Children of God

Cleiton is from the vibrant city of Recife in northeastern Brazil, where he was nurtured in a household steeped in Christian values. From an early age, his parents imparted the wisdom of God's Word. His theological pursuits led him to a Grace Theological Seminary in southern Brazil. In those studies, Cleiton felt a profound call for service and missions which shaped his path.

After graduating in 2006, Cleiton, along with his family, embraced a new chapter on the Brazilian coast, dedicating themselves to the service of a church which taught God’s grace. Beyond his theological endeavors, Cleiton also holds a degree in accounting and managed an accounting business since 2009.

Viviane, a native of the scenic town of Foz do Iguaçu, trusted in Christ at 18 following a life-altering car accident during a visit with friends to the coast. This pivotal moment led her to a Sunday evening service where she trusted in Jesus as her Savior. Choosing to relocate to that town, Viviane crossed paths with Cleiton, sparking a beautiful friendship.

Their shared passion for serving the Lord over the next four years included engaging in youth projects, evangelism, and Bible study. This deep connection blossomed and in October 2013, Cleiton and Viviane were married. Their family grew welcoming three beautiful children—twins Laura and Elisa and Lucas—into their lives.

In 2015, Cleiton assumed the role of lead pastor at Shangri-la Grace Gospel Church succeeding his father. Two years later, he pioneered a church leadership training program for emerging leaders within the Brazilian Southern Grace Churches.

Cleiton and Viviane's hearts were stirred for overseas missions after a visit to Paraguay, marking the beginning of a journey filled with mission trips and partnerships that deepened their understanding of that field’s needs.

In late 2020, Cleiton, Viviane, and their children took a step of faith and moved to Paraguay having been accepted to serve with Grace Ministries International. Currently, they invest their time in a church plant, a children's community outreach, a prison ministry project, and leadership training in the eastern and southern regions of Paraguay and across the river into Brazil.

Luis and Marcia, and daughter,  Valentina, are from Costa Rica and currently serving in Mexico. They  belong to Comunidad Bíblica de la Gracia, a church that is affiliated to  Grace Ministries International, in San Antonio de Belen, Costa Rica.  Currently they are also studying in the Grace Biblical Institute, which  was founded in 2006 by CBG and GMI.

Luis and Marcia have been walking  together with Christ since 1995. In their early years, they started as  youth pastors at the Oasis de Amor Church in Heredia, Costa Rica. Once  they realized they wanted to serve Christ full-time, they studied  theology at the Alianza Evangélica Costarricense.

In 2003, they founded the Hijos del  Rey Church, in Heredia. However, their calling was to missions which led  them to begin to take trips inside and outside of Costa Rica.

When God confirmed their missionary  calling, they started training at Sonlife Latinoamérica and studied  missions. As leaders of the “Hijos  del Rey'' church, they were able to train and send missionaries to  Asia, Africa, and America. During that time their focus was to make  disciples as they learned from their missions training. Under that  vision they went on a vision trip to Mexico. In 2012, they decided to  resign from their church to start a new one. In 2015, they began with a “Church at Home” movement called Multiplicados. Under that movement, they sent missionaries to Uruguay.

In the same year, they moved to  Queretaro, Mexico. They began to serve at Ministerios Pan de Vida IAP, a  local orphanage. During that time, Valentina attended college and  eventually joined her parents to share Jesus with kids and volunteer at  the orphanage.

In October 2020, they joined Calvary  Chapel in Yucatán. During their time in Mexico, they realized the need  to go deeper with discipleship. It is their goal to plant a church that  will lead to a multiplication movement, starting with disciples  gathering in their home with the main goal that eventually this will be  the first church affiliated with GMI in Mexico in alignment with the  calling for all believers to be God’s ambassadors here on earth (2  Corinthians 5:20).

It is a blessing to us to be able to take the Grace of God’s love to this new area. We invite you to join us and together be a part of this new church in Mexico.

 Kevin was born into a missionary family. His parents, Bernardo and Carol, serve as missionaries in Brazil, following in the footsteps of Carol’s late parents, Warren and Shirley Keiper, also missionaries to Brazil. Growing up in a missionary home gave Kevin a desire to serve the Lord in the same fashion as his grandpa and dad. Kevin has been preparing for this ministry while growing in his relationship with Jesus Christ. At the age of 17, Kevin recommitted his life to serving God and started to actively pursue training and growth in knowledge of the Word so he would be able to serve as a missionary.

Beatriz was raised in Brazil, and when she was in high school, she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior through Kevin’s older brother, who was a teacher at her high school at the time. Her desire to learn and grow as a servant of God has guided her through much change in her spiritual and personal life, and she has become an example of a godly woman to her children. She has a passion for teaching others and sharing what God has done in her life, encouraging others to fulfill the roles that God has given them.

Kevin and Beatriz got married four years after they first met, and shortly after their wedding, they moved to the US with the purpose of preparing for the missionary field. Kevin and Beatriz have four children and plan on having more, as they both come from large families and are passionate about sharing God’s instructions on raising godly families.

Another great passion that Kevin has is the training of the next leaders that God can use in His Church, and because of that, he has pastored a local church. This was a very important experience for the training of leaders and also for planting churches across the world.

After returning to the US and considering possible fields, Kevin and Beatriz were feeling called by the Lord to share and teach about the grace of God in Mexico. Then, after talking with GMI leadership, they learned that GMI was opening a new field in Mexico. How exciting! After much prayer, the Lord has led Kevin and Beatriz to serve in Mexico, where they plan to evangelize, train leaders, teach parenting courses, and counsel marital relationships in the city of Merida alongside GMI team members Luis and Marcia Coto.