By Curtis RittenourPosted April 24, 2025
Over the 2025 Resurrection weekend, Pastor Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts International, spoke at a Christian convocation in Brazil. Over 2,500 were in attendance for the sermon presented on Sabbath morning. Pastor Jëan Ross, vice president of evangelism, also offered a seminar on how local churches can experience better growth.
Together, they presented a Bible Answers Live-type program during which eager audience members were able to get answers to their questions.
Hander Heim, director of Amazing Facts Brazil, provided translation throughout the weekend. In 2022, the Amazing Facts Brazil ministry was established and held its first AFCOE training program.
While the weekend was Pastor Doug’s first public speaking engagement in Brazil, many youth and young adults at the convocation were already familiar with him through his book The Richest Caveman and from watching Amazing Facts’ programs.
Surprise Interview
Just before returning to the United States, a series of divine “coincidences” led to Pastor Doug being scheduled for a five-minute interview on a secular TV news station, REDE, the fifth-largest TV network in the country. “I almost canceled that interview,” Pastor Doug explains. “We were flying home the next day on a tight schedule, but the Lord convinced me to keep this appointment.”
The planned five-minute interview with Hermano Henning, a well-known news anchor in Brazil, was at 7:00 pm. However, the prime-time segment turned into nearly a half-hour interview! Mr. Henning asked Pastor Doug about the Sabbath, the Ten Commandments, and his conversion story.
The interview took place right after a lengthy report on the pope’s death. Mr. Henning then asked Pastor Doug what he thought about the pope’s passing—a delicate question in a country with more Catholics than any other in the world. “He also asked me about Bible prophecy, the book of Revelation, and the three angels’ messages,” Pastor Doug shares.
It was an extraordinary opportunity to share about Amazing Facts. Throughout the interview, the TV station put up the Amazing Facts Brazil website on the screen. Pastor Doug says, “I think that interview made a greater impact on Brazil than all of our other presentations!”
Something unusual also happened during the interview. Hander Heim translated Mr. Hennings’ questions for Pastor Doug from Portuguese into English, but Pastor Doug says, “I suddenly understood everything Mr. Henning was saying, even before the translator whispered in my ear.” After the interview, Pastor Doug could no longer understand what Hennings was saying.
“I’m still pinching myself,” Pastor Doug marvels, “and praising God about the divine providence of all of this. The same day the pope dies, a Sabbath-keeping pastor is invited on a national news network in one of the most densely Catholic countries in the world to explain to [a potential audience of] over 200 million people why he joined the remnant church! Maranatha! The Lord is coming!”
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A Special Presentation With Pastor Doug
Pope Francis has passed away—and many are asking, “Are prophetic signs being fulfilled? And what happens next?” Join Pastor Doug Batchelor on Friday, April 25, 7:00 PM ET, as he explores Bible prophecy and what Revelation 13 reveals!