He was born and raised in southern Italy as a nominal catholic. His city is known for their worship of Father Pios as a saint and look to him even more than Christ.

He moved up north to Bologna about 12 years ago to start work in a butcher shop and to have a better life in the north.

Matteo for 7 years lived and worked near our city Budrio but had never been in contact with the Gospel or a Christ-centered church for that matter.

Every one of those years his cousins invited him to drive an hour farther north to visit them who themselves are believers. Matteo never had the time to.

Until the 7th year he chose to finally take them up on their offer and spend the weekend with them.

He explains that it was during that weekend the Lord started working because of the way his cousins treated him and openly shared this new news of Jesus.

He attended their church the next day and immediately after looked up a church in Bologna to start attending.

A few months after that visit with his cousins, they moved back to the south of Italy, about a 9 hour drive.

Matteo started attending an evangelical sister church nearby and it was there that the Lord convicted him.

He professed faith later that year and joined our church plant during that same season.

It was after the end of our believer's catechism that he was baptized in Budrio by our church.

 

Please pray for Matteo as he works too many hours with his own butcher's shop near our house.

Please pray that He is light to his co-workers and his friends.

Please pray that the Lord continues to show him new areas of growth in his life and how the Gospel is lived out every day and not just on Sundays.