VISION CHALLENGE:
APRIL 2010
THE NATION OF ARGENTINA FOR THE LORD
The Vision Challenge for this month of April, 2010 is for the nation of Argentina, in South America. Argentina is the 8th largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish speaking nations. The nation has a population of around 36 million people. While freedom of religion is a right guaranteed in the constitution, Roman Catholicism is the most influential of all religions. Around 80% of the population is understood to be Roman Catholic. Evangelicals account for around 9 to 10% of the population. The other major religious groups include the Jews (230-400,000) and Muslims (1.5% of the population) and non-religious groups either as agnostics or atheists. The protestant group is the only group where the majority of the p o p u l a ti o n a t te n d s r e g u l a r service. The Roman Catholic church in Argentina is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic movement under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are an estimated 33 million baptized Catholics, however only around 20% are known to practice their religion.
The Protestant presence in Argentina maybe traced back to the early 19th Century when the English Methodists, Scottish Presbyterians, Lutherans, Italian Waldensians, Baptists, and other protestant groups migrated to the country. Missionary efforts by the Anglicans (Church of England) and Presbyterians (Church of Scotland) began in Argentina in the early 1800s, ministering first to English and Scottish immigrants in their own languages in Buenos Aires. In the 1850s, Anglican missionaries began work among the Indians of the Patagonia and the Chaco in northern Argentina. During the late 1800s, new Protestant missionary efforts started among the Spanish-speaking population. Dozens of other Protestant mission agencies arrived during the early 1900s, notably the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (1905), the Assemblies of God. Today, Pentecostals (about 70 percent) outnumber all other Protestants in Argentina, due to substantial church growth resulting resulting from charismatic and healing campaigns.
Other non-Protestant Christian groups in Argentina include the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints (with around 550 temples with about 88,400 members), the Family (formerly known as Children of God), Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, Light of the World Church, Voice of the Cornerstone Church (Puerto Rico), and Growing in Grace Churches. The brethren assembly movement in Argentina began through the work of Brother Henry Ewen who arrived in Buenos Aires, in 1882. Ewen worked for 42 years, until his death, and was instrumental in the calling of a group of missionaries that came from Great Britain, including Charles Torre, William Payne, Gorge Langran, James Clifford and Robert Hogg. Ewen and this second group of missionaries were used of the Lord to form a movement of assemblies that number around 400 in 1982.
VISION2MISSION April 2010
Mission Challenge: The Ministry of Doug and Martha Baergen in Argentina
“The Baergens believe that missionary work should produce local congregations that are capable of continuing and reaching out to their own local area and beyond without the aid of missionary personnel or funds from the homeland.”
The month of April takes us to Argentina where Doug and Martha Baergen have been involved in planting New Testament assemblies across the province of Salta since 1966.
Their efforts in a poor area of the city called the Lavalle area resulted in the formation of an assembly which has has progressed to a fellowship with 60 believers. At present the challenge in the Lavalle congregation is to be Doug and Martha Baergen used of the Lord to establish strong local leadership. They seek to see more men take the Baergens went door to door tool the responsibility in the work of the with gospel as they usually did Baergens are using to reach out assembly. with tracts, Bible portions, to the people of Salta. Gospel calendars and Bible The Baergens believe that s t u d y c o u r s e s . T h e a r e a Spiritually, they must wage missionary work should produce however proved to be hard to warefare by faith and endeavor local congregations that are evangelize. Traditional tools to win students and their capable of continuing and were just not working. p a re n t s t o t h e L o rd . T h e reaching out to their own local Baergens request prayers for area and beyond without the aid In 1993, the spiritual burden the Christian teachers that deal of missionary personnel or funds eventually led to the founding of with them daily. It´s hard work from the homeland. the Timothy Institute, a school but very important because which reaches from kindergarten most of the students don´t hear About 20 years ago Doug came for 4-year-olds up through high the Word of God anywhere across an area with 2000 school. At present the school except the Timothy Institute. homes, some of which were still has 350 students enrolled for being completed. In the whole the 2009 school year. The Baergens are blessed with 3 area there was no church of any children and 12 grandchildren kind. Driven by the burden to The school, where all the seek out to the lost in this area, teachers are believers, is the
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