Keith and Meredith Anderson

Missionaries to Brazil Southeast Sao Paulo

Ministry Description

As part of our mission to develop the holistic individual, we (as staff and students) at the Bible Institute in Atibaia, São Paulo, live together in all sorts of situations: in the classroom, at the cafeteria, on the soccer court, in our homes, and on ministry throughout Brazil. We focus on three major areas in our students' lives (based on Ezra 7:10) during their year with us: Study (learning the Word), Life (applying the learning to personal habits, lifestyles and ways of thinking), and Ministry (serving in various ministry contexts).

Specifically, I am working in two main capacities. My primary focus is stepping into a role similar to a dean of men at our school. While all of our staff members are heavily involved with our students on personal levels, my specific focus is working with the young men. These students are the next generation of fathers, businessmen, missionaries, employees and leaders in the Brazilian Church. My heart is to challenge and inspire them to take the next step towards experiencing their faith - walking with and becoming like Jesus. I work with them to become "leadership material" in their own communities, whether they return home to their churches, move off into the college scene, or head elsewhere. This involves many personal discipleship conversations, administering basic discipline, and developing leadership training and programs for the young men of our student body.

Complementing this role are my responsibility for our school´s "work crews" and my involvement with various aspects of our program and curriculum development. Our students work alongside us to keep our school maintained, and it's my privilege to intentionally invest in them as they learn about service, excellence, and hard work. I also teach when the opportunity arises, personally accompany and disciple a small group of students, and lead them on ministry trips.

About Keith

My story reflects my path into the ministry and shapes why I do what I do. It was out of a fear of going to hell that I first called on Jesus to be my savior, back when I was very young and didn't understand much else about my own sin as the reason I needed a savior or what it meant to have a relationship with God. As I matured, those truths sunk in and I truly called on Jesus out of a felt necessity and desire.

Because I was saved when young, I thankfully didn't have the chance to get into a life of deep sin. However, because I didn't have the experience of dramatically being saved out of such a lifestyle, I began to seriously doubt if my conversion was actually real. I spent several months of my sophomore year of high school really struggling with my doubts, until God spoke into my world and brought me to understand that saving faith doesn't mean being able to independently prove that God would keep his promises of salvation to me; rather it means trusting in the word of God, believing that God's testimony about Jesus' death and resurrection is true, that Jesus' sacrifice truly paid the price for my sin, and that it was enough. Otherwise, it's not faith, right?

God has also brought me through struggles with legalism, trying to earn my worth as a believer, and self-inflicted guilt and worrying. Because my journey of faith has centered around learning about my freedoms in Christ and maturing in my understanding of what my faith means for me, that has become my passion in ministry: helping other people understand their own faith as more than just a Sunday School venture, as something that is joyful, satisfying and freeing.

In college, several couples heavily invested in me, and the desire grew in me to reach out and do the same for others. My leading to serve in Brazil comes from a long family missionary history with the country, starting with my grandparents on both sides of my family. In 2013, I studied at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Atibaia, Brazil, and grew to love the ministry for myself. Learning Portuguese was a lifelong dream come true, and I love getting to use my language and intercultural abilities to connect with other people! God has combined these experiences and personal interests into the desire to serve Brazilian students in the same way I was served, leading me to the mission field in a country that I love.

About Meredith

Hi there. My story is one of learning to live in the grace of the Father. For as long as I can remember I wanted to “live internationally;” it is a desire the Lord gave me as a child. Throughout my years of growing up and preparing for that, the Lord often slowed me down to remind me that what he wanted was not that I would merely serve Him, but that I would live His life with Him. This has been a challenge for me to live in because I love planning and controlling, working hard and earning something. I have often lived enslaved to the idea that God was progressively gaining more pleasure with me as I served Him. This faulty understanding of God and of His goodness that lead to fear has come up for me time and again throughout my life, and every time He uses it gives me a deeper layer of understanding of His grace. He has often had to put breaks on what I am doing in order to remind me that the point was not that I get to any destination, but that I learn to live in His presence, following Him, obeying Him, and enjoying Him. He kept me from my plans to live internationally after college in order ground me in a more accurate understanding of who He is, of who I am, and of what he was calling me to. He showed me the nations around me and invited me to do what he was already doing with Him wherever I was. I fail so often, but His grace keeps me! He is allowing me to get to live out of the desires that He crafted into me, to live internationally and to have a home and family. I am excited to see how walking with Jesus in this country will refine and delight me. I’m excited to get to live each day with Jesus and Keith Michael in the beautiful country of Brazil.

Life Verse

Philippians 4:4-9