A Season to Shine: Preparing to Share the Gospel This Christmas
October 31, 2025
Dear Friends and Faithful Ministry Partners,
Warm greetings from Brazil!
We are filled with gratitude as we look back over the past months and see the hand of the Lord guiding, strengthening, and expanding His work here. Your faithful prayers and partnership continue to make a tremendous difference in what God is accomplishing through our ministry.
Church Ministries Conference
Earlier this fall, our church leadership team had the privilege of traveling to Manaus—a four-hour flight from São Paulo—to participate in a Church Ministries Conference at Nova Baptist Church, where David Hatcher is senior pastor. The time together with other pastors and leaders from across Brazil was both refreshing and inspiring. Our team returned invigorated and full of vision for what God wants to do in our midst.
Since then, our weekly leadership meetings have taken on a renewed sense of purpose. Our student ministry is being reshaped with new ideas and energy, while our couples ministry is preparing to implement new strategies for growth and discipleship.
In the coming weeks, our leadership team will also travel to Joinville, in the state of Santa Catarina (a seven-hour drive) for a special time of exposure and leadership training. We are excited about how God is using these experiences to strengthen the core of our ministry team.
We praise God that He has raised up three men within our church plant who are now being equipped and mentored for pastoral leadership. Please pray for these brothers as they grow in their calling to shepherd God’s people.
Christmas Evangelistic Campaign
Preparations are in full swing for our Christmas Evangelistic Campaign! The entire church—young and old alike—is joyfully involved in rehearsals, recordings, painting, and artistic production. It’s such a blessing to see everyone’s gifts come together for the glory of God.
We are preparing to welcome between 800 and 1,000 guests during the two presentation nights. Please pray that every heart that attends will be touched by the Gospel and that many will come to know Christ through this outreach.
Master’s Degree Launch
Another exciting milestone has been the launch of the master’s degree in Youth Ministry here in São Paulo. The first module was a wonderful success, with Drs. Randy Smith and Dave Adams, and a cohort of 41 students beginning the program. We are encouraged by their enthusiasm and hunger to be better equipped for ministry. The second module will take place in November, and we covet your prayers for the faculty and students involved.
Family News
Our family continues to experience God’s grace in every season of life.
- Sarah, now a college sophomore, is thriving in her studies here in São Paulo and contributes meaningfully to our ministry efforts.
- Laura is adapting well to college life at Liberty University. She is attending Living Word Baptist Church, where Dr. Gary Yates serves as Senior Pastor and Dr. Scott Phillips as Executive Pastor.
- Benjamin, a high school junior, and Melissa, now in 8th grade, continue to bring much joy to our home and are avid students and athletes at school.
- Raquel remains deeply involved as a passionate advocate for foster care in São Paulo, equipping and encouraging caregivers and families who open their homes to vulnerable children.
Prayer & Praise
1. Praise God for renewed vision and leadership growth.
2. Pray for our upcoming Christmas Evangelistic Campaign—that the Gospel would be clearly proclaimed.
3. Pray for our three emerging pastoral leaders as they prepare for ministry.
4. Pray for our family’s health, travel, and ongoing ministry responsibilities.
5. Pray for daily wisdom as God’s stewards.
We remain deeply thankful for your continued prayers, love, and financial partnership. Each of you plays a vital part in this ministry, and we are humbled to serve as your representatives here in Brazil. May the Lord bless you richly for your faithfulness.
Grateful always,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
Preparing for the Christmas Evangelistic Event
JUD & RAQUEL HATCHER
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
Two Teens Turn from Hopelessness to Christ
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
December 2, 2019
Dear Friends,
At our English as a Second Language classes I got a wonderful opportunity to share my testimony with the students. One of them asked what brought us to Brazil and that question opened the door for me to share with the class how God had called us to come to Brazil to share the gospel of Jesus Christ which had transformed our lives. The students were emotionally moved by my testimony and I pray that the Lord will use it to bring them to salvation.
Our last couples’ meeting of the year exceeded our expectations quite a bit. We had about 20% more people turn out than we had been having at previous meetings. I just love this kind of a surprise. I brought a message from God’s word that I pray He will use to help the married Christian couples grow in their love and respect for one another. It is also our intended purpose through these couples’ events to attract families that don’t know the Lord so that they can hear of God’s love for them and be saved. At all four meetings this year we had several unchurched couples present and we saw most of them return to church to our regularly scheduled services.
Last month I reported how that our traveling evangelistic team met with strong resistance from the administrators in the public schools in Rio de Janeiro. The exact opposite was the case this month in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The team was given total liberty to share whatever message God had for the people. There were over 5000 people they were able to share the gospel with, between students and staff. More than 300 indicated that they were surrendering their lives to Christ. At the end of the hour-long presentation, the audience was invited to come and speak personally with our volunteer evangelists. One teenager had come to school that day with a pocket knife in his backpack and was planning to end his life at school because he felt that he was unloved and unlovable. After hearing of God’s love for him and how Jesus had given his life to save him, that young man gave the guidance counselor his pocket knife and said that he wouldn’t be needing it anymore because he knows he is loved by God and has trusted in Jesus. A different teen had been cutting himself and several of his friends told our team about him and how worried they were that he would take his life soon. His friends led a volunteer to talk to him about Christ’s love and forgiveness. The young man was so touched by how God showed His love to him through his friends, and even a stranger, that he believed on the Lord and handed them the razor that he was carrying to cut himself. He confessed that that very day, he intended to cut an artery and bleed to death because of how hopeless he felt.
I am so thrilled that the Lord has provided us with this amazing strategy for sharing the gospel where so many unreached people are starving for the lack of God’s word.
Our next major evangelistic thrust will be during our annual Christmas presentation. We have a team who has been planning and practicing a drama presentation for a couple of months already. We will be doing a two-day presentation at our church building the weekend before Christmas. Last year at our presentation we had the largest attendance to date in our building and this year we expect even more. There were also 15 professions of faith at the conclusion of that event and we pray and hope for even more this year. Pray with us that God will use us and our efforts to make His gospel clear and persuasive to the lost who will be in attendance at these presentations.
Charlene and I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year of 2020.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
