At just 22 years old, Lucas Cardin is already preaching to congregations of 500, discipling young men, training ministry leaders, and helping shape the theological future of his church in Brazil. But ask him how he got here, and he’ll quickly point to something bigger than himself: a faithful family, the generosity of others, and a calling God began shaping years ago.
Growing up as the son of a pastor and missionaries, Lucas heard about Jesus from an early age. But it was at just five years old, during a Word of Life family camp in Brazil, that he personally chose to follow Christ. Years later, at 19, Lucas attended the Word of Life Bible Institute in New York before returning home to study at Seminário Bíblico Palabra da Vida—the very place connected to the ministry where his faith journey first began. Today, he is finishing his seminary degree, made possible through a scholarship provided by Mesa Global.
As a young leader in his local church, Lucas is passionate about sharing his theological training with the people he serves--empowering them to lead, serve, and disciple within their own communities. The need for this training is significant. In recent years, nearly 40% of the church’s members came from backgrounds shaped by unhealthy theology and harmful church practices. For Lucas, sound theology is not merely academic—it allows the church to flourish under the truth of the gospel. It is there--in a flourishing church--where leaders are formed, helping ensure a thriving church in the future.
“I see my role as a leader and discipler as a chance to challenge people to serve and grow so that they can become better leaders,” Lucas says. “Through discipleship, conversations, or classes, I always share whatever experience I have in ministry.”
Some of the fruit of that investment is already visible. Natalia, a high school student impacted through Lucas’s Sunday classes, decided to attend Bible college. Miguel, one of the middle school students he teaches, now hopes to join the church’s theology program. Victor and Felipe—young men Lucas has discipled—are steadily growing into leaders who are beginning to influence others in their church community.
For Lucas, seminary has never been about earning a degree for himself alone. Everything he is learning is being poured back into the lives of others: into classrooms, discipleship conversations, youth ministries, and future leaders who may one day shepherd churches of their own.
Lucas describes his time at Palabra de Vida as “the last chapter of this part of the story,” but in many ways, it feels like a beginning. Through his education, young people in Brazil are deepening their own faiths, a congregation is being strengthened, and a his own family’s legacy in ministry is continuing.
Stories from the Field
