Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina

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Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina
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Congregaciones	57
Número de Miembros	4.000
Directivo	Insert Presiding Officer Here
Dirección	Mercedes 149 Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
Teléfono	(54) 2946-443111 (54) 2946-443576
E-mail	juansieber@mym.com.ar
Website- Página Web	http://www.menonitas.org.ar

La Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina es el grupo más grande de los grupos anabautistas en Argentina. En el 2006 la iglesia tenía 57 congregaciones y 4.000 miembros. To learn more about the Mennonite experience in Argentina click here.

Historias

• Mission worker buried among people he loved in Argentina

• High demand for Toba Bible study in Argentina

• Mission without conquest/Misión sin conquista

• Will we throw the ribbon away?

• Those who have ears: New Testament Pilaga recordings released

Create new articles that tell stories about the Anabaptists of Insert Page Name Here and insert links to those stories here. Click here to learn more about stories.

Historia

Missions in Argentina can be categorize in three periods says Ernesto Suarez Vilela, a member of the IEMA, in his book 50th Aniversario de la IEMA, 1919-1969. The first period is from 1917, the onset of the missions in Argentina, and 1932. This period is characterized by an explosion of missions. Around twenty churches were constructed and about four hundred members were baptized. Furthermore, many advances in biblical studies were made and developments in orphanages also were predominant. The Second period, from 1933-1969, is viewed with a trend that most rural communities are depopulating and coming to the city. This halted many of the church missions, due to halted growth. The third period, between 1940-present, is viewed as the beginning of the late reaction of the mission to relocate its endeavors. Many of the urban churches were founded during this period.

Orígenes

Initial move towards missions in Argentina was one of much deliverance. The Board investigated options and weighed the pros and cons. There were many nations available to the Mennonite Mission Board to initiate programs such as Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. One of the main concerns of the Mennonite Board of Missions, in Elkhart, Indiana, was conscious of health requirements of missionaries. Due to its temperate climate and the responsiveness of its people to the Gospel Argentina was chosen in 1917. The missionaries J. W. Shank and wife, and T.K. Hershey and wife left for Argentina with $20,000 to start a ministry. They arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 11, 1917. The predominant religion of Argentina is Catholicism, however, the Mennonite Mission flourished throughout its beginning years.

J. W. Shank noted that Argentina is amalgamation of many nationalities and ethnicities creating uniquely diverse conditions for ministries. However, one major commonality with many Argentinians was the association to Catholic practices and traditions. Catholic traditions like kneeling, visual images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and communion were starkly different from the practices of the Mennonite missions. The mission church services were well attended and had much impact on the people. Especially during services that included foot washing and times for testimony became powerful ways to engage the community in positive ways.
In 1942 the growth of Argentinian churches, as J. W. Shank suggests, were influenced by a series of social issues. Much of the population was dependent on the availability of work, where work can be found and for how long. The increase of work usually allows church, “membership increases for a while; the membership remains the same for a longer period.” In other words the memberships will remain stagnant for longer periods rather than see much fluctuation throughout the years. The

Argentinian constitution allows for religious freedom, but most of the country is Roman Catholic. In the early stages of the Mennonite mission within Argentina there was much animosity between Catholics and the members of the Mennonite church. Many members were not experienced enough to confront persecutions and thus would revert to old traditions, a lack of spiritual strength to stand up for beliefs. Divisions among churches were also a factor that affected church memberships. Deaths within the church were also a reason for loss of members (reason unknown didn’t say). As of January 1942 the membership in the Mennonite mission was 532. In comparison to the membership during 1923, a total of 90 members, the church mission grew considerably.

Early Missions

The initial thirty years of the mission were marked with many different missions. The missionaries focused their efforts on church development, education, care for children, and women’s ministries. After arriving in Buenos Aires, the missionaries enrolled in language classes. In addition, the Mennonite Board of Missions encouraged excursions into the countryside to best direct need. The mission was largely successful, according to John Driver, because of the emphasis on the personal religious experience.

Vida Contemporánea

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Personas importantes en la vida de la iglesia

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Recursos Electrónicos

2006 Mennonite World Conference Directory for Caribbean, Central and South America

Bibliografía anotada

Iglesia Anabautista de Buenos Aires. http://www.menonitas.org.ar/ (accessed 23 June 2009).

This is the official website of the Iglesia Anabautista de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Anabaptist Church), a congregation that is part of the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina. On the site, the congregation outlines their Mennonite identity. The site also provides contact information and local news about church life. Of special interest are several links to other Latin American Anabaptist organizations.

Archivos y Bibliotecas

• Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Argentina Archives

The church collected and stored archival materials in a room at the Mennonite church in Bragado. In the late 1960s the collection was moved to the Floresta Mennonite Church (Iglesia Menonita de Floresta) in Buenos Aries where Ernesto Vilela cared for them until he died. In 2008 Luis María Alman Bornes moved the archives back to Floresta. To learn more contact Luis at Alman.Bornes@gmail.com.

• Argentine Mennonite Libraries

IEMA has a small conference library along with archives. It consists of a small number of uncatalogued books in English and Spanish. Additionally, the Instituto Bíblico Menonita, a Bible institute in Bragado, Argentina sponsored by the Argentine Mennonite Church, had a small library. The library closed in 1954, and in 1956 most the collection moved to the new Mennonite seminary in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Enlaces Externos

Iglesia Anabautista de Buenos Aires