Apostle Estevam Hernandes sees no problem with believers rooting for Brazil in World cupas long as there is no “unhealthy idolatry”, because “only worship God”.
He also thinks that evangelicals sometimes have “persecution mania”, which would be a legacy from the times of Christ. Estevam prefers to talk about another Christian legacy: “All people must choose to kneel in the presence of Jesus.”
What the leader of the Renascer em Cristo church wanted for 2026, a presidential ticket that united Tarcísio de Freitas (PL) and Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), it won’t happen — the governor of São Paulo needed to have resigned from the position before, and now the electoral law only allows him to seek re-election.
Estevam has not yet declared support for the senator’s candidacy Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), who, like Tarcísio, confirmed his presence at the March for Jesus, an event that he has been organizing since 1993 and which takes place this Thursday (4) in Corpus Christi, in São Paulo.
“It’s very premature. We still have a long way to go in the coming months”, he says. “Up front”, the majority of pastors must really support Flávio, he admits. But it also recognizes that the how it came to light conversations of the firstborn of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) with Daniel Vorcaro “commits”.
THE Sheet Estevam states that Lula (PT) would be received with affection from the March and highlights the AI as an ally of the churches.
This year’s March theme is “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.”
We believe that all people should choose to kneel in the presence of Jesus.
There is a certain fear, outside the churches, that approaches like this advocate a forced conversion, suggesting that, otherwise, the person will go to hell. Whoever doesn’t convert goes where?
It’s an excellent question. Jesus said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The church has this mission to spread the word of truth. But there is an understanding that salvation is individual, arbitrated by God, not by anyone on Earth. Obviously we cannot judge whether a person will go to heaven or hell.
Julianny Souza, a gospel singer who will perform at the March, has a praise (“Ah, Jesus”) that talks about the opposite situation: people who preach the word, but don’t live it in their personal lives. Why is this song having so much repercussion in churches?
When you make a choice to live a life of holiness, it stands to reason that no one is going to be perfect. And Jesus said: let him who is without sin cast the first stone. The song brings this message so that people do not live hypocritically.
The shepherd Teo Hayashi said that the biggest enemy of evangelicals was not the press, academia or communist activism, but rather the scandals within the segment. What do you mr. he thinks?
We have had periods in which we had resistance, even a media that did not understand what the evangelical. Today, I don’t see that. We have, of course, a left-leaning media and a right-leaning media. It may be that in this ideological aspect there is any type of favoritism. But not something like a systematic enemy of the church. It’s this obsession that people sometimes have with persecution.
Do you think there is a mania for persecution?
This is a legacy of the church, right? Because she was persecuted, and Jesus also said that we would be blessed when we were persecuted in his name. This remains of this memory of persecution remains today.
Hayashi said that while the Lagoinha church’s relationship with the Master came to light. Does this case have the potential to damage the image of all evangelical churches?
Look, I don’t think so. These are isolated facts that require all necessary investigation. And today we have extremely fragmented information. Church A, B or C… You don’t throw everything that is evangelical into the same pie.
What presence should politics have in the pulpits?
We have a vision while March for Jesus. She welcomes all people without distinction and her vision is to pray for the authorities. If the president goes, he will be received as president. Governor, mayor, ditto. The March itself does not have any kind of political vision.
Mr. wore a Brazil shirt in the 2022 election, a symbol associated with Bolsonarism. Should a religious leader take a political stance?
He can and should. Now, I, as a citizen, may have my preferences, my ideology, but that does not mean that the entity I represent will connect with what my thoughts are. We have people from the most diverse backgrounds in the church.
In 2023, the beginning of Lula’s third term, Mr. He said he would be warmly welcomed at the March if he wanted to go. And today?
We invite the president and all Brazilians. If you come, you will be received in this way. So much so that whenever he sends a representative, he has his space like everyone else.
Jorge Messias (attorney general of the Union) was there that year, and part of the public booed when he mentioned Lula. We can’t control it because it’s a popular reaction. I try to do as much as possible within the Christian aspect so that this doesn’t happen.
Messiah had support from important evangelical leaders, and yet his appointment to the STF was blocked in the Senate. How do you see the veto?
Messiah is evangelical, he is a practitioner. The defeat was not his, but the government’s. And we know how the whole political aspect works. I personally support Messias, but I don’t vote there in Congress.
Mr. defended the Tarcísio-Michelle ticket. Could she still lead the ticket?
I see minimal possibilities of this happening. The really ideal candidate would be Tarcísio and Michelle. Michelle would hardly be allowed to head a ticket.
Mr. did not make any public demonstrations of support for Flávio Bolsonaro. Does the revelation of his conversations with Daniel Vorcaro hurt him among evangelicals?
It’s very premature. We still have a long way to go in the coming months, to have a definition of this situation. Up front, even based on what we see configured, everyone must support Flávio. And we have good candidates, right? Personally, I think Caiado is an excellent candidate as well.
Does the Vorcaro case hurt him?
Research showed that there was not such a large loss overall.
Mr. Were you satisfied with the response he was giving?
Having gone looking for sponsorship and everything, I don’t see a problem so far, the film (“Dark Horse”) needed to be financed. But I think it compromises how things happened, how it came to light, and also the explanations. It’s a bit disjointed.
Another controversial topic. Evangelical condemns idolatry. Can you support the World Cup?
Everyone should support, everyone is Brazilian. You must put all your energy into it, but obviously there is a limit, which is unhealthy idolatry. This is not appropriate for a person who has Christian principles and who knows that only God is to be worshiped.
The pope released a encyclical on the ethical impact of artificial intelligence. For religion, is AI more of a risk or a salvation?
It can help a lot, a lot in spreading the Gospel. I’m from the time when, when you were going to prepare a sermon, you had to take a dictionary that size and go look for the words. Today you give a theme, and the AI gives you everything, it is a great facilitator. Like everything we have at our disposal, it must be used wisely and within limits in the spiritual aspect.
What did you think of the sermon? pastor Helena Raquel against cover-ups in churches of domestic violence, even pedophilia?
I feel like she ended up creating a generalization, as if there was this violence and it was not reported in any way. I don’t agree with that. It is not a reality for the entire evangelical world.
In the past, the woman in the church didn’t even have a name, she was the pastor’s wife, okay? Not today. We have pastors, bishops. Now, our society is sexist, yes. There is confusion when Paul says, in Ephesians, that a woman should be submissive to her husband. People understand how to subjugate women in an enslaving way, which has nothing to do with the context, because later Paul says that the husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.
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Estevam Hernandes Filho, 72
São Paulo (SP), 1954 Born in São Paulo, he founded the Renascer em Cristo Apostolic Church in 1986, with his wife, Bishop Sonia Hernandes. In the media arm, the couple owns Rede Gospel and Gospel FM. In 1993, the apostle launched the first March for Jesus, which became the biggest event on the evangelical calendar in Latin America. In 2009, then president Lula (PT) sanctioned the law that created the National March for Jesus Day.
