There are KEY ELEMENTS when it comes to being a wise minister that we can extract from 1 Chronicles 12:32-33
First, to have discernment of the times we are living in. The passage points out that they were experts in the knowledge of the times and knew what they had to do. That is, not only to understand the times, but to have the wisdom to be able to apply that knowledge into effective ministry, to have a practical theology.
Another key element is that they were ready to take up arms. We need to have leaders equipped, armed, with theological tools but also prepared to use different “wineskins”, to be flexible when it comes to ministerial practices so as to not say “WE ALWAYS DID THIS”, we always did the ministry like this and not being willing to ask the Holy Spirit to show them new missional practices. Let’s be clear, we are not going to negotiate sound doctrine, but it may have different wineskins. And finally, always ready to fight relentlessly - to have committed people within our congregations who will not give up.
THE USUAL DANGERS: Ministering today in the twenty first century there are two dangers we must avoid, a) That the Church preaches the Word of God, but separates itself and isolates itself from the social environment; b) The Church is mobilized for social causes, but does not preach the Word of God.
In light of this Virginia and I are equipping and training pastors and leaders on the following: Metamodernity: What metamodernity is, how it differs from other cultural stages such as modernism and postmodernism, and how it affects the way people perceive the world and relate to it. Generation Alpha: Who they are and consequences of having grown up in a highly digitized environment. How this influences their skills, behaviors, and expectations and how this might shape their worldview and abilities to face future challenges. Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: The challenges it poses and how AI is transforming various aspects including teaching-learning in Bible Schools and how solutions are being sought to handle these challenges Hybrid Church: How this model seeks to attract people who may be far removed from traditional forms of religious practice but who find value in a spiritual community adapted to the digital age. Gender Dysphoria: Analyze the causes of this global panorama in this generation and possible pastoral responses We were recently invited to speak on these issues at the Southern Cone Educators Summit in Santiago, Chile.
What a great privilege we have of being your hands extended to Argentina and Latin America. Thanks for partnering with us to see genuine transformation of our society.
Together we are reaching the lost by training the found.
Testimony of Rutsuko Boillat (pastor’s wife) I am very grateful for the missionary team from Thanksgiving Church, CA, that came to our province. Missionary Gilbert Contreras invited them and planned activities with my husband that is working in university student ministry with Gilbert. When I found out that they were coming, I thought they were very serious people because most of the team were professionals. But when I met them, I was gladly surprised to realize how humble they were, chatting with everybody and playing with the children. I was impressed to witness how they prayed for people even shedding tears sometimes while praying. I was moved by seeing how they worked, they painted the church. All that they did was with all their strength. You could tell that some had never done work of that kind but they did it with all their hearts. They cleaned a part of the church grounds that was piled up a lot of things, lifting the garbage with their hands. It was tremendous to see love in service, starting with Pastor Ed Choi. It was so clear to all of us that the team were servants and had humble hearts because their pastor is genuinely a servant of the Lord. He gave everything. Pastor Ed was one with the team, never an attitude of superiority over the others. He along with the others cleaned, collected trash, prayed for people, played with the kids… tt was very special to witness them modeling the love of God like this.
This team impacted me and all in our church community — they were people of faith because when they prayed they did it with such a real faith, it was noticed, it was felt. I told one of the women on the team that my waist was hurting, that I had a problem with the sciatic nerve and in those days it was hurting and several women from the team came and began to pray for me and when one of them put her hand on my waist I felt a tremendous fire and there I began to feel a heat in my whole being and I knew that the Spirit Holy was at work and at the same time felt the love of the Lord flowing through them. It was an unforgettable moment. God really worked in me because the pain went away. Their humility was noticeable in every activity they carried out, how they interacted with people and I rejoiced because I knew that everything they were sowing was going to bear fruit. So I thank the Lord so much because I know they sowed, sowed, sowed, and I know it's going to bring a lot of fruit. They have blessed us far more than we expected.
Testimonies from the Seminar Biblical Conviction with Biblical Compassion
In this workshop I feel that God has confronted me with the hardness of my heart that leads me to take a self-righteous position. I have to know (not just in my head) the Reformation in order to reach others to be reformed and transformed.
This workshop exceeded my expectations. Learn to attack the roots of things and not just try to pluck bad fruits. The issue of whether we want a behavioral change or a change of heart.
The challenge we were given was for each church to have a “school for parents.” I've never heard anything like that and it makes so much sense.
How it began with “appreciative inquiry” in the workshop to know who we are and what we have in our hands in each congregation to be able to respond to each problem that is presented to us.
This workshop emphasized to me the importance of building communities in our churches, as Gilbert always emphasizes, in order to have healthy and healing relationships to be part of the process of personal and community transformation.
The expectations I had were different, but the point is that God brought me to remove a veil from me to deeper things than just a conversation about sexuality.
Prayer Requests
--Pray for more workers, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Mt. 9:38) We have a great need for more full-time workeres in reaching university students in Argentina.
--Pray for Wisdom & Discernment: Pray for wisdom and discernment as we listen to the Lord for how to prepare for the various seminars and training events we offer to both leaders/pastors, university students and local congregations.
Oct 18-20th - we offer a marriage seminar in the province of Misions
Oct 28-Nov 1st - Gilbert equips bible school students on Leadership
--Pray for our university ministry team: Continue to pray for our Univeristy ministry team: Hernan & Soledad - Buenos Aires; Pablo y Belen - Entre Rios; Enrique & Rutsuko - Misiones. Pray for provision, open doors for ministry, health and protection.
