So what does church planting look like during quarantine in Argentina?
Pastor Fabian reaches for his phone.
It’s 8 am. He hasn’t had breakfast yet but his first item of the day, every day since Argentina began quarantine in March, is to send out an audio-devotional to an ongoing group chat. The group started as mostly church members, but with the looming uncertainty of current events, many neighbors and friends have asked to be added to the list to receive the Bible studies. People in the community are searching for answers now more than ever.
After he sends out the devotional and eats breakfast, Fabian loads up some groceries he was able to purchase through relief funds into his truck. He has a special permission slip that allows him to drive around town and visit families with physical, emotional, or spiritual needs. Without that slip, he could be pulled over and fined. Countless people in the community and congregation have lost their jobs; by providing groceries, these families won’t have to choose between paying rent and feeding their children.
At each home, Fabian leaves a bag of groceries and a Bible and often stops to chat at the door for 20 to 30 minutes. After all, this is Argentina - you can’t stop by someone’s house without talking for a while! These short chats allow Pastor Fabian to keep up-to-date on church members’ spiritual lives.
In the afternoon, Pastor Fabian will meet with some church members for visitation. He tries to meet with one church family per day, to spend some quality time studying the Word and praying with them. Many questions come up, and often these visits can include a time of Biblical counseling regarding family relationships, anxiety, or sin struggles.
Fabian has been out of the house most of the day, but now it’s time to go home. But the day isn’t over yet. Now he’ll transition into preparation for the coming Sunday morning Zoom call. Preaching over Zoom is not the same as being with the gathered body face-to-face, but it is still better than nothing. He’s also encouraged because, despite the hurdles of technology, church members have been incredibly faithful to connect to the virtual services each Sunday.
A few kilometers away from Pastor Fabian’s house, the church building. It has been a long, challenging six months since little kids came to Sunday school, couples met in their small group, the congregation sang worship songs together, and church families shared fellowship.