Gustavo Gubiani – Minister

September 2025

How long have you been at BSBC and tell us about your employment and roles and church background before coming to BSBC?

Marcela and I are both trained lawyers from Brazil. Alongside our professional work, we were actively involved in our local church. Marcela serving in children’s ministry, and I in discipleship and teaching. We also led a Life Group together in our home, which was a key part of our ministry life before coming to the UK.

After a long season of prayer, discernment, and preparation with our sending church in Brazil, we felt God’s clear call to leave everything behind, our families, careers, language, culture, and even the weather (!), to serve Him in another nation (Matthew 4:18–22). In obedience to that call, Marcela, our son Davi, and I arrived in Bishop’s Stortford in January 2016. Since then, it has been our joy and privilege to serve, learn, and share life with this beautiful church family, dedicating ourselves to making disciples and advancing God’s Kingdom among the nations.

What role(s) did you have before officially becoming Minister? (e.g. A lot of work with the International Ministry etc)

I initially came as an Associate Missionary from Brazil to support the International Ministry of our Church, working alongside Tracy Moreton and leading the Portuguese- speaking community. In August 2019, I became a Minister-in-Training and gradually took on wider responsibilities within the whole congregation, while also pursuing theological studies at Spurgeon’s College. In 2022, I completed my BA in Theology, was ordained as a Baptist Minister, and inducted as one of the ministers at BSBC. Most recently, in July 2025, I completed my learning contract with Spurgeon’s College, and am now preparing to become a fully accredited Baptist minister this coming October.

What have you been doing since you took on the role of Minister? (e.g. being instrumental in making us more forward thinking)

In 2019 I became a Minister-in-Training. Since then, I’ve gradually taken on wider responsibilities in teaching, discipleship, evangelism, and pastoral care, reaching out to the broader community with the Gospel and walking alongside those in need. In many ways, I feel I’ve learned more than I’ve taught. This congregation has shaped me deeply. Perhaps, coming from abroad, I was able to offer a different perspective, and I hope God has blessed us through that.

When and how did you become a Christian?

I first heard the Gospel when I was 18 years old and was baptised a year later, in December 2005. It was through an organisation called ADHONEP (Businessmen’s Fellowship), which organises social events and shares personal testimonies, that I came to understand it was possible to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and that He truly knows me. During one of their events, I gave my life to Christ and was then connected to a local Baptist church in my hometown of Porto Alegre (RS), where my journey of discipleship began. I left my old life behind to follow not my own dreams, but the dreams Jesus had for me.

Tell us about your wife and family and time here in Bishop’s Stortford?

I met Marcela at our sending church in Porto Alegre-BR, and we were married in 2009. God has blessed us with two wonderful children: Davi, who is 13, and Isabella, who is 5. Marcela has been a precious gift from God to me. I praise Him for her heart for the Gospel and for His mission, and for the way she has embraced and shared this calling with me. I simply couldn't do this without her love, strength, wisdom, and support. I am deeply grateful for all she does, often behind the scenes, to enable me to study and serve in ministry.

What will you miss about Bishop’s Stortford and The UK in general when you are back in Brazil?

You! I will deeply miss this wonderful community of believers whom I now call family. This Church believed in my calling, waited patiently for me to arrive, supported me through my studies, encouraged me to press on, and gave me opportunities to grow, to make mistakes and to get things right. I’ve met incredible people here: real followers of Jesus who walk humbly with Him. This community has shaped me and made me a better person, and for that, I will always be grateful. That said, I definitely won’t miss the weather!

Your last Sunday is 26 October. What will you miss about BSBC and your role as Minister?

When it comes to BSBC, I will especially miss the way we work together to make this Church thrive. I’ve always appreciated the collaborative approach to leadership: elders entrusted with the vision, deacons faithfully handling the practical aspects of ministry, and members actively shaping the life of the Church, seeking to living out the priesthood of all believers. As for my role as a minister, I will miss the great privilege of teaching God’s Word to this congregation and doing my best to help you follow Jesus’ teachings, as I continue striving to do the same myself.

Were you able to achieve all that you hoped at BSBC and are there things you hope we will begin or continue?

What I have always sought to do during my time at BSBC was to be faithful to the Lord, whatever He required of me.

Faithfulness, above all else, is what matters in the Christian life. Human aspirations, numbers, or other visible outcomes are secondary. I know with deep conviction that God called me to BSBC. He brought me here for a season to be equipped for ministry, to teach His Word, to help lead others to faith, and to care for this congregation using the gifts and abilities He entrusted to me. My sincere hope is that I have been found faithful in that calling. May God have mercy on me.

Looking ahead, my prayer is that BSBC will continue to walk in faithfulness to Jesus Christ and to the truth of the Bible without compromise. May the Church hold fast to the Gospel and its countercultural message, living boldly for Him until the day He returns.

Have you any advice for us all at BSBC in the coming months and years?

Perhaps this encouragement is for both you and me: let us never take our eyes off Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Seek Him, follow Him, love Him. When we take our eyes off Jesus, we begin to sink (Matthew 14:30–31), but when we fix our gaze on Him, we find our footing, our purpose, and our hope.

Is there anything we can pray about for you and your family?

Yes, thank you, that means a lot. We are stepping into the unknown. Although we’re returning to our home country, so much has changed, especially within us. We’re not sure how we’ll fit into a culture that may no longer feel entirely our own. Please pray that we will find space to rest, truly rest, as we seek to support our children through the transition to a new school system, a new home, and a new environment. Pray also that we will discern God’s will for us in Brazil: where to live, what to do, and how to serve. Above all, may He give us the opportunity to continue making disciples wherever He leads us.

Is there anything else you would like to say to us?

Thank you for your understanding and for the gracious way you have supported me and my family since we discerned God’s call to return to Brazil for a season. I know the news that I wouldn’t be succeeding John wasn’t easy to receive, and yet you have shown us nothing but kindness and support. That, to me, is a beautiful sign of maturity and Christian love, it speaks volumes. I truly hope and pray that God is preparing someone special to lead this Church forward, and that this new minister will be a great blessing to you all. God is sovereign, and He remains in control of every detail.

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)