“We started from scratch, with some kids from the neighborhood, and we already see how God is working in their lives: sincere friendships are formed, deep conversations arise, and we experience moments of prayer that move us.”
These are the words of Priscila Ventura from the Argentina North District. The church she attends, Church of the Nazarene El Cruce, is a community that seeks to reflect the love of God. Their dream is to reach every corner of the district of Pilar.
About three years ago, Priscila and the local NMI President started a ministry called Children’s Missionary Worship. At each encounter, children learn about the importance of praying, giving, and serving so that others may know Jesus. Through creative activities, songs, games, Bible stories and missionary stories, leaders sow in them a heart sensitive to God’s call and to missions. Seeing the children participate, raising flags of different countries and praying for the missionaries, is a visible reminder that love for the global church and God’s kingdom is built from childhood.
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Priscila and her husband Ignacio next began an outreach to teenagers in Fátima in the Pilar district. Priscila shares that the ministry “was all born out of a desire to serve with our missionary call outside the four walls of the church and the ministries in which we had always been involved, putting our missionary call at the service of God and the community.”
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Today the church is building a new work with teenagers in that location and preparing two young people to assume leadership there. Alpha Teens offers a space for them to meet and have a real and deep encounter with the Holy Spirit. Every gathering, whether on a football field or in the church, shows that when a church sets out to serve, God opens doors and transforms hearts.
Priscilla and Ignacio proclaim, “As a married couple, we continue to trust that God will complete the work he began—in children, in adolescents, and in our entire community.”
Thanks to the North Argentina District and Priscila Ventura for this story.
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Two couples are remembered as the initiators of the work in Argentina. Missionaries Rev. Frank and Lula Ferguson along with Rev. Charles H. and Catalina Miller arrived in 1914. They are described as being passionate evangelists, willing to sacrifice whatever it took to reach the inhabitants of this nation. On September 3, 1919, the Church of the Nazarene became official in Argentina when the Millers opened their dining room for public church services and prayer meetings.
Dr. Lucía de Costa was the first Nazarene converted in Argentina. She became a professor, pastor, and missionary. In 1981, during a sermon at the seminary, she challenged future pastors by saying, “We did the work with much less; you have more, so do something bigger.”
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Today, there are 18 Nazarene missionaries living in Argentina supporting the country, field, region, and seminary.
Parts of this history were taken from a Didache paper by Ignacio Malca Suárez.
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| Churches 253
Fully Organized 237
Not Yet Organized 16
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| Ordained Ministers 199 District Licensed 189
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- Pray for children in Argentina and around the world, that they would have opportunities to hear God’s call.
- Pray for continued guidance for our missionaries and faithful church leaders in Argentina.
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Praise God that this local Nazarene church and many like it are positively impacting their communities.
- Praise God for young leaders in Argentina and around the world who are passionate about raising up children and youth with a heart for missions.
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NMI Central is available in a curated PDF archive.
To read previous editions, click here.
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