Steven & Mary Ann Nash

R. Cambuci do Vale 597/94
Cidade Dutra 04805-110 São Paulo, SP BRAZIL
Tel: 011-55-11-5667-3783

Find us on the web: http://www.netlifemin.org/missions/nash/

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Steven and Mary Ann Nash have two main ministry focuses in the mega-city of São Paulo, Brazil. Steve helps train leaders while Mary Ann works in various ministries to children. The Nashes went to Brazil with CBI in June 1997 after several years of pastoral ministry in the United States.

Steven taught Bible courses at the Faculdade Teologica Batista de São Paulo. It is one of the largest Baptist seminaries in Brazil, attracting students from around the country, and from Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. He also taught at a smaller seminary in a poorer part of the city, which prepares students who are unable or unprepared to enter the larger seminary.

Steven had the opportunity to teach at Servant of Christ Theological Seminary, which was started by a group of Chinese churches in São Paulo. This school has the vision to reach Chinese immigrants in Brazil, to prepare leaders for Asian churches in Brazil, and also to send missionaries to Taiwan and China. Steve says, "It has been exciting to have a part in training and mentoring leaders for the church in Brazil, as well as workers who will eventually go to other parts of the world."

During their first term, Mary Ann helped in the kindergarten class at Pan American Christian Academy (PACA), the local missionary children's school.

Mary Ann also worked as a group leader in a women’s Bible study, and later taught Bible lessons to pre-school children while their mothers attended the Bible study. "Young children are open to the gospel and have a lifetime of service ahead of them. It makes sense to try to reach them for the Lord," says Mary Ann.

Primary Ministry Focus Steven trains leaders for the Brazilian church and Mary Ann is involved in children’s ministries.
The People Theological students in Brazil, working in secular jobs, involved in church ministry, and studying in the evenings. They are committed to the Lord and convinced of their calling. Many of the children at PACA have never been exposed to the gospel.
Major Challenges Living and working in the largest city in South America, with pollution, traffic, and crime.
Prayer Focus Pray that God will continue to raise up workers from the Brazilian churches, and give them a burden for the harvest fields of the world.

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, occupying more landmass than the 48 contiguous United States. It shares borders with all the countries in South American except Chile and Ecuador. Brazil has several distinct geographic regions, each with its own unique ethnic, economic and cultural features. In the north lies the heavily forested Amazon River basin, covering half the country. To the northeast is found semiarid scrubland, heavily populated and poor. The south-central region holds almost half of Brazil’s population and produces 75 percent of the farm goods and 80 percent of the nation’s industrial output. Most of the major cities are located in the narrow Atlantic coastal belt.

Although Brazil is the largest Roman Catholic country in the world, few practice their faith and many are open to new ideas. Brazil’s diverse population includes all major races and is heavily concentrated in the areas around Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. But in this land of abundant natural resources, it is difficult to find employment, and hunger, poverty and disease continue to increase. Today, an estimated 90 million of Brazil’s 172 million people are undernourished—20 million of that number are children.