Begun in Faith

There once was a missionary who was traveling with his apprentice through the highlands of South America preaching the good news and encouraging the people. One evening, at day’s end, the two were far from any town and without lodging. They saw a small house on the edge of the ridge and, thinking it was abandoned, went to seek shelter. The structure was barely standing, but the duo was surprised to see it was inhabited by a large family. The head of the household invited them in. He explained that they were very poor, having only one dairy cow to provide food. The family lived off of the cheese they made from the very small amount of milk the cow gave. They didn’t have much, but they were more than willing to share with the missionary and his disciple. Before the meal, they asked the missionary to pray for them. He did so generously, asking for the Lord’s blessing and provision for the family and their future. The cheese was divided into portions so meager that each one continued in h...

Our last trip, our last Encounter, our last communion, our last holiday, our last short term team. As April 20 looms closer, we are experiencing and planning more of our “lasts.” Our last Sunday is Easter Sunday. What a horribly depressing way to celebrate the purpose of the universe. The short term construction team that visited us last month was a huge blessing in a difficult time. For those of us transitioning out of Extreme and feeling like we have less and less to do, it was a perfect distraction. For those of us continuing on and feeling more and more the weight of our ministries, it was an encouragement to see so much productivity in such a short time frame. The team itself was made up of old Extreme veterans. For some, this was their fourth Extreme construction trip, having built our churches in Arequipa, Ambato, Antofagasta, and now Córdoba. And that’s just with Extreme. Some have been on as many as twenty work and witness trips with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. Thr...

The Setup Ok, let’s back up. What is Extreme? Extreme Nazarene is an organization that partners with the Nazarene church to plant new Nazarene churches using teams of missionaries from the United States and the country where the church is being planted. Except it doesn’t because sometimes the teams have members from three or even more countries. The church in Ibarra, Ecuador has pastors from Venezuela and the church in Antofagasta, Chile has missionaries from Brazil and Peru. And really, Extreme doesn’t send missionaries but rather social workers, baristas, 4 th grade teachers, dog groomers, factory workers, and college students to be trained as missionaries on the field. So Extreme Nazarene plants Nazarene churches using teams of young people sent to make disciples and train their disciples to make disciples who make disciples.                          ...

On January 4, a team of eleven Brazilian missionaries came to Argentina to serve God and bless our church. We spent two weeks speaking Portuñol (Portuguese + Español) with them and laughing a lot. Each one has a talent—preaching, singing, acting, teaching; but their most effective evangelism tool is their incredible joy. It was wonderful to bask in the presence of God with them. While they were with us we prayed over the city, presented dramas in plazas, and hosted events for men, women, and teens. We, the 40/40 missionaries, also tried to include them in our daily work. A few weeks earlier, Ashley and I had started something we’ve termed a “plaza of prayer” where we have a Bible study and prayer time in a public plaza. One Thursday, three of the Brazilians were able to join us. They sat uncomfortably in the 85 degrees of dry, summer heat sipping on mate tea, a traditional hot Argentine drink. It’s interesting to watch a third culture experience some of the same culture shock ...

On Sunday, December 18, we had the privilege of baptizing six new members of our church, six new servants of God’s kingdom. Before the baptisms, each person shared a short testimony of why they wanted to be baptized. It was awe-inspiring to see how God has brought six very different people on six unique journeys to the same place at the same time. Marcelo shared first. He laughed as he explained that he was forced to go to his first Encounter retreat by his wife and the pastors. He gave his life to Christ in that first Encounter. Two months later, he attended another as a leader and experienced the tangible presence of God for the first time. Since then, he can’t stop worshiping. On the bus, at work, at home, he loves singing praises to his Savior and feels closest to God when he expresses his adoration of Him. The Holy Spirit has been repairing his spirit in many ways, and he wants to be baptized to show his love for God and God’s sacrifice for him. Lucas moved to Cór...

In its first years of being planted, a new church looks and acts differently from an established, mature church. The pastors of a baby church have to use different strategies with a different focus from their peers to reach out to a community without the history, traditions, or manpower of a developed church family. These differences are even more exaggerated in our churches within Extreme because we use a specific model a team of foreigners. Sometimes it can be hard for us to fit in with the other churches on a district. By God’s grace and the work Extreme did with district leadership before we arrived, the Córdoba district has always been supportive of our work here in the capitol. They showed their support and approval once again by asking us to host this year’s district assembly. We aren’t even an official church yet, but we are the most centrally located. Aside from convenience, our district superintendent really believes in our pastors and the potential of our impact on the city...