On January 28, 2020, Cornélio sat in the silence of his isolation, flicking his thumb across a smartphone screen in a desperate search for hope.
He was scrolling aimlessly through Facebook, but his heart was heavy with frustration. Even though he’d grown up in the Catholic church in Mozambique and thought he was on the right path, he knew he was only pursuing what was right for him.
“Knowing about Jesus is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him,” he said. “I knew who He was, but something was still missing.”
As Cornélio scrolled, something caught his eye. An ad for GodLife, a Global Media Outreach ministry, gripped him. In his words, “That ad felt like it was written just for me.”
He clicked the link to connect with an Online Missionary (OM), not knowing if there would even be an actual person on the other end who could talk to him.
But thousands of miles away in São Paulo, Brazil, a Portuguese-speaking OM named Sandra Lúcia was waiting. And she didn’t just see a notification; she saw a soul in need of connection.
That connection would shift the entire direction of Cornélio’s spiritual life.
A True Discipleship Journey
When Sandra Lúcia first connected with Cornélio, she had no idea what the result might be. According to her, she’d been working in the ministry for a long time and had a fair share of seekers not respond well to discipleship, if they even answered at all.
But things were different with Cornélio.
“With Cornélio, God was showing His goodness to me,” she said. “Not everyone reacts the way he did. It showed me the true reach of the ministry and how God was confirming my calling to this work.”
Sandra Lúcia pursued Cornélio’s discipleship—asking questions, listening to his struggles, and encouraging him with biblical teaching.
From Cornélio’s perspective, Sandra Lúcia didn’t simply respond to him with cliché phrases or basic answers. As he put it, “She welcomed me, guided me, showed compassion for my story, and showed me that God had never given up on me.”
As Cornélio’s faith grew, Sandra Lúcia helped him see clearly that God had a purpose for his life.
“I realized that my problem was not rejection but redirection, and that God’s calling was greater than I had imagined,” he said.
In that moment of realization, the “missing” piece of Cornélio’s life finally clicked into place. He wasn’t being cast aside; he was being called forward.
“Now my life has changed completely,” he said. “Today I have a clear spiritual identity.”
From Isolation to Influence
The impact of Cornélio’s discipleship journey is made even clearer when he lists the many changes he’s experienced since he connected with Sandra Lúcia through GodLife:
“I am an evangelist in training. I have direction. My faith is mature and conscious. I developed spiritual discipline, Bible study habits, and a life of prayer. I rebuilt my self-esteem and joy. I am a husband, a father, and a community leader. God gave me the ability to interpret the Scriptures in a natural and profound way. I became useful in the work of the Lord.”
Sandra Lúcia credits God working in Cornélio’s heart, and Cornélio’s own passion for developing his faith, for the change in his focus and conviction.
“What I see most is that any time I’m talking to Cornélio, he responds and is always eager to learn,” she said. “Early on, whenever I gave him the basics, he was hungry for more, so I would send him new links and resources, and through that, he has grown closer to God.”
Becoming A Leader
Perhaps the biggest change in Cornélio’s life has been his commitment to becoming a leader.
“When I first made contact with Sandra and received learning from GodLife, I decided to become an evangelist,” he said. “Today I lead groups in WhatsApp, pray and talk about the Bible with people at work, use what I’ve learned through GodLife to lead youth groups, and more.”
Cornélio says he loves to evangelize and preach the Gospel. He gets called pastor and says that although he’s not officially a pastor, he loves to share the Word. He’s able to reach others by identifying and empathizing with their struggles, having faced many of those same challenges himself.
“Everything I went through serves as a tool for me to reach other lives,” he said. “I am a living testimony that Christ saves, heals, restores, directs, and transforms. I am ready to serve, evangelize, and fulfill my calling with humility and faithfulness.”
This is the exponential power of a single digital interaction. Today, the man who once scrolled in isolation now leads a non-governmental organization in Maputo called “Kids The Bright Stars – Mozambique.” Because one donor helped reach Cornélio, dozens of orphaned and underprivileged children are now experiencing the love of Jesus through his leadership.
“My life is an example,” Cornélio says. “Everybody who knows me knows from where I came and now where I am because of Jesus. People see what Jesus did to me, and my life is a living testimony of what Jesus can do.”
A Legacy Transformed
As Cornélio continues to lead and share Christ in his home country, the opportunities to spread the Word are vast. Despite the challenges seekers in Mozambique face, Cornélio’s passion for ministry and joy in Christ are contagious. His smile radiates the love of Jesus.
“This joy that flows from me comes from knowing God is willing to carry our burdens,” he said. “I’ve been able to leave so much in my past and see the ways God is at work in my life today. This is what makes my faith so joyful.”
For Sandra Lúcia, the discipleship relationship between her and Cornélio is a shining example of how the Holy Spirit uses OMs to make life-changing impact for seekers.
“The most important thing is to show Jesus’ love,” she said. “When an OM shows a seeker that God loves them and knows them by name, it opens doors for us to preach the Gospel. We’re able to share the good news of God.”
Her commitment to sharing the good news has impacted not only Cornélio, but his entire family.
“Meeting Sister Sandra online was a divine gift,” he said. “The online ministry was literally the instrument God used to rescue me.”
Cornélio adds, “Now my life is completely different. I’m a leader, teaching my wife and kids and even my brothers and sisters to follow the words of God and trust in Him.”
Be Part of the Story
Right now, someone in a season of isolation is scrolling through their darkest moment, just like Cornélio was in 2020. Your partnership helps to provide the “divine gift” of a digital rescue.
Will you give today to ensure that the next person who clicks is met by an OM ready to walk with them from doubt to discipleship?
Become an Online Missionary and be the voice of hope that leads a seeker into a relationship with Jesus.
Give a gift to help more Gospel ads reach people in their moment of need.
