This year the President’s Cabinet has chosen to honor Dr. Leandro Tarrataca for his extensive ministry.
Leandro was born in a small town in Brazil in 1972 as the first grandson of Portuguese immigrants. When Leandro was fourteen years old, his parents divorced. His anguish and emotional pain grew to the point that he became very suicidal. It was during this crisis that Leandro found faith, hope, and strength to move forward as he believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. By God’s grace he led his father, mother, and brother to Christ as well.
By the age of fifteen, Leandro was a youth evangelist preaching and sharing his testimony. At age seventeen, he was ordained to the pastoral ministry by the Heirs of Christ Brazilian Church. After graduating from a Brazilian Bible Institute, he went to law school for one year, but his passion for theology led him to pursue the best biblical education he could find. God directed Leandro and his wife, Julie, to the United States and Calvary Theological Seminary where he graduated in 2007.
Leandro says,
Attending Calvary was the best experience in my life. I received not only excellent academic training, but also real discipleship and mentoring. If I had to go back and pick a seminary again, I would still go to Calvary Theological Seminary to be trained under their doctrine and philosophy of ministry.
Dr. Tarrataca is currently serving in Brazil as the president of the National Association of Brazilian Bible Churches. He is also the president of the Brazilian Association of Culture, Education, Service, and Religion which includes a Bible college, theological seminary, camp, and ministry to underprivileged children. Besides these responsibilities, Leandro has started a new church planting project.
Leandro hosts the “Back to the Bible” radio broadcast for the Portuguese-speaking world which includes Brazil, Portugal, Angola, and Japan among others. In addition, he is working with Dr. Woodrow Kroll on translating materials in order to help under-trained Portuguese pastors.
Leandro is currently working on a new book that should be released in December called “365 Biblical Prayers and What We Learn from Them.” He already has more than a dozen published books focusing mainly on theology and Christian living. Dr. Tarrataca has also spoken at conferences in several countries including Thailand, Costa Rica, India, and Canada.
We are delighted to honor Dr. Leandro Tarrataca as our 2016 Alumnus of the Year, and we want to thank him for his excellent example of faithfulness in ministry.
