Ministry Plans
1. LST work:
a. Provide follow up for LST readers who have previously participated in LST
b. Conduct one on one reading sessions with those who are interested in continuing that model of learning
c. Hold English conversation groups at various times during the week for those who are interested.
d. Help lead and teach the English Bible Study on Sunday mornings at the church. This study is typically attended by some of the LST readers, and it is a good chance to dig deeper into what we have been reading
e. Host parties each month to help readers and church members practice their English and build relationships
f. Work with the other teams that LST is sending to Buenos Aires to facilitate a continuation of ministry from one group to the next
2. Language and Culture Study:
a. Part of our ministry is learning the language and culture so that we can effectively minister in our setting.
b. Our language learning is two-fold:
i. We are beginning our Spanish language study here in the States, working through Fluenz Language Software and practicing our Spanish with a friend
ii. We will be taking language classes in Buenos Aires during our stay. (This information is still TBD).
3. Work in the Caballito Congregation
a. Young Adult Ministry: The church recently began a small group for young professionals in the church. We will be helping with that ministry, teaching, providing leadership, and building relationships with these Christians.
b. English Small Groups: Part of our ministry will be English Conversation Groups, as we stated above. We will try to combine both spiritual and secular, doing a Bible study before hand, then breaking for coffee/mate and snacks (maybe a meal from time to time.) Then we will practice English in a variety of ways (i.e. ordering at a restaurant, watching a movie and discussing it, playing games, etc.)
c. Men’s/Women’s Ministry: Megan has a heart for ministering to young women, and Laura Valdez recently began focusing her time on ministering to the women. She hopes that Megan will take part in this ministry. I plan on doing some men’s ministry as well, either formally or informally: organizing a men’s day, taking a men’s “retreat,” and possibly doing a small Bible study/prayer group with some men in the congregation.
d. Singing: I have recently been talking to Jonathan Hanegan about helping with the singing ministry at Caballito. He has been working with one of the brothers to form a singing group, and he has offered us the chance to sing with them. I love music and enjoy singing and leading worship, and we will participate with this group as we are able. Some of the ideas include singing on the streets and subways, singing for other churches, etc.
e. Partnering in Evangelism: One of the greatest needs of the Caballito congregation (and others in Argentina) is training in evangelism. Although this will not be a main focus of our ministry, we hope to involve church members in our LST work (parties, English small groups, etc) and give them the opportunity to see evangelism happening and begin to participate themselves.
4. Campus Ministry:
a. There are approximately 600,000 college students in Buenos Aires. Half attend la Universidad de Buenos Aires, which is located throughout the city on 13 main campuses.
b. We are trying to ascertain whether campus ministry is a viable option for work in Argentina. We will be advertising LST lessons at the University’s language school, using LST’s materials and methods.
c. We will also wait to see what else might be possible during our time there.
