Naomi Keefe

Naomi's mission work

Naomi is working with the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. Since the start of 2012, Naomi has been working alongside the Peixinhos congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPB) and more recently with the IPB congregation of Beberibe.

Naomi is involved in empowering the local church to start to question what it is that God has called them to do amongst their communities in sharing the Good News of Jesus. Encouraging, training and facilitating them in this process of beginning to think for themselves and prayerfully work out what God has called them to do together, is not only challenging, but is also a long-term process. She is also involved in the production of contextualised, evangelistic and discipleship material particularly for illiterate and functionally illiterate families.

Naomi comments, “Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:27 addresses the local believers and describes them as follows, ‘Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.’ The work I am involved with in Brazil is very much based on the theology behind this verse. God has called and equipped the local believers with the specific task of bringing glory and honour to his name in both the building up of the local believers and in reaching out to the lost with the good news of Jesus. Hence it is the local believers who are the body, and it is God who has appointed each one with differing gifts. I offer training and specific teaching material designed for working alongside poor communities. I am not the one doing the outreach, setting up the programme or running the project, as I am not a body-part of the local church. I am not a member of the local body, but rather have been sent out to help the local body work better, particularly in relation to reaching out to the poor communities with the Good News of Jesus in a biblical, culturally and contextually appropriate form.”

Naomi’s work can be best summed up as church-based and Bible-based community development and evangelistic outreach with the local body parts being involved in various outreaches including; reading room activities, Coffee with God Bible studies, Good News Club activities, football evangelism, film days, family visits, street evangelism presentations, nursing home visits/evangelism, etc.

All the various strategies and activities have the purpose of equipping and encouraging the local congregations to be the witnesses in their communities that God in Acts 1:8 has commanded them to be.  As Naomi comments “my prayer is that together we will continue to see children, young people and adults around us each day as Jesus Himself sees them “harassed and helpless without a shepherd”; “lost souls” for whom Jesus came “to seek and to save” and that we will have the same obedience to the “Heavenly Vision” as the apostle Paul.”

From 2005 to 2011, Naomi worked alongside the IPB congregation of Casa Caiada and local churches within the neighbourhood of Aguazinha, seeking to help these poor and marginalised people by sharing the gospel with them.

Before going to Brazil, Naomi was a Biology teacher at Hunterhouse College in Belfast. She spent two years (2000-02) as a volunteer in mission in the Valley of the Lord Orphanage in Recife, Brazil. She also has a Masters’ degree in Theology from Queens University Belfast (UTC) with specific emphasis on how best to work with children at risk in Brazil. Naomi´s home congregation is Sloan Street Presbyterian Church, Lisburn.

Latest Report October 2026

I am now safely back in Brazil. I spent the first few days tidying up the apartment as almost 3 months of dust had accumulated in every nook and cranny. Due to the building construction across the road from where I live, this time there was a lot more dust. 

Faniquita (the dog) was glad to see me and is beginning to get back into her routine of eating. (She normally goes on a mini hunger strike whilst I am away so lost some weight). 

The month of October is busy for Brazil as a Nation with elections of president and also state governor on 4th, together with children’s day in Brazil celebrated on the 12th. The Good News Club in Peixinhos hopes to have a special day on 15th. 

Plans are being made for various training sessions with both the folks in Beberibe and Peixinhos. I hope to take a Bible study for the teenagers in Beberibe adapted from Josh McDowel’s book “The Naked Truth” which looks at questions about sex, love, and relationships from a biblical and scientific perspective. 

Christmas evangelistic outreaches including street presentations and Bible studies in both communities are being discussed and prepared - much wisdom and guidance is needed in organizing these.

The Coffee with Father God devotional books for 2027 for ‘The Coffee with God’ Bible study in the community of Peixinhos have been ordered and we are looking at how this book might also be used amongst the Beberibe community as a form of outreach to the contacts we have made due to Reading in the Park and street events.

Prayer Points

• Give thanks for safe arrival in Brazil and for an encouraging time with you all there on deputation in Ireland.
• Continue to pray for all the preparation of material for ‘Coffee with God’ Bible studies with a possible view to do something similar in Beberibe.
• Continue to pray for the Reading in the Park every Tuesday and that the team will use this opportunity wisely to witness to others about the good news of Jesus.
• Give thanks for the encouraging experiences of personal evangelism that the team members in Beberibe had as they took up the challenge I left them with of praying and intentionally giving a Bible to someone who didn’t know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in the lives of these people and bring them to himself.