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“Carlos” never expected to encounter Jesus at a slam poetry event.

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Since 2025, the Steiger team in Bauru, Brazil, has been intentionally investing in the city’s urban culture, building relationships through spoken-word events, rap battles, and creative outreach in one of the city’s busiest public squares.

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One evening, Gah and Behl, leaders of the Steiger MVMT in Bauru, performed a spoken-word piece based on Vícios (“Addictions”), a song by Gah’s band, Overturn, about the freedom and transformation found in Christ. After the performance, a young man named “Carlos” approached them. The poem had deeply moved him, and the conversation quickly turned to faith, Jesus, and the Church.

As Carlos shared his story, Gah and Behl learned that he had grown up in church as the son of a pastor. But after coming out as gay, he experienced deep rejection and eventually walked away from church. The pain left him convinced there was no place for him among Christians, yet he felt comfortable talking with Gah and Behl that night.

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Through authentic conversation and genuine friendship, he discovered a safe place to ask honest questions about God. When Gah and Behl invited him to a Steiger Bible study, he eagerly came, and even brought a friend who was also walking through a difficult season.

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Although Carlos recently moved to a different state, the relationship didn’t end there. Before he left, the team connected him with a healthy local church that had just been planted on the very street where he now lives. To Carlos, it was a clear reminder that God had been pursuing him all along.

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His story reflects what the Steiger team encounters every week in Bauru. Many young people in the LGBTQ+ community are wrestling with the same questions, loneliness, and brokenness affecting their generation. Some carry deep wounds from the church, and many have also embraced the false promises of secular culture in their search for identity and freedom. Our team is there to build genuine friendships, challenge the lies with the truth of the Gospel, and introduce them to the transforming love of Jesus.

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“As a Steiger team, we are here to walk alongside people, helping to heal wounds through unconditional love and reintroducing them to the true and transforming love of Christ. We have been building deep relationships with this community, as well as with those involved in freestyle rap battles, and we’ve been welcomed into their lives. We’ve learned that this work is often slow and steady, while at other times transformation happens suddenly—such as Carlos’ decision to become part of a local church community. Above all, we trust in the Lord’s timing and seek Him as we discern each next step,” shared Behl.