Eduardo is a member of New Generation Church and is nominated by the New Generation Church Elders.

I am passionate about missions and have always felt God drawing me to contribute to this ministry. I firmly believe that my experience, South American roots, and current involvement in pastoring a multicultural church are unique characteristics that will add value to the Mission Council Board.

Pastoral – Strongly relational; Commitment to mission; Church building – Eduardo has been leading a dynamic growing church; Multi-cultural understanding – Eduardo is Brazilian leading a multi-cultural/multi-lingual church. Eduardo is a gifted leader, preacher and speaker who connects with people.

Eduardo brings a deep personal faith and commitment to mission and community outreach. He is visionary/inspirational in his leadership and commitment to people. He is a listener who engages with people at a deep personal level encouraging and supporting them to grow deeper in their walk with God.

Eduardo is highly committed to and experienced in mission work. This is shown through his support of missions globally and active participation in mission work. Eduardo has been to Nepal on two mission trips – on these trips, besides preaching and outreach work into villages, Eduardo, being an electrician by trade, also helped with upgrading property to create better for living environments for local pastors. Eduardo, with Laila, his wife, have also been involved in outreach and church planting in Brazil, particularly planting youth mission in San Paulo, but also in other regions/states of Brazil. And now, Eduardo is doing outreach and mission work in New Zealand supporting Brazilians seeking to make New Zealand their home.

The Elders at their last meeting (24 August) were unanimous in their nomination of Eduardo Mendonca for the Mission Council.

Get to know Eduardo:

I grew up in a Christian family, gave my life to Jesus when I was 16 years old, and by God’s grace, have been following Jesus since then. I am originally from Brazil but have lived in New Zealand for over 16 years with my wife and our three children, and for the last ten years, I have worked as a pastor.

The last ten years have shaped much of my ministry and skills. For over five years, I pastored a Brazilian congregation, and our mission was to serve and attend to Brazilians arriving in NZ, specifically Christchurch. After five years, we went through a merging process with a local Baptist church that, although it had existed for almost seventy years, was struggling to continue its ministry. What started as a bicultural church (Brazilians and Kiwis) is now a multicultural church filled with multiple ethnic groups.

This process (four years now) allowed me to navigate through the importance of understanding and embracing “the different.” It also helped me develop fundamental (unique) skills that have sharpened my pastoral ministry, such as:
Particular attention to the marginalised and oppressed
Strategies to alleviate or eliminate cultural differences
Ability to work and integrate those of different cultures and languages into ministry and leadership

Throughout the past ten years, I have also engaged with international missions, working closely (including short-term travels) with churches in Nepal.

In addition, I have completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Theology and am going through a Masters program focusing in Race, Church and Theology, and Multicultural churches.