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The story of New Hope

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Organized in September 1999 under the leadership of Rev. Wesley G Porto, with the support of the Central Florida Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Read our history What we believe

About us: the story of New Hope Church in Orlando

New Hope Church is a Brazilian Presbyterian church in Orlando, organized in September 1999 under the leadership of Rev. Wesley G Porto, with the support of the Central Florida Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It began under the name Igreja Presbiteriana Nova Esperança.

“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”
Psalm 145:4 (NIV)

The church began before its first formal meetings. It was born in the heart of Rev. Wesley, who was a pastor in Brazil and, after a trip to the United States, understood his calling to shepherd Brazilian immigrants here.

Commemorative seal for the 27th anniversary of New Hope Church

The church’s anniversary

How did New Hope begin?

This month New Hope marks 27 years, celebrated on Sundays of festivity and gratitude, with guest preachers. The timeline below is the shortest way to tell what God has done in each of those years.

199927 years2026

1999

Igreja Presbiteriana Nova Esperança

The church we now fondly call New Hope Church is born. This is the date the church celebrates as its anniversary.

2020

The pastoral transition

After shepherding the church since its founding, Pastor Wesley brings that season to a close. Rev. Sandro Ferreira becomes the pastor, carrying on the story built over the years.

2026

The 2026 to 2028 Strategic Plan

The church organizes its next phase around one question: where does God want to lead us now? Stronger worship services, integrating new people, training leaders, and a greater presence in Orlando’s Brazilian community.

Leadership

Who is the pastor of New Hope?

Rev. Sandro Ferreira has been the senior pastor of New Hope Church since 2020. A third-generation Presbyterian, he was ordained to the sacred ministry of Word and Sacrament in December 1997 and has been a member pastor of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 2007.

Rev. Sandro Ferreira with Vanessa and their children Gabriel, Manuela, and Lorenzo

Education and ministry

He studied theology at the Seminário Presbiteriano do Sul in Campinas, São Paulo, and was ordained in December 1997 by the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil), where he served until 2004. He also earned a degree in Law from the Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais.

He is married to Vanessa and is the father of Gabriel, Manuela, and Lorenzo.

Mission, vision, and values

What does the church aim to be?

New Hope is a place to live a new purpose, knowing the love of God and making a difference in the world. This is the church’s mission, in the words of its own 2026 to 2028 Strategic Plan.

Our dream

By 2028, to be known as a church where people understand and surrender to the Gospel of Jesus, disciples grow in maturity through the study of the Word, and new generations are reached and embraced by Jesus.

Our non-negotiable values

We teach the Word with integrity and relevance. We welcome people regardless of race, color, or spectrum. We value children and teenagers as the church of tomorrow. We see the local church as one large extended family.

Governance

How is the church governed?

New Hope is led by its church council, known in the Presbyterian tradition as the Session. It is made up of the pastor and the elders elected by the congregation itself. Decisions about the life and mission of the church are made together, with prayer, dialogue, and accountability.

Elders and deacons are nominated and elected by the members of the church at a congregational meeting. Our Session currently has six elders, and our board of deacons has five deacons.

The Session

Moderated by the pastor of the church and made up of the elders, ordained to the office.

Alessandra Fonseca
Amilton Britos
Cledson Pinheiro
Edelson Silva
Jose Eduardo Gomes
Ítalo Silva

The Deacons

Men and women called to the service described in Acts 6. They work alongside New Hope Welcome to greet people as they arrive on Sunday.

Jeremy Carr
Edgar Valente
Carla Coelho
Gabriela Souza
Fernanda Ferreira

Denomination

Which denomination does the church belong to?

New Hope is a Presbyterian church, part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Central Florida Presbytery. This means it is not an independent church: it belongs to a larger body, with shared confessional standards and a shared structure of oversight.

What we believe

The New Hope Church Orlando building at 4300 Lake Margaret Drive

About the name

Is the church still called Igreja Nova Esperança?

It is the same church. Igreja Presbiteriana Nova Esperança and New Hope Church are the same place, the same congregation, and the same address. The English name came into use to reflect a congregation in which many of the families live in both languages.

If you know the church by its former name, you are still in the right place. The sign on the street still shows the former name, the institutional records remain in the name of the original entity, and nothing has changed in the life of the congregation except the way it introduces itself.

The congregation

Who makes up New Hope today?

New Hope is, first of all, a church of immigrants. On the same Sunday morning there are people who came to Orlando in the 1990s and have already raised their children here, families who arrived last year, and a second generation born in the United States who learned Portuguese at home.

That shapes everything the church does. The service is in Portuguese with live English interpretation because, within a single family, the parents pray in one language and the children think in another. The New Hope Casa groups are spread across four areas because Orlando is large and the week is busy. And the immigration support exists because paperwork is a concrete part of life for those who live here.

None of these decisions came from a church growth manual. All of them came from more than two decades of experience, since 1999, living alongside the Brazilian community of Greater Orlando.

Organized in: 1999 In September, by Rev. Wesley G Porto, with the support of the Central Florida Presbytery.
Denomination: PCUSA Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), through the Central Florida Presbytery.
Government: The Session Six elders and five deacons, elected by the congregation at a congregational meeting.

Since 1999

The story continues on Sunday.

The best way to get to know a church is to spend a Sunday with it. 10:30am, at 4300 Lake Margaret Drive.

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The Lord’s Supper being served at the Sunday service of New Hope Church

New Hope Church Orlando Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) · Central Florida Presbytery 4300 Lake Margaret Dr, Orlando, FL 32812