Argentina: the growing influence of the preaching movement
The Langham Preaching movement in Argentina has been established in several cities over the past three years. Developed in fellowship with ABUA (the Argentinian university ministry), events have been held in fellowship with Kairos Ministries, and in cities such as Cordoba, Chaco, and now Neuquen in Patagonia. A strong Argentinian leadership team has been responsible for developing the preaching movement, and they have travelled to each city to run training workshops as well as to nurture regular preachers clubs. In Chaco, in the north east of Argentina, pastors and lay preachers now meet once every two months for a practical workshop, following the 2005 preaching seminar.
The most recent event took place in Neuquen, sponsored by ABUA, the Council of pastors in Neuquen, and Langham Preaching. Over 80 people took part, including pastors, many lay preachers, youth workers and small group leaders.
The vast majority of preaching in the city is being carried out by pastors or lay preachers who have had no formal training. Many of the church planting initiatives in the area are being undertaken by energetic lay leaders. The local coordinator, pastor Eduardo Martinez, explained the importance of this event in Neuquen.
‘The preaching movement here is essential for the spiritual growth of the leaders, and their commitment to faithfully expound the Word of God. It is also essential for us to raise up teachers who will be able to teach others how to set about expounding Scripture, that in turn may influence our society. The preaching seminar was specially important in reinforcing the unity of leaders and churches in Neuquen’.
Pastor Eduardo’s son, Sebastian, a 22 year old medical student, is also involved in church-based ministry in Neuquen. He insisted, ‘The preaching conference is very, very, hyper, ultra important for our town!’ A car mechanic who is developing church planting initiatives underlined the challenge by describing the majority of preaching in the area as ‘preaching–lite’. He explained that a great deal of preaching was very superficial, with limited Biblical content, and welcomed the training programmes that were now being developed through the ABUA/Langham initiatives.
The President of the Pastors’ Council in Neuquen explained that, although there had been considerable growth in the churches during the 1970s and 80s, the impact of the churches had not been so strong because of a limited commitment to discipleship and Biblical depth. ‘Where we made our biggest mistake was to abandon the Word of God.’ He indicated that there had been limited efforts in Bible study, and therefore expressed the full support of the Council for the development of the preaching programme.
Plans are underway for a further preaching seminar in northern Argentina in 2007, with plans for a larger event in Buenos Aires in 2008, bringing together key participants from each of the 5 locations where the preaching movement is underway.