WMF Argentina North American Community 2010
April 2010
“But as you come, come as a new-paradigm missionary. Come as a people who seek to develop bridges of healthy interdependence. Come as a people who build reciprocity into the task of missions. Come as a people who approach the cultures of the world with respect and with humility. Come as a people who are learners and not cowboys. For this century must be the century of genuine partnerships and nothing else.”
~ Oscar Muriu, “The Global Church” (Urbana Missions Conference 2006)
Word Made Flesh places a high value on partnership in ministry. Partnership is what shapes our WMF communities around the world, as North Americans come as foreigners to listen and learn from our local sisters and brothers in the body of Christ. The above challenge on partnership from Oscar Muriu, pastor of Nairobi Chapel in Kenya, summarizes well the posture we strive to live out in our relationships with our Argentine friends who serve alongside us in Buenos Aires.
Our WMF Argentina community is excited and hopeful about our next steps in partnership. In addition to our ongoing ministries among the youth and children, our priority for 2010 is establishing a formal and legally recognized Argentine organizational structure. This Argentine “asociación” will include eight Argentine board members, who will provide valuable voice and vision to the work here.
As you can imagine, registering an organization requires lots of planning, legal paperwork and funding. One specific requirement is a physical office space and address, which we have not had up until now. Our church community in Buenos Aires has generously offered to rent us an affordable office space to meet this requirement. In addition to meeting the legal office requirement, we look forward to having a community space for work, meetings and counseling outside our homes for the first time.
In addition to partnerships with Argentines, our Buenos Aires community values our family and friends who partner with us from the United States and around the world. We are grateful for the encouragement, prayers, and financial partnership of so many. As we move forward with our priorities for ministry and organizational registration, we have some increased funding needs. Our projected budget for 2010, including rent for office space, totals $6950. We also estimate a need of $2170 in one-time organizational expenses for setting up an office space. If you are interested in learning more of the specifics, we would be happy to share more details on these needs.
We covet your partnership in prayer these months ahead as we actively pursue these next step of partnership with our Argentine friends and leaders. If you are interested in partnering with us financially with a one-time gift to help us get our new organization and office space off the ground, you may designate your WMF gift to “Argentina Field Account.” You may also partner with us monthly to help with our ongoing ministry expenses throughout the year. We thank you for your prayers and trust God to provide each step of the way.
With gratitude,
The WMF Argentina Community