Fausto Aguiar de Vasconcelos, Brazilian senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Rio de Janeiro has been invited to succeed Australian Tony Cupit who retires in July and become the new director of Evangelism, Education, Study and Research of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) for next five years.

Vasconcelos has a master of divinity and a doctor of philosophy degree from South western Baptist Theological Seminary in forth Worth, Texas. In 1972, he graduated at South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary in Rio de Janeiro and was ordained in 1973 as a pastor at First Baptist Church of Copacabana Beach. In October 1985 he moved to the First Church, Rio de Janeiro, where he succeeded president of the BWA Joao Soren.

Vasconcelos currently chairs the Executive Committee of Evangelism and Education and since 1995 has served as a voting delegate from Brazil to the General Council. As well as a President of the Brazil Baptist Convention, the position that he has held eight times, he has also served a four-year term as President of the Union of Baptists in Latin America which includes Baptist conventions and organisations in 18 countries.

The Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of 196 Baptist unions and conventions with a membership of more than 43 million baptised believers and a community of more than 100 million Baptists worldwide. Vasconcelos is well known in the life of the BWA which unites Baptists around the world, responds to people in need and defends human rights.

"I am pleased to announce that the BWA has invited Fausto de Vasconcelos to be the new Director of Evangelism and Education," says general secretary of the BWA, Denton Lotz. Invitation is expected to be unanimously approved by the General Council when it meets in Birmingham, England, during the Centenary Baptist World Congress which will take place July 26-31.

"I am overjoyed and excited about having the first Latin American Executive to serve as part of the Baptist World Alliance team for 2005-2010," expresses Lotz.

As Vasconcelos accepted the invitation to work for the BWA, Robert Ricker, former executive secretary of the Baptist General Conference and Chair of the BWA Personnel Committee expressed that he had no reservation about him at all, "I like his wide ranging church experience both in his local church and his long tenure of ministry."

Ricker also emphasised Vasconcelos’ ministry with the whole association of Baptists in Brazil and his deep commitment to Christ and to church, expressing, that "this is so important in his taking role at the Baptist World Alliance because the BWA is a servant to the church."

Multi-lingual and gracious, Vasconcelos was described by Ricker as "very articulate" and that strength could be felt around him. "I also like the fact that he is thoroughly evangelical and this is one of the great virtues of the Latin America church today," states Ricker.