Welcome to the Redeeming Recife website. Redeeming Recife is a Christ-centered mission work that has been going on for the past 30 years in the city of Recife, located in the northeast coast of Brazil. The work in Recife started in 1980, when six missionary families of the churches of Christ arrived in Brazilian soil to begin church planting.
The church has since then grown and spread the gospel throughout the city, state and even northeast region. The Boa Vista church is the oldest congregation, located in downtown Recife, and continues its mission to plant further churches and to nurture them into maturity. It is our desire, through this website, to bridge the gap created by distance between supporters, family, and friends in the US and the mission field in Brazil.
The Missionaries
Mike and Aureni Pruitt:
After growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Mike traveled south to Lubbock, Texas after college. He dedicated his life to the mission work and enrolled in Sunset School of Preaching to receive biblical training. After graduation, he went to Recife as part of a team of missionaries. A few years after arriving there, he married a Christian woman called Aureni. They have three boys: Joshua, Justin and Jonathan, all born in Brazil. Mike and Aureni have found their life’s calling in working with the church in the northeast of Brazil and helping develop mature leadership.
Josh, Lívia, Alice and Theo Pruitt:
Josh grew up on the mission field working in Recife, Brazil, alongside his parents. After finishing High School there, he graduated from Lubbock Christian University with a major in Communications and a minor in Missions. In 2011 he finished his masters in Biblical Interpretation and in 2012 married a faithful Christian, called Lívia, daughter of a Brazilian missionary in a neighboring state. Josh is currently serving as director of the School of the Bible in downtown Recife, ministering basic Bible courses, theology training and English as a second language using the Bible. They are the parents for Alice (2 years old) and Theo (newborn).
There are other missionaries working within the suburbs of Recife. This website is focused on the work of the Pruitt family in downtown Recife.
The City
Recife is situated on the northeast coast of Brazil. The fifth largest city in the country with a metropolitan population of nearly 4 million, Recife is a city of deep contrasts. On one hand, you have the overwhelming beauty of God’s creation; and on the other, you have the brokenness of man. While walking down busy streets you will see rich greenery, warm beaches, colorful artistry and street markets full of fresh fruits, as well as street kids, beggars, ghettos, and garbage piles.
But in the midst of all their problems, Brazilians are a festive people with a deep desire for a relationship with God. The idea of a personal relationship with the Creator through Jesus is a fairly new one to them. They have been told for centuries that the Bible cannot be studied or understood by the common folk. This has led to a passionate thirst to be reconnected with God and find transformational community. Life can be hard for most Brazilians, but it is in the midst of suffering that the Good News finds receptive hearts.