Missionaries Janio & Martina Lima

Janio and Martina have been training Brazilians in missions through Vida em Foco since its founding in 2005. They focus on evangelism and outreach in the poorest communities of Fortaleza, the capital city of of Ceará in northeastern Brazil. They have planted one church and plan on planting at least three more in Brazil as well as the countries of Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau, combining mercy ministry and church planting.

Janio trains leaders and teams to plant churches and start mission bases in new locations, passing on the vision through counseling, teaching, working together, and through his daily life.

Martina is active in women’s ministry, caring for the missionaries, and the women coming to our outreaches in the slums and the church in the Cumbuco region of Fortaleza. She also helps the team with strategic planning in Cumbuco, training women for their ministries in poor communities, churches, and abroad.

Janio and Martina ask that we pray Matthew 9:37-38: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”


More About Janio and Martina

In 1999 Janio moved to Fortaleza to attend a YWAM Discipleship Training School and began working with street children. Martina, from Germany, attended a YWAM DTS in Montana and then headed to Fortaleza to minister to street children, having been called to Brazil at age 14. They met in 2003 and were married in 2004. A year later God called them to start Mission Vida em Foco (Mission Life in Focus).


About Ceará, Brazil

Ceará is one of 27 states that make up the country of Brazil and is located in the northeast on the Atlantic Ocean. Despite being a popular tourist destination, Ceará is among the least developed and poorest areas of the country. Fortaleza has more than 600 slums with a population of about three million. The gospel in the slums is very legalistic with no freedom in God or His Spirit.

Spiritual Strongholds

  • Poverty
  • Drug trafficking and corruption
  • Catholic syncretism

Prayer Needs

  • New strategies to reach the poor and broken
  • Wisdom and discernment to train leaders
  • Mercy ministries in the slums
  • Protection and unity for our family

→ Give to Missions
Return to Missions