Will This Rock in Rio?: Finding God in an Urban Culture

Spreading the kingdom of God through relationships.
In the mid-1960s, two college friends, Ken Lottis and Jim Petersen, along with their wives and small children, embarked on a surprising adventure. They settled in the Brazilian university city of Curitiba with the objective of launching a ministry among students. They faced overwhelming obstacles. But emboldened by biblical promises, they walked the streets and prayed that God would open doors of friendship with students.

One by one, they watched initial friendships become networks that included friends, classmates, hometown sweethearts, relatives, and parents. A slow trickle became a steady stream as a new generation of young Brazilians came to faith in Christ. A crucial moment came when Ken and Jim helped several growing believers move to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to find work and settle down with their families. They found that the lessons they learned in Curitiba also worked in the hustle and bustle of Rio and São Paulo, cities of more than eight million each.

As the Lottises and the Petersens immersed themselves in the Brazilian culture, they left behind the familiarity of their North American evangelical heritage to map out new paths for nonreligious people to find their way into the kingdom of God. The lessons they learned proved cross-culturally transferable, not only to Rio and São Paulo but also to other cities around the world. Anyone interested in reaching a city with the gospel can benefit from these remarkable stories and lessons.

Also included in this book: Jim Petersen’s “Six Critical Factors to a Multiplying Ministry.”

Ken Lottis was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. He is a graduate of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned a BA in history and was intensely involved with The Navigators and Young Life. After graduation, Ken worked with the North American Indian Mission and served with The Navigators on college campuses and servicemen’s centers. In 1963, Ken and Carol Lottis were assigned to Brazil to team up with Jim and Marge Petersen on what became a twenty-two-year pioneering adventure that established one of the most unique ministries in the history of missions.