families of Antônio Ambrósio Filho and Luciano Pereira da Silva moved from the city of Pereira Barreto, in the state of São Paulo, to Barra do Bugres, Mato Grosso, settling on the Córrego Vermelhinho ranch. The following year, other Adventist families arrived and strengthened the small company of Adventists in the city who received assistance from Pastor Enéas Simon.³¹

Bewteen 1969 and 1975, the group in Barra do Bugres met in the garage of Tiburtino Pereira's house, and little by little the number of members grew resulting in baptisms. The space became too small and, in 1975, the Barra do Bugres City Hall donated land in the urban area for the construction of a church. However, the land was sold and with the money the group acquired an even larger property in another location. In the same year, the company of Adventists was officially organized into a church during a special service attended by Elias Lombardi, president of the Mato Grosso Mission.³²

In the city of Tangará da Serra, the Adventist message arrived through a man named José Joaquim Nascimento in November 1969. At the time, a Sabbath School class was active in his house whose first members were migrants from the cities of Paranavaí and Tamboara in the state of Parana. In 1977, this class had 253 members.³³ A year earlier, the city had hosted an education and stewardship congress, where the need to build a Christian school was addressed. Tangara da Serra Adventist Academy, however, was not inaugurated until February 19, 2019, enrolling only kindergarten and first grade students.³⁴

In the late 1970s, an important political event contributed to the expansion of the Adventist Church in the territory. In 1977, the president of Brazil, Ernesto Geisel, signed Complementary Law No. 31 of October 11, 1977, which divided the large state into Mato Grosso, with the capital in Cuiabá, and Mato Grosso do Sul, with the capital in Campo Grande.³⁵ At the time, the headquarters of the Mato Grosso Mission were still in Campo Grande, which made it difficult to manage the vast territory that covered the both states.³⁶ Consequently, in 1979 the mission's administration requested that the South Brazil Union Conference (now the Central Brazil Union Conference) divide the Mato Grosso Mission.³⁷

The official division of the field took place at the sixteenth biennial assembly of the Mato Grosso Mission, between November 2 and 4, 1979, in Cuiabá. The new Mato Grosso Mission’s territory included the entire state of Mato Grosso with headquarters in Cuiabá, while the South Mato Grosso Mission (now the South Mato Grosso Conference) retained the territory of Mato Grosso do Sul with headquarters in Campo Grande. For president of the new mission, the USB directive committee chose Antenor Cruz da Costa. Jairo de Oliveira was the secretary-treasurer.³⁸ In January 1980, the field had seven pastoral districts (Barra do Garças, Cáceres, Cuiabá Central, Cuiabá Porto, Rondonópolis, Sinop, and Várzea Grande)³⁹ with fourteen churches and 5,139 members.⁴⁰

In the years that followed, the field continued to grow. The first church of the new Mato Grosso Mission, Pedra Preta, was dedicated in the municipality of Rondonópolis in 1980.⁴¹ In July 1982 at the second triennial assembly of the mission, it was reported that between 1980 and 1981, 1,377 new members were baptized bringing the total membership to 6,352 Adventists in the state of Mato Grosso at the end of 1981.⁴² At the end of the following year, the Mato Grosso Mission had a total of 6,414 members, divided into twenty churches in the districts of Sinop, Porto, Central de Cuiabá, Várzea Grande, Rondonópolis, Barra do Garças, Mirassol D'Oeste, Barra do Bugres, and Cáceres.⁴³

In November 1983, the new headquarters of the Mato Grosso Mission was inaugurated in Cuiabá, at Rua São Sebastião 3682, in the Santa Helena neighborhood.⁴⁴ The new office had modern facilities, such as a store for the Adventist Book Center (Sels) and apartments for workers. The inauguration of the new structure was a reflection of the constant growth of the church, which in 1983 had twenty-one organized churches and 7,114 members.⁴⁵

The mission expansion also included the educational work. In April 1985, the eight schools in the territory of the Mato Grosso Mission had around 1,300 students enrolled,⁴⁶ while the mission had a total of twenty-seven churches with 8,936 members.⁴⁷ In 1987, the number of pastoral districts increased from fifteen to nineteen in cities such as Nova Xavantina, Alta Floresta, and Peixoto de Azevedo.⁴⁸ In the same year, the Mato Grosso Mission acquired land in Cuiabá where the Clínica Adventista de Saúde (Health Adventist Clinic) would operate.⁴⁹ Construction of the health unit began on February 21, 1988,⁵⁰ with inauguration scheduled for 1993.⁵¹

The 1990s represented new opportunities for growth for the Adventist Church in Mato Grosso. The Mato Grosso field started this period with forty churches and 12,453 members,⁵² and Adventist work expanded to other cities in the west. In Tangará da Serra, for example, although a group had been meeting since 1977, the construction of the city's church finally started in August 1991 with the laying of its foundation stone. That same month in the city of Barra do Bugres, the Adventist Welfare Center (CASA) became active offering courses in knitting, crocheting, painting, sewing, and other domestic activities. Three people had already been baptized through CASA's work.⁵³

In November 1994, data presented at the third triennial assembly of the field showed that the state of Mato Grosso had 16,000 Adventists distributed in a total of 200 congregations. Proportionately, there was one Adventist per 130 inhabitants.⁵⁴ A year later, the mission laid the foundation stone for the Mato Grosso Adventist Academy (Iamat), a boarding school located on the MT-140 highway in the city of Campo Verde. The property chosen for the construction of the school had “excellent weather, abundant springs, paved roads, being able to receive students from other regions of the country.” The mission chose the teacher Osvaldo Leão to lead this new boarding school.⁵⁵

It was also in the 1990s that the first means of communication emerged under IASD’s direction in Mato Grosso. In 1996, with the production and presentation of Wilson Pereira, the radio program Comunicando Jesus (Communicating Jesus) was broadcast in the cities of Cuiabá and Várzea Grande. The social, cultural, and spiritual character of the program was well-received by the population. In August 1996, it was the audience leader among the religious programs broadcast in Cuiabá. Besides radio broadcasts, the program had a team that visited listeners in their homes.⁵⁶

All of the evangelistic initiatives in the 1990s contributed to a number of baptisms that exceeded 2,000 people. Thus, the state of Mato Grosso began the year 2000 with 105 organized churches and 23,481 Adventists, compared to a total population of 2,191,081 people.⁵⁷ By the end of 2003, the number of Adventists rose to 26,816.⁵⁸ Growth in the entire region led the South American Division to create the West Central Brazil Union Mission in May 2004, which covers the states of Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Federal District. The new union started operating in January 2005.⁵⁹

In the 2000s, the local press highlighted an important work done by Adventist education in the state. In 2004, at Sinop Adventist Academy, a program was implemented to include students who were deaf. The program included the Coral de Libras (Libras Choir) and the teaching of the Brazilian Sign Language to non-deaf students. TV Centro América (Central America TV) presented the project on one of its newscasts, including interviewing one of the deaf students at the school.⁶⁰ While projects in the social area were highlighted, the evangelistic front advanced with the expansion of Adventist work to municipalities that, until then, had no presence of the Adventist Church. As of December 2007, the state had 117 churches organized with 23,484 members⁶¹ in 122 churches. By December 2008, there were 24,184.⁶²

As Adventist membership grew in the state of Mato Grosso, representatives of all Adventists in the region met in Cuiabá between November 23 and 25, 2008, for the seventh quadrennial assembly of the Mato Grosso Mission, where the field became the Mato Grosso Conference (AMT).⁶³ In 2009, its first official year as a conference, the AMT ended December with 133 organized churches and 24,992 members.⁶⁴ In the following years, the Adventist Church in Mato Grosso experienced considerable growth. As of December 2013, there were 164 churches with 27,501 members⁶⁵ in 176 churches. By the end of 2015, there were 28,877 members,⁶⁶ and by the end of 2016 there were 187 churches with 29,956 members.⁶⁷

Mission Organizational History

With the growth of Adventist work in the state of Mato Grosso, in 2019 the South American Division approved the reorganization of the Mato Grosso Conference in two new fields: the West Mato Grosso Mission and the Eastern Mato Grosso Conference.⁶⁸ The SAD vote was registered by the directive committee of the West Central Brazil Union Mission on June 9, 2019.⁶⁹

The justification presented for the division of the Mato Grosso field included the extensive size of the territory, the large number of members, and the low demographic density. In addition, the growth of the church’s evangelistic, educational, and missionary sectors require the constant presence of the leadership. The territory’s size and rapid growth did not allow. Thus, with the creation of the new administrative unit, the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that the gospel can be preached more efficiently in the state of Mato Grosso.⁷⁰ The SAD vote also predicted that by its second ordinary assembly, MisOM will change its status to conference, becoming the West Mato Grosso Conference (AOM).⁷¹

The field began its activities with 18,853 Adventists organized into 226 congregations and thirty pastoral districts. To lead the new mission, which is also part of the West Central Brazil Union Mission (UCoB), Evaldo Oliveira was appointed president,⁷² Abdoval Cavalcanti, executive secretary,⁷³ and Paulo Fabrício Dias Júnior, treasurer. In December 2019, MisOM held its first ordinary general assembly during which department leaders were elected: Edimar Sena Oliveira Júnior (education and religious liberty); Krysthyann Zeferino (youth ministry, Pathfinders, Adventurers, music, and Adventist university ministries); Marcos Roberto Pereira Nunes (ministerial association, small groups, and home and family); Reverson Silva Almeida (Sabbath School, evangelism, and personal ministry); Tiago Lima (Spirit of Prophecy and the ministries of publication and health); and Yasna Liz Cardenas Seguel Oliveira (women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ ministries).⁷⁴

The West Mato Grosso Mission field presents some challenges for the proper fulfillment of the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Besides the great distance between the municipalities and the low population density, there is a need for sustainable growth, especially in the area of stewardship, Christian fidelity, and discipleship. Despite these challenges, MisOM's leadership has bold plans for the coming years. The first of them is the planting of thirty-one new congregations across the field in the year 2020. The mission aims to achieve 10% growth in tithes and offerings; the inauguration of an Adventist Academy in Jardim América neighborhood, in the city of Várzea Grande; the training of twelve new canvassers in 2020; the consolidation and expansion of the Tangara da Serra Adventist Academy; and the construction of new headquarters.⁷⁵

The mission of the West Mato Grosso Mission empowers lay members, workers, and pastors to evangelize, preaching the gospel in unity of spirit and dependence on God. Based on these pillars, the leaders and members of this mission will go forward with tireless efforts in the pursuit of fulfilling the missionary purposes for which the institution was founded and confident that, by the grace of God, many people will be led to Christ.⁷⁶

List of Administrative Officers

Presidents: Evaldo Oliveira (2019-)

Secretaries: Francisco Abdoval da Silva Cavalcanti (2019-)

Treasurers: Paulo Fabrício Dias Júnior (2019- )

Sources

Arruda, Gerson G. de. “Missão Mato-Grossense e sua história” [Mato Grosso Mission and Its History]. Monograph: Brazil Adventist University, 1985.

Azevedo, Paulo César de. “Perspectiva para a obra médico-missionária no Brasil. [Perspective for Medical missionary Work in Brazil]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1993.

Barros, Nilza. “Série de Conferências no Centro da América do Sul” [Series of Conferences in South America's Center]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], March 1958.

Brazil. “Lei Complementar [Complementary Law] no. 31, of October 11, 1977”. Portal do Governo Federal [Federal Government Official Website], October 11, 1977.

“Campos da UCB realizam trienais” [UCB Fields Hold Triennials]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1995.

“Concílios de Planejamento” [Planning Councils]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1985.

Costa, Antenor Cruz da. “Dois marcos históricos na nova Missão Mato-Grossense” [Two Milestones in the New Mato Grosso Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] 75, no. 7 (July 1980): 30-31.

Erthal, Henilson. “Trabalho em favor de deficientes auditivos é destaque na mídia [Work on Behalf of the Hearing Impaired is Featured in the Media]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 2004.

Félix, Oswaldo T. “Notas e Notícias” [Notes and News]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], December 1983.

“Igrejas Organizadas” [Organized Churches]. 2ª Assembleia Trienal—Missão Mato-Grossense da I.A.S.D. [2nd Triennial Assembly—Mato Grosso Mission of the S.D.A. Church]. July 23 to 25, 1982.

Jokura, Leonardo R. “Igreja Adventista de Barra do Bugres” [Barra do Bugres Adventist Church]. Monograph: Brazil College, 2001.

Lessa, Rubens. “Mesa plenária histórica” [Historic Plenary Bureau]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 2004.

Margarido, Manoel. “Do pioneiro da página impressa nas plagas mattogrossenses” [From the pioneer of the printed page in Mato Grosso territory]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1933.

Margarido, Manoel. “Nas Regiões Mattogrossenses” [In the Regions of Mato Grosso]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1933.

“Mato-grossenses contabilizam vitórias evangelísticas” [Mato Grosso Adventists Count Evangelistic Victories]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1996.

Mato Grosso. Brazil Census 2010. Estimated Population. IBGE [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics], accessed January 9, 2020, https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/.

Mato Grosso, Colíder. In: Brazil Census 2010. Estimated Population, IBGE [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics], accessed August 29, 2019, https://bit.ly/34cpmRp.

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“Missão Mato-Grossense Inaugura Sua Sede” [Mato Grosso Mission Inaugurates Its Headquarters]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], December 1983.

Mondego, Paulo. “Missão Mato-Grossense alcança status de Associação [Mato Grosso Mission reaches Conference status]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 2009.

“Movimento de Membros” [Membership Movement]. 2ª Assembleia Trienal – Missão Mato-Grossense da I.A.S.D. [2nd Triennial Assembly - Mato Grosso Mission of the S.D.A. Church]. July 23 to 25, 1982.

“Na XVI Assembleia da Mato-Grossense surgem duas missões” [In the XVI Assembly of Mato Grosso Conference two missions arise]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1980.

“Nasce o internato mato-grossense” [The Mato Grosso Boarding School is Born]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1996.

Nascimento, Carlos Maciel do. “Pesquisa sobre Missão do Mato Grosso” [Research About the Mato Grosso Mission]. Monograph: Brazil College, n.d.

Nascimento, Dayane. “Comissão Diretiva escolhe administradores do novo campo de Mato Grosso” [Directive Committee chooses administrators for the new Mato Grosso field]. Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News] (Online), June 5, 2019.

Nascimento, Dayane. “Eleitos líderes da Igreja Adventista para o oeste de Mato Grosso” [Leaders are elected for the Adventist Church of West Mato Grosso]. Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News] (Online), December 8, 2019.

“Notícias da MMT” [MMT News]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1987.

Passos, José R. dos. “Reuniões Gerais na Missão Mato-Grossense” [General meetings in Mato Grosso Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1942.

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Pereira, João Luiz. “Escola Primária e Curso de Admissão em Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso” [Primary School and Admission Course in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1943.

“Rápidas” [Quick News]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1987.

“Rápidas” [Quick News]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], November 1981.

Rebello, Gilberto. “Congresso de Educação e Mordomia em Tangará [Congress of Education and Stewardship in Tangará]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1977.

“Rede Adventista inaugura unidade em Tangará da Serra” [Adventist Network opens unit in Tangará da Serra]. Diário da Serra [Diary of the Mountain] (Online), February 20, 2019.

Reis, Oscar. “Ceifando Abundante Messe” [Reaping Abundant Field]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1943.

Reis, Oscar. “Notícias do Oeste” [News from the West]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] September 1942.

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Vieira, Jenny. “Definidos novos líderes para a Igreja no Centro-Oeste brasileiro e no Oeste Mato-Grossense” [New leaders are defined to the Church in Midwest Brazil and West Mato Grosso]. Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News] (Online), December 1, 2019.

Vieira, Jenny. “Igreja vota criação da Missão Oeste Mato-Grossense” [Church votes creation of the West Mato Grosso Mission]. Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News] (Online), June 9, 2019.

Wilcox, E. H. “Notícias” [News]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1934.

Notes

1. Matheus Tavares, executive secretary of the West Central Brazil Union Mission, e-mail message to Carlos Flavio Teixeira, ESDA associate editor, December 15, 2019.↩

2. Brazil Census 2010, Mato Grosso, estimated population, IBGE, accessed January 9, 2020, http://bit.ly/3020w5i.↩

3. Brazil Census 2010, Colíder, Mato Grosso, estimated population, IBGE, accessed August 29, 2019, https://bit.ly/34cpmRp.↩

4. José R. dos Passos, “Reuniões Gerais na Missão Mato-Grossense” [General meetings in Mato Grosso Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1942, 21.↩

5. Gerson G. de Arruda, “Missão Mato-Grossense e sua história” [Mato Grosso Mission and Its History], Monograph, Brazil Adventist University, 1985, 5-7.↩

6. Carlos Maciel do Nascimento, “Pesquisa sobre Missão do Mato Grosso” [Mato Grosso Mission Research], Monograph: Brazil Adventist University, n.d., 2.↩

7. “Matto Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1922), 129.↩

8. “Matto Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1930), 236.↩

9. “Matto Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1931), 243.↩

10. “Matto Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 243; “Matto Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1933), 169.↩

11. Canvassing is an “activity of voluntary and independent distribution of publication with religious content and themes related to family health and quality of life.” Those who work in canvassing works are known as canvassers. “Colportagem” [Canvassing], Seventh-day Adventist Church (Brazil), accessed February 14, 2020, https://bit.ly/2RQirbB.↩

12. Brazilian currency used at the time.↩

13. Manoel Margarido, “Nas Regiões Mattogrossenses” [In the Regions of Mato Grosso], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1933, 8↩

14. Manoel Margarido, “Do pioneiro da página impressa nas plagas mattogrossenses” [From the Pioneer of the Printed Page in Mato Grosso Territory], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1933, 5.↩

15. E. H. Wilcox, “Notícias” [News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1934, 13.↩

16. José R. dos Passos, “Reuniões Gerais na Missão Mato-Grossense” [General Meetings in Mato Grosso Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1942, 21.↩

17. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1937), 181.↩

18. Gerson G. de Arruda, “Missão Mato-Grossense e sua história” [Mato Grosso Mission and Its History], Monograph: Brazil Adventist University, 1985, 13.↩

19. José R. dos Passos, “Reuniões Gerais na Missão Mato-Grossense” [General Meetings in Mato Grosso Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1942, 24.↩

20. Ibid., 22.↩

21. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1944), 150.↩

22. Oscar dos Reis, “Notícias do Oeste” [News from the West], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1942, 22.↩

23. Oscar dos Reis, “Ceifando Abundante Messe” [Reaping Abundant Field], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1943, 22.↩

24. Idem.↩

25. João Luiz Pereira, “Escola Primária e Curso de Admissão em Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso” [Primary School and admission course in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1943, 11-12.↩

26. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1946), 159.↩

27. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1951), 178.↩

28. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1955), 150.↩

29. Nilza Barros, “Série de Conferências no Centro da América do Sul” [Series of Conferences in South America's Center.], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], March 1958, 34.↩

30. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1961), 170.↩

31. Leonardo R. Jokura, “Igreja Adventista de Barra do Bugres” [Barra do Bugres Adventist Church], Monograph: Brazil College, 2001, 2.↩

32. Ibid., 3.↩

33. Gilberto Rebello, “Congresso de Educação e Mordomia em Tangará” [Congress of Education and Stewardship in Tangará], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1977, 21.↩

34. “Rede Adventista inaugura unidade em Tangará da Serra” [Adventist Network Opens Unit in Tangará da Serra], Diário da Serra [Diary of the Mountain], February 20, 2019, accessed September 3, 2019, https://bit.ly/2lUYrbf.↩

35. Ernesto Geisel, “Lei Complementar no. 31, de 11 de outubro de 1977” [Complementary Law No. 31, of October 11, 1977], Portal do Governo Federal [Federal Government Official Website], October 11, 1977, accessed September 2, 2019, https://bit.ly/2lutfiS.↩

36. Gerson G. de Arruda, “Missão Mato-Grossense e sua história” [Mato Grosso Mission and Its History], Monograph: Brazil College, 1985, 21.↩

37. Minutes of the Mato Grosso Mission, April 1979, vote no. 79-038.↩

38. “Na XVI Assembleia da Mato-Grossense surgem duas missões” [In the XVI Assembly of Mato Grosso Conference two missions arise], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1980, 24-25.↩

39. Ibid.↩

40. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1981), 281.↩

41. Antenor Cruz da Costa, “Dois marcos históricos na nova Missão Mato-Grossense” [Two Milestones in the New Mato Grosso Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1980, 30-31.↩

42. “Movimento de Membros” [Membership Movement], 2ª Assembleia Trienal—Missão Mato-Grossense da I.A.S.D [2nd Triennial Assembly—Mato Grosso Mission of the S.D.A. Church], July 23 to 25, 1982, 10.↩

43. “Igrejas Organizadas” [Organized Churches], 2ª Assembleia Trienal—Missão Mato-Grossense da I.A.S.D [2nd Triennial Assembly—Mato Grosso Mission of the S.D.A. Church], July 23 to 25, 1982, 11.↩

44. Oswaldo T. Félix, “Notas e Notícias” [Notes and News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], December 1983, 29-30.↩

45. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1984), 309.↩

46. “Concílios de Planejamento” [Planning Councils], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1985, 27-28.↩

47. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1986), 269.↩

48. “Notícias da MMT” [MMT News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1987, 33.↩

49. “Rápidas” [Quick News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1987, 30.↩

50. “Pastores Buscam Poder” [Pastors Seek Power], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1988, 23.↩

51. Paulo César de Azevedo, “Perspectiva para a obra médico-missionária no Brasil” [Perspective for Medical Missionary Work in Brazil], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1993, 9.↩

52. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1990), 263.↩

53. “Rápidas” [Quick News], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], November 1991, 30.↩

54. “Campos da UCB realizam trienais” [UCB fields hold triennials], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1995, 14-15.↩

55. “Nasce o internato mato-grossense” [The Mato Grosso Boarding School is Born], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1996, 23.↩

56. “Mato-grossenses contabilizam vitórias evangelísticas” [Mato Grosso Adventists Count Evangelistic Victories], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1996, 14.↩

57. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2001), 257.↩

58. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2004), 236.↩

59. Rubens Lessa, “Mesa plenária histórica” [Historic Plenary Bureau], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 2004, 22.↩

60. Henilson Erthal, “Trabalho em favor de deficientes auditivos é destaque na mídia” [Work on Behalf of the Hearing-impaired is Featured in the Media], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 2004, 37.↩

61. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2008), 288.↩

62. “Mato Grosso Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2009), 293.↩

63. Paulo Mondego, “Missão Mato-Grossense alcança status de Associação” [Mato Grosso Mission Reaches Conference Status], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 2009, 31.↩

64. “Mato Grosso Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2010), 299.↩

65. “Mato Grosso Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2014), 305.↩

66. “Mato Grosso Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2016), 332.↩

67. “Mato Grosso Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2017), 265.↩

68. Minutes of the South American Division, May 2019, vote no. 2019-070.↩

69. Minutes of the West Central Brazil Union Mission, June 2019, vote no. 2019-091.↩

70. Jenny Vieira, “Igreja vota criação da Missão Oeste Mato-Grossense” [Church Votes Creation of the West Mato Grosso Mission], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], June 9, 2019, accessed August 29, 2019, https://bit.ly/30HSoqd.↩

71. Minutes of the South American Division, May 2019, vote no. 2019-070.↩

72. Dayane Nascimento, “Comissão Diretiva escolhe administradores do novo campo de Mato Grosso” [Directive Committee Chooses Administrators for the New Mato Grosso Field], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], June 5, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020, http://bit.ly/2N78zs2.↩

73. Jenny Vieira, “Definidos novos líderes para a Igreja no Centro-Oeste brasileiro e no Oeste Mato-Grossense” [New Leaders are Defined to the Church in Midwest Brazil and West Mato Grosso], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], December 1, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020, http://bit.ly/300uW7Q.↩

74. Dayane Nascimento, “Eleitos líderes da Igreja Adventista para o Oeste de Mato Grosso” [Leaders are Elected for the Adventist Church of West Mato Grosso], Notícias Adventistas [Adventist News], December 8, 2019, accessed January 9, 2020, http://bit.ly/2QC74Er.↩

75. Matheus Tavares, executive secretary of the West Central Brazil Union Mission, e-mail message to Carlos Flavio Teixeira, ESDA associate editor, December 15, 2019.↩

76. bid.↩