USA (BWA) — Fausto Aguiar de Vasconcelos, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been invited by the Baptist World Alliance to be the new director of the Evangelism and Education and Study and Research for the next five years 2005-2010, to succeed Tony Cupit of Australia who retires in July.
“I am pleased to announce that the BWA has invited Fausto de Vasconcelos to be the new Director of Evangelism and Education,” says Denton Lotz, general secretary of the BWA. The invitation precedes what is expected to be unanimous approval of the General Council when it meets in Birmingham, England, during the Centenary Baptist World Congress July 26-31. “I am overjoyed and excited about having the first Latin American Executive to serve as part of the BWA team for 2005-2010,” Lotz says.
Vasconcelos is well known in the life of the BWA. Currently he chairs the Executive Committee of Evangelism and Education. Since 1995 he has also served as a voting delegate from Brazil to the General Council.
Vasconcelos brings to this new appointment a wealth of experience in Baptist life both at the local church, national and continental levels. He is President of the Brazilian Baptist Convention, a position he has held eight times. On the regional level, he has also served a four-year term as President of the Union of Baptists in Latin America which comprises of Baptist conventions and organizations in 18 countries.
