What Matters Most to Us?

On one afternoon we arrived at General Vedia Church, a congregation of Iglesia Evangelica Discipulos de Cristo en Argentina (Evangelical Church of the Disciples of Christ in Argentina – IEDCA). As we stepped from the street onto the church property, we immediately saw an old foundation and a scarred, partial wall at the back of it. We soon learned that this had been the site of the church’s original building, destroyed by a tornado in 2007. After the tornado, they began to erect a new building and dream of all the spaces they hoped it would have for their congregational life. But the building we sat in during our two-hour visit with the church’s members was still incomplete, the second floor unfinished and abandoned.  Why? Because, we were told, at some point in the middle of the construction project they decided it was more important to them to save their resources for outreach in the community than it was to finish the building.  They made a choice. The community and their ministry to it mattered more.

These conversations both took place in Chaco, a province in the north of the country that has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Our visits included time with amazing ministries undertaken by the local congregations and denominations there: one ministry (JUM – Junta Unida de Misiones) serving the 20 indigenous tribes of the region, another called Casa de Paz (House of Peace) providing transitional housing for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. We also witnessed lively programs for neighborhood children and lay members deeply, authentically engaged in all of these ministries.

What matters most in our life as the Church? How is God calling us to faithfully steward the resources we have? What shall we do with the blessings given to us? Our Argentinian partners offer wisdom we need.

The Reverend Shari Prestemon began her service with the national ministries of the United Church of Christ in January 2024. As the Associate General Minister & Co-Executive for Global Ministries she has the privilege of overseeing four teams in the Love of Neighbor Unit: Global Ministries, Global H.O.P.E., Public Policy & Advocacy Team (Washington, D.C.), and our staff representative to the United Nations. She previously served as pastor to local UCC congregations in Illinois and Wisconsin; the Executive Director at the UCC’s Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi; and as Conference Minister in Minnesota.