Attitude Baptist Church
Attitude Baptist Church is a Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. It is affiliated with the Baptist Convention. Josué Vallandro Jr. is its current Pastor-President leading approximately 13,500 members.
History
Attitude Baptist Church started as a Community Mission in the neighbourhood of Itanhangá, Rio de Janeiro by the International Mission Board missionary Edgar F. Hallock, Jr. Initially the Mission met in a rented room of a University nearby and later at a public school. On 4 June 2000, sponsored by the First Baptist Church in Barra, the Mission was organized as the Central Barra Baptist Church with 32 members.Organisation
Attitude Baptist was modeled after the successful experiences of Saddleback, Hillsong and Santarém-Paz Churches. Works and experiences of pastors Abe Hubner and Rick Warren serve as main inspiration.The Church is organized in 15 congregations and apprimatelly 1.200 cells, which replicate the general Cell church structure of the Main Church in Barra da Tijuca. According to this model the basic structure is the Cell group, which generally has up to 12 people and often cell-members also have the role of counselor and counselee. Upon exceeding this 12-person limit, the cell multiplies into new cells. Each cell is under the care of a Cell-leader. Every cell is integrated into a network of cells under the care of a Cell-supervisor, to whom Cell-leaders report. Cell supervisors in turn report to the pastor of the church, who in turn report to the Pastor-president. Because of its size, the main Church has more hierarchical levels.
The work of each church is conducted voluntarily by church members and it is organized into Ministries. Ministries are:
- Atitude Kids for Children;
- Ripe for Adolescents;
- Be One for Youth;
- Preciosa for Women;
- Homens de Atitude for Men;
- Incluir for Brazilian Sign Language interpretation.
- Employment, Entrepreneurship and Sport devoted to the Community in general;
- Uniatitude for Biblical and Theological Education;
- Missão Atitude for Outreach.
Congregations and Leadership
Since 27 September 2003 the Church is led by its pastor-president, Josué Valandro de Oliveira Jr., and each of its daughter-churches is led by a pastor.The Church meets regularly in 13 congregations in 4 different Brazilian States, 1 in the United States and 1 in Canada. They are:
| Country and State | City and District | Name | Leader | Organized | Note |
| Brazil Espírito Santo | Vitória Praia | Vitória | Pastor Bruno Simplício | 18 September 2017 | |
| Brazil Minas Gerais | Belo Horizonte Buritis | Belo Horizonte | Pastor Elmo Guimarães | 19 May 2019 | |
| Brazil Piauí | São Raimundo Nonato Centro | São Raimundo Nonato | Pastor José Busch | 26 July 2019 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Cordeiro Senna Campos | Cordeiro | Pastor Áquila Lima | 21 January 2018 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Duque de Caxias Vila São Luiz | Duque de Caxias | Pastor Felipe Rangel | 13 December 2015 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Magé Piabetá | Piabetá | Pastor Hugo Freire | ||
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Nova Iguaçu Luz | Nova Iguaçu | Pastor Rubem Teixeira | 7 October 2018 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Petrópolis Centro | Petrópolis | Pastor Juliano Loureiro | 5 August 2018 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro Barra da Tijuca | Barra da Tijuca | Pastor-President Josué Valandro Jr. | 4 June 2000 | Main Church |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro Ilha de Guaratiba | Guaratiba | Pastor Felipe Brás | 31 December 2017 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro Ilha do Governador | Ilha do Governador | Pastor Everton Louvize | 11 July 2019 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro Vargem Grande | Vargem Grande | Pastor Paulo Costa Pastor Josiane Costa | 20 December 2015 | |
| Brazil Rio de Janeiro | Rio de Janeiro Ipanema | Zona Sul | Pastor Vinicius Vianna | 5 February 2017 | |
| Canada British Columbia | Vancouver | Vancouver | Pastor Max Ferreira | 6 January 2019 | |
| United States Florida | Orlando | Orlando | Pastor Salleh Cader | 9 August 2015 |
a. Predecessor: Pr. Achilles Schachter between 26 July 2019 and March, 2020.
b. Predecessor: Pr. Edgar F. Hallock, Jr. between 4 June 2000 and 8 June 2001.
c. Predecessor: Pr. Leandro Barros between 5 February 2017 and 10 August 2020.