The Many Layers of a Trade School
A trade school is going in the new Villa Dolores church space. Passers-by in the street might see sparks flying and wonder why people are welding inside a church. But so much more is happening than just welding.
On the surface, locals are learning a new job skill (welding, electricity, mechanics, or construction) that will help them improve their resume and work prospects.
We have seen this happen in Cachi...
We have seen this happen in Cachi, where Miguel was able to get a new job soon after a trade school based on the skills he’d learned. This is especially important during the pandemic, where so many have lost jobs and are looking for any chance they can get to find work.
At the same time, relationships are being built. Students come for several days in a row, almost replicating a camp or conference-style atmosphere, and the time spent together leads to new friendships
We have seen this happen in Saldan...
We have seen this happen in Saldan, where Andres, who had always been suspicious of Christians, realized that the people at church were loving and friendly and opened himself to the idea of meeting up believers for coffee. This also happened in Chaco (a church in the very north of Argentina), where the gospel pricked Esteban’s heart as he heard the message preached on the final night of the trade school. He came to church the following Sunday; the Sunday after that, he brought his son and wife; now, he’s inviting his parents and extended family to come with him too.
Finally, a trade school is also an internal training ground for Crecer interns. It’s a place where they get experience building relationships and preaching the gospel.
That’s what’s happening right now in Villa Dolores...
That’s what’s happening right now in Villa Dolores. Luciano, who is training alongside Carlos (our Latin America director) to be a church leader, can share the gospel with the welding group. He gains experience in turning cordial conversations into spiritual conversations, where he can learn more about an attendant’s struggles and spiritual beliefs. These relationships and preaching lay the foundation for pastoral work and evangelism, which Luciano hopes to do in the future.
Trade schools offer the chance to reach a very specific demographic in Argentina who tend to be the least churched and often least interested: men (though it’s worth saying that some of our most dedicated welding and mechanic students have been women!). Our goal in 2022 as a foundation is to provide a trade school to all ten churches in the new Crecer association. By taking care of the cost of materials, workbooks, and teachers’ transportation, we allow local churches to focus on those attending. Each trade school will give local communities access to job training, local churches the opportunity to reach more with the gospel, and local Christians training towards a future in ministry.
You can be a part.
This year, we are focusing our end-of-year efforts on three strategic areas for 2022.
- A new library in the seminary building: as you may recall, we purchased a building for Seminario Carey several years ago. While the renovation has been slow over the past two years, an unexpected blessing came in the addition of the ground floor of the building to our purchase agreement. We are currently working towards installing a full theological library on this floor, complete with most Spanish theological works. Of course, with thousands of books comes many shelves and logistical support.
- Full trade school support for 2022: for many months, Trade Schools, which support local congregations by providing skills training for the church body and community, had to limit their scope dramatically. As we move forward in 2022, we are excited to serve every congregation in our network with a trade school with support from SBWC interns.
- Benevolence support for visiting teams: in 2020, we had to cancel seven trips to Argentina from partner churches. In 2021, we had none. Now that the country is beginning to open up again, we already have two scheduled (and hopefully many more to come!). To make up for “lost time,” we want to make these trips as impactful as possible by sending not only teams to work alongside churches but also blessing each church plant with resources like books, bibles, and ministry materials that will serve the local church and neighborhoods. Our goal is to “refill” our benevolence fund to purchase what best serves each church and team.
This kind of work can’t happen without you. Reengagement is happening. Will you join with a gift of $50, $200,
$1000, or more?