Above: Mendoza, Argentina where the Walkers serve.
Argentina is staunchly but nominally Roman Catholic. 80% identify as Catholic, but in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, only 4% go to church (although this jumps to 20% in the provinces). Consequently, there is a lot of identification with religion but little real-life impact.
We see our ministry of evangelism as encouraging people to look at the Bible, at Jesus and his claims about who he is and what he offers. We want people to see the wonderful blessing of walking through life with him and following him. A lot of this involves trying to get under people’s skin and challenge them to (re)think what they believe – which most people don’t like! No one wants to prod too deeply at what underpins their assumptions about life, death and purpose if they’re, on the whole, happy.
But Jesus has told us that he’s the Lord of all creation and he sends his disciples out to make disciples of all nations. We’re inviting people to recognise his Lordship now, whilst there is still opportunity. What does that look like for us in Argentina?
Here are five main ways:
Firstly, we evangelise to our local church. To give an idea of the spiritual temperature of Mendoza, El Señor de la Viña (‘The Lord of the Vine’) church hadn’t had a pastor for 13 years before we arrived. We encourage our tiny church family to rejoice in Jesus, in the new life he’s given us and in being part of his worldwide family.
Secondly, we evangelise through our local church. We pray for, equip and invite church family to be bold in sharing the gospel with their neighbours, family, friends, work colleagues, sports teams and other networks. The evangelism isn’t all down to us; we all play a part. One example of this ripple effect was doing marriage prep with a couple at church, then being invited to preach the gospel at their wedding and then being able to speak to their entire extended family about the gospel at the party that went on until 3am (the kids loved it!). We heard the mess of their lives (adultery, depression, drug use, suicide) and how desperately they need Jesus.
We’re praying for opportunities to follow up those conversations and share the hope we have.
Thirdly, we evangelise through our two school networks. One is a state school, where less economically well-off families send their children. One is a Catholic school, where our eldest goes and where families tend to be more financially comfortable. We are intentional with conversations at the school gates, on playdates, at mealtimes, so we can better understand those cultures and come alongside those families. The families in the two networks are materially different, but both lack the security of a personal, saving relationship with Christ. There have been recent opportunities with a couple of families to start conversations over BBQs and to talk a bit deeper about Jesus. We’re praying these develop!
Fourthly, we evangelise to our neighbours. We live on a private street with 15 neighbours and each morning Beth and I try to pray intentionally a Matthew 9:38 prayer – for God to send more workers into his harvest field, and for those already in it! I go for prayer walks up and down the street, which means I’m more intentional about praying and more available for conversations with neighbours. Chats with one couple led to an invitation to marry them, and while I wasn’t able to, we had 10 hours’ worth of Bible studies looking at Genesis 1–3, which they’re keen to continue when they’re back from their honeymoon. We also invited lots of neighbours to our son’s baptism, and five ended up coming and really appreciated being included.
Finally, we look for evangelism opportunities in our day-to-day lives. We started reading the Bible with our gardener. He enjoyed it so much that he’s invited his family and friends to join him! We’re praying for the gospel to take root in his neighbourhood. I had a long chat with my hairdresser all about post-modernism and relativism. Considering the haircut cost £1.25, I’ll be back! We invited the two lads who run the ice cream shop at the end of our church’s road to church. Our local grocer’s two daughters came to our son’s baptism and loved Sunday school so much that they’ve come back every Sunday since. One chap at church invited his widowed neighbour and he came.
It’s been both tremendously encouraging and humbling to see God use so many aspects of our lives to sow the seed of his word, and to see our church family beginning to intentionally extend gospel invites. Please join us in praying for patience and endurance in this long slow work. We need the Lord’s help and your prayers!