Antonio Mendes

Antonio Mendes Gonçales is a Church and Ministry Leadership Consultant and board member of Lead by the Name. He has made the church his life project and brings a history of pastoral leadership, shepherding, counseling, preaching, and leadership development to the Lead by the Name team. 

 

Antonio has over 60 years of business and ministry experience. He spent 20 years working for Ford Motors Brazil. For the next 40 years, Antonio served as the lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Atibaia in São Paulo, Brazil. In addition, he has served as president of several organizations, including Preach the Word (Founder), the School of Pastors (Founder), the Baptist state denomination, and the Pastoral Association in São Paulo. He has also served as a board member of the Baptist Theological Seminary in São Paulo and the Southern Baptist International Board in Brazil. 

 

He received his Magister Divinitatis Honoris Causa from Escola de Pastores PIBA, completed the Pastoral Training Program at the Word of Life Seminary in São Paulo, Brazil, and received international training at Haggai Institute with a focus on Christian ministry leadership. 

 

Antonio is retired and lives in San Francisco, California. He spends his time mentoring, writing, and producing videos to encourage young leaders to keep the ministry that our Lord Jesus started. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons and their families. Antonio loves to watch soccer and is a big fan of the Brazilian team, the Corinthians. Thanks to his parent, Antonio learned to love Jesus Christ at an early age.