05/20/2026
God has chosen us to be Christ's representatives on earth. Each believer has abilities from God that strengthen the whole body. Whether small or large, your special ability is for God’s service. We should live in a way that honors our calling. This means being humble, gentle, patient, understanding, and peaceful. With those characteristics God creates heroes for us so we can be someone else's hero. INSPIRE e-magazine interviewed one such person who had heroes come into his life and then became one himself. His story is not all that different from people and kids you know here in East Tennessee. See if you can identify with heroes that came into the life of Mr. Luciano Pinheiro, who moved to Goa, India in 2006. He serves the underprivileged with his wife Adriana. They both embody being Christ’s representatives and are passionate about their service to God. People are watching your life — do they see Christ in you?
The full interview can be found at https://strenthenthruchrist.wordpress.com./2026/03/13/representing-christ-through-service/
Q. Were your parents believers from the beginning? When did you come to know the Lord?
LP: The biggest sign of God’s grace in my life is seeing where I came from. I grew up in a very troubled family. My dad met my mom only once. They didn’t date or marry. They met at a party, spent the night together, and that was it. She never saw him again after that night. She saw him later, when I met him for the first time; I was around six years old.
Q. So, you are the only son?
LP: No, I have siblings – a sister and an adopted brother. My grandmother has seven kids in total. One of them is differently-abled and is 60 years. All her daughters have at least two kids each. When I was around nine years old, I stayed at my paternal grandmother’s house in her city for a while. And my maternal grandmother would take me to church. Most of them were Roman Catholic, but they were not Protestants.
Q. It is either Catholic or Protestants?
LP: (Laughs!) But to me, they are Christians. Without Roman Catholics, we wouldn’t be believers. For 1,500 years, Catholicism spread widely. Many Roman Catholic priests even lost their lives preaching what was seen as Catholicism. So, we come from a Roman Catholic background but were not Protestants. I grew up in a very unethical background from both sides of my family. If not for the grace of God, I wouldn’t be here, or I might have ended up doing what was unethical in the kingdom of God.
Q. How was your childhood? Was it good?
LP: It was good, but…
Q. What about schooling?
LP: My mom and my father didn’t care about my schooling. They were the kind of youth who used to travel, whole day partying, go here and there… I was brought up by my grandmothers.
Q: So, was your grandmother from a respectable background?
LP: Yes. She worked hard but was not a Protestant!
Q: So let me ask again: How did you come to know the Lord, please?
LP: My mom was the first to know the Lord. I was around 15 at the time. I was not living with her; I stayed with my grandmother because my mom remarried and moved in with her new husband. Later, I found out she converted to a Protestant. Back in 1998, the term “Protestant” was quite new to us.
Q. And, then?
LP: My mother, a Pentecostal, always talked about Jesus and invited me to church. The services were loud and disturbing, especially when the pastor would ask newcomers to stand up and declare their belief. He would say things like, “Today is the day for you to accept Jesus. If you don’t, you’re going to hell!” It was unsettling!
Despite that, I listened to the Word of God. When I was 17, my mom gave me a Gideon’s New Testament Bible. I started reading the Bible all night. As I read more of the New Testament, I felt like the Bible was cleansing my heart and spirit. The Holy Spirit was convicting me through the Word of God. And then one day, I decided that I wanted Jesus in my life, and that I will accept Him soon.
During my daily ride on the bike, I saw some youths playing guitar and singing displaying an aura that they were important and special to God. Their words resonated with me because I had been reading the Bible. My spirit connected with what they were singing. I went home feeling touched by their message.
My grandmother also went to church because of my mom. One day at her church, I decided to give my life to Christ. The pastor asked if anyone wanted to commit themselves to Christ. I went forward and accepted Jesus Christ in my life. The church invited me to join them for prayer and even helped pick me up from where I was staying. The church welcomed me warmly, unlike the outside world where I was overlooked because I was poor. They treated me with love and importance. Looking back, I see that God’s hand was in my conversion. That’s how I came to Christ.
Q. Did you join the church ministry in their activities like the youth, worship, etc.?
LP: When I came to Christ, I used to play guitar but not Christian songs. I was involved in the church ministry, especially with the youth, though I wasn’t leading it. I assisted the leader and helped organize many activities.
Simultaneously, I worked as an administrator in the office. Through a church friend of mine, I got this great job at a multinational company with a good salary. Unfortunately, this led me to backslide. I bought a nice motorcycle, attracted girls, and spent six months partying instead of going to church. One night at a party, I was surrounded by people drinking and dancing, I felt empty. I stepped outside, looked at the moon, and prayed, “Lord, please take me out of this place. I have no strength; I don’t belong here.” I was ashamed because I drifted away from God, and the church people knew that.
That week, someone from the church invited me to a youth retreat. At first, I refused, but he insisted and welcomed me warmly. So, I went. At the retreat, I sat at the back feeling ashamed and lost in my thoughts. The guy who discipled me when I first came to Christ noticed me. He taught me how to read the Bible and fast. He hugged me, and for the first time, I felt God’s love so strongly. It was like God was telling me He missed me. I cried continuously and felt God’s love deeply. That day changed everything for me – a new beginning. This time I decided to give my life fully to the Lord and be in the full-time ministry so others could experience what I felt that day.
