What do you get when a family has a heart for Christ, church planting, and missionary work?  You get a family devoted to spreading the Gospel and planting Bible-teaching churches throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

 

After meeting at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in 1997, little did Brandon and Diana know the journey God would take them on for mission work and church planting.

 

Inspired by the life and ministry of the apostle Paul, they began short-term mission work in Mexico and Ukraine.  Brandon and Diana made a permanent move to Ukraine as missionaries from 2002 to 2005.

 

After returning from Ukraine in 2005 to Southern California, unsure where their next mission field would be, they continued to serve the Lord at their local church.

 

In 2011, God opened the door to Portugal. With their daughters, Isabella and Victoria, ages 9 and 8, they stepped out in faith and made the move.

 

Their first year in Portugal they served at a church affiliated with Calvary Chapel in the Algarve as they settled into their new life. In 2012, the Harding family moved north to Vila Nova de Gaia, where they attended and served a local church.

 

In 2018, they planted their first church, Calvary Chapel Grande Porto, an English and Portuguese speaking church in Vila Nova de Gaia.  The church began in a hotel conference room with a local coffee shop as its location for weekly Bible studies.

 

Over time, the church grew and relocated into a commercial space, adding areas for Sunday service, weekly Bible studies, church events, and ministries.

 

Since their first church plant in 2018, the Harding family has continued planting Calvary Chapel churches.  With Calvary Chapel Braga in 2023, under the Harding family church-planting ministry, Calvary Chapel Guimarães in 2024, and Calvary Chapel Aveiro in 2025.

 

With a vision to see Bible teaching churches throughout the Iberian Peninsula in order to fulfill the Great Commission, it is no wonder God has called the Harding family to spread His word.  They are a family committed to their vision, but, more importantly, to Christ and His mission field.