Extraordinary sacrifice and transnational spiritual capital in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

For just over a decade the Australian headquarters of the Brazilian megachurch The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) has provided spiritual solutions to end the daily suffering of its congregants. Situated in a Sydney working-class suburb, many of the UCKG's migrant congregants suffer ailments of urban poverty, in particular familial breakdown, substance abuse, physical illness and mental health issues. These are further compounded by the socio-economic and residential precarity of their migration experiences. Twice a year a campaign of extraordinary sacrifice takes place across UCKG global networks. These campaigns are for those who have "impossible cases"" problems that seem to have no solutions. Drawing on two years of fieldwork with the UCKG, this chapter focuses on the 2016 "Mt. Sinai" Campaign of Faith. For congregants the sacrifice was extraordinary in terms of its size but most importantly its spiritual potency. At the end of the campaign, UCKG Bishops and Pastors from across the world gathered together to make the arduous journey up to the top of Mt. Sinai, in Egypt. There they presented the prayer requests of their congregants on the sacred "natural altar" of God. In this chapter, I argue that through the transnational network of the UCKG, congregants are able to imbue their sacrificial offerings with increased spiritual capital to better call the attention of God. This chapter will contribute a discussion of sacrifice in the UCKG that highlights the importance to local congregants of spiritual capital that flows via the UCKG's global networks.