Igreja da Cidade (City's Church) has turned 83 years old on the 27th of December, 2025. They are located in São José dos Campos, São Paulo and they are nowadays one of the most influential Baptist churches in Brazil. It has evolved from a small local congregation into a massive multi-site network known as the Rede de Igrejas da Cidade which a clear aim to reach the whole world with the good news of Jesus Christ.
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| The main campus of Igreja da Cidade, known as Campus Colina, covers an expansive area of 200,000 square meters. It offers services in Portuguese, English and Spanish. |
But all this amazing development had a beginning. Back in Latvia: Latvian Baptists trace their roots to mid-19th-century revivals influenced by German Baptists, with their formal start often marked by 72 baptisms in the Zirīgs River in 1861, facing Tsarist persecution but establishing churches and later developing strong diaspora communities in America (like Philadelphia) and Brazil, all organized under the Union of Baptist Churches in Latvia (LBDS) for worship, education (like the Baltic Pastoral Institute), and mission.
In 1922 a group of Latvian immigrants members of a Baptist church, led by Pastor João Inkis, who settled in Brazil seeking to exercise the religious freedom they saw suppressed by the Bolshevik authorities after the October Revolution of 1917 founded Varpa (Vārpa - 'ear of corn' in Latvian), today a district of Tupã, in western São Paulo. More than 2000 immigrants gave rise to a community organized around a cooperative (the Palma Evangelical Corporation) and the local Baptist churches (whose headquarters would have been, at that time, among the largest in South America, with space for 1000 seated worshippers), and which spoke mostly in their native language until the nationalization campaign of the Estado Novo in the 1930s. Over time, and with the economic changes caused by the instability of the commercial crop farming model to which the immigrants had to submit, many of their children moved to the capitals in search of professional training, or in the case of several women, to work as governesses and domestic servants in the homes of elite families in São Paulo. The resources they sent contributed to the maintenance of their families and the community, as well as to the technical improvement of the colony's productive structures.
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| Latvian flag at the Sārnate Baptist Church |
In 1941, André Pusplatais was part of the group which moved to São José dos Campos, São Paulo. Mr. Pusplatains bought a farm where is today called "Vila Letônia" (Latvia Village).
André was a Baptist but he and his group started attending the Evangelical Christian Church (Igreja Cristã Evangélica) as it was his only evangelical option at that time. After some time, they asked the Baptist convention for a church in São José dos Campos, then the Paulistana Baptist Church (Igreja Batista Paulistana) in São Paulo sent a seminarian, Rafael Russo, to lead the group, which in 1942 became a church.
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| The flags of Latvia (left) and São Paulo (right) |
The church's first address was on Maitá Street, the second was on Kennedy Square, the third on Euclides Miragaia Street, where they are today.
The church has changed its name five times in 83 years:
The church has changed its name five times in 83 years:
- Evangelical Baptist Church of São José dos Campos [Igreja Evangélica Batista de São José dos Campos]: Founding name established on December 27, 1942.
- Baptist Church of São José dos Campos [Igreja Batista de São José dos Campos]: Name used during a large part of its early history.
- First Baptist Church (PIB) in São José dos Campos [Primeira Igreja Batista (PIB) em São José dos Campos]: Name adopted in 1982, by which the church was widely known for decades.
- City Church in São José dos Campos [Igreja da Cidade em São José dos Campos]: Current name, officially adopted in 2015 to reflect the vision of being a church "of the city and for the city."
Carlito Paes is the current senior leader of Igreja da Cidade and a prominent figure in the Brazilian Baptist community. Under his leadership since the early 1990s, the church has grown from a local congregation into a multi-site megachurch with over 28,000 members and dozens of campuses across Brazil and abroad.
He is the founder of the Rede Inspire, a global network that provides mentorship and resources to over 1,000 churches. His ministry is characterized by a "church for the city" approach, emphasizing social relevance, small groups (cells), and large-scale productions like the Auto de Páscoa (currently the biggest indoor Easter show in the Americas). He is also a prolific author of over 30 books on leadership and spiritual growth.
Paes has been married to Leila since 1992. They met in 1989 while studying at a seminary. Leila is his primary partner in ministry, co-leading the church and overseeing specific areas such as women’s ministries and social actions. The couple has four children: Ana Carolina, Ana Beatriz, and twins João Pedro and João Victor.
Carlito Paes has a deep connection to the Latvian immigrant community through his wife's family. Leila, is the daughter of André Pusplatais (mentioned above).
To honor his legacy of social service, the church’s philanthropic arm was named ABAP (Associação Beneficente André Pusplatais). Pastor Paes often acknowledges that the Latvian Baptist tradition—brought by immigrants like his father-in-law—was one of the foundational spiritual pillars that led to the formal organization of the church in 1942.
Carlito Paes has a deep connection to the Latvian immigrant community through his wife's family. Leila, is the daughter of André Pusplatais (mentioned above).
To honor his legacy of social service, the church’s philanthropic arm was named ABAP (Associação Beneficente André Pusplatais). Pastor Paes often acknowledges that the Latvian Baptist tradition—brought by immigrants like his father-in-law—was one of the foundational spiritual pillars that led to the formal organization of the church in 1942.
