Joseph Anthony Gillespie, Jr. was born in Roanoke, VA (USA) and lived there most of his life. He has been in Brazil for 4 years with his wife, Cristina, and their daughter, Hadassa. He has an AAS in EEET from Virginia Western Community College, a Bachelor of Theology from LIFE Bible College East, and a Master of Divinity from Regent University. He first received direction regarding missions in the country of Brazil in 1986 and spent many years after that preparing in the US to live in Brazil.
Cristina Gillespie was born in Belem, Para (Brazil) and lived there most of her life. She married Joseph in 2010. She has also been preparing for ministry to the children, adolescents and youth of Brazil for many years.