DONATE NOW

Blog : Ministry Update

Sam Masters

A Letter from Marcelo Brondo

 We received an encouraging letter from Pastor Marcelo Brondo, who is serving with his wife Nancy in Cachi, Argentina. We’d like to share it with you because it shows just one of the many examples resulting from your support of our ministry. You can read more about our other projects at https://thecrecerfoundation.org/stories/ 

Dear Brothers & Sisters, 

I wanted to share with you about a woman named Monica, who has been coming to our church for over a year. She’s a social worker and visits many households each day, allowing her to share the Word of God as she has the opportunity. Last week she was able to share with a couple who were thankful to learn more. Monica told me about the encounter this past Thursday, so I asked her to give me directions so I could visit with my wife. 

The house is about 30 minutes away from Cachi, on a hill where few people pass by. When we arrived, before I could even introduce myself, the gentleman began to tell me about his need to learn and understand more about the Word of God. He said that as a blind man, he’s unable to read so his only access is a weekly radio program with some so-and-so Pastor Marcelo Brondo who shares the Bible. He also said this program has helped him understand much more about the Lord. 

When I told him I was Pastor Marcelo Brondo, he was shocked! Together we thanked and praised the Lord for guiding us to this house! His name is Valentin, 71 years old, and he lives with Maria Rosa who is 50. Maria Rosa was also very happy to receive us and she let us know that she always reads through the tract that was given to her 17 years ago, by a group that had shown the “Jesus film” to the families in the region. [In God’s provision and plan, this is the ministry that our Latin American director, Carlos Cañete, was working in years ago – the same region, the same year!] I have no doubt that Carlos had a hand in that! 

The Lord has opened the door for us to go every Saturday to visit and continue teaching them the gospel. We pray for their salvation! 

Pastor Marcelo Brondo 

Sam Masters

20th Anniversary Celebration

In August, our church celebrated 20 years of ministry. Representatives from all seven works made up the 450+ that were in attendance. Our sending pastor, Russell Johnson, gave the church a strong challenge from the book of Psalms. Two pastors and five deacons were ordained.

Congregation leaders: Ariel & Mónica Ficetti (Saldán), Fabián & Marcela Abregú (La Rinconada), Marcelo & Nancy Brondo (Cachi, Salta), Sam & Carita Masters, Carlos & Liz Cañete (Córdoba City), Alejandro & Soledad Grande (Jesús María), Roberto & Elida Romero (Malvinas), Fabián & Gabriela Grau (Villa Dolores) with Sofía and Juan.
Sam Masters

Amigos Por Siempre (Friends Forever)

July means winter vacation for us here on the underside of the earth. This makes it perfect for a mission trip. Our church sent a group north to the province of Salta to minister in the Calchaquí and Lurucatao valleys. The 15 day trip was split up between three teams. Each team had at least one Seminario Carey student getting in some practical experience.

Valle Lurucatao, Salta, Argentina – Mission team driving up towards Alumbre and then Condor Huasi.

Read More

Sam Masters

Great Biblical Counseling Conference

We just finished our annual theological conference with Seminario Carey. This year’s main speaker was David Barceló from Barcelona, Spain. The subject matter of the conference was Biblical counseling.

David’s teaching had a great impact. Argentina is one of the countries of the world with the greatest influence of psychoanalysis. Sadly, this has infiltrated many churches. David showed how secular psychology is in many ways an alternative religion. He also gave a fine presentation on the biblical pattern of change through progressive sanctification. One conference attendee told me that even though he had spent most of his life in church, this conference had just “shattered his paradigms.”

14492385_939348482837534_176922629741080257_n

We had attendees from as far away as Asuncion, Paraguay. If the trend continues, this is the last year we will be able to host the conference in our church. The attendance has outgrown the auditorium.

A highlight was seeing the graduation of the first three students from the pastoral training program. One of them was Roberto Romero who already leads the congregation we began in Malvinas. The other two, Esteban and Anibal, are from Buenos Aires. They both have hopes of beginning new works in that area.

14556575_940450802727302_2006249608986314220_o

Paul Jeffries

Open Doors in Salta

Our church in Cordoba has been working in the province of Salta for a number of years. We have recently seen two great blessings.

Radio Program in Cachi

First, more than two years ago we applied for a license to open a radio station in Cachi, where Marcelo and Nancy Brondo planted a church several years ago. The application has been tied up in red tape. We have just about given up on opening our own station, but another door has opened. The mayor of Cachi has asked Marcelo to record two weekly programs to be broadcast on Saturday and Sunday by the municipal radio station.

In some ways, this is even better than having our own station. It means the end of the opposition we have often felt from the municipal government. And it means that we will have a great outreach up and down the Calchaqui Valley without having to sustain a station.

School in Alumbre

The other blessing is that Carlos Cañete, one of the pastors in the church in Cordoba, has been organizing mission trips for our university students to the town of Alumbre. Like Cachi, Alumbre is a fairly isolated location in the Andes mountains.

Carlos made friends with the principal of the local school. When Carlos found out that the school in Alumbre was required to provide some sort of religious instruction for its pupils, Carlos told the principal he could supply teachers and curriculum. The principal loved the idea, so our church sent up a team to teach the evangelistic Bible study we have been using: “Christianity Explained.”

The team gave away Bibles. They reported that even the teachers were interested and asking questions. Carlos also led a workshop to teach local men to weld.

These are great open doors. Please pray for fruit.

Thanks for your faithful prayers and support.

sam-signature

Sam Masters

Sam Masters

Argentina Summary: March 2015

God is at work in Argentina. Here is a summary of what is happening in each area of ministry.

Córdoba

God is blessing. We are having space issues. Which, as problems go, this is a great one to have. There are other areas of the city where new works could be begun. The problem with that, however, is the lack of trained men called to take the challenge. Please pray for our leaders as they seek God’s solution.

The college kids have an annual spiritual retreat over Easter weekend. This year Sasha and Maria Silvia Rasmussen were expecting between 35-40 kids to attend. They ended up with 73. Many are not yet believers. Our hope is that those who don’t know our Savior will soon become our brothers in Him.

church service

Jesús María

Since February 2014 Alejandro and Soledad Grande, along with their sons Agustín and Luciano, have opened their home to host the new congregation in Jesús María. Every week without fail they rearrange the office, living room, kitchen and garage in order to make room for “church”. Jesus MariaThis past year this new congregation has had a tough road to walk. It was a blessing to see how they ministered to each other through the deaths of two of their congregation members. In both cases, the Lord has used the situation as an evangelistic tool among the families and friends in the community. They continue with a hard road to travel. Soledad Grande is undergoing cancer treatment. She praises the Lord that she is still able to serve Him even with this new situation. Their group has outgrown the Grande house and is looking for a larger space to rent. They have their sights on a place that has a great location in front of one of the main plazas. Please be in prayer for the leaders as they make decisions.

Saldán

The church in Córdoba sent people out to start new congregations outside the city. One of those works is in Saldán. The congregation grew quickly and needed more space. With help from two churches in the US a Sunday school building was built and ready for use before the cold weather arrived. Nearly a year later, they have once again outgrown the facilities and are in need of a larger space that will accommodate the needs of both children and adults. Pablo Gonzalez is the caretaker for this group. He feels the call to serve but not as pastor. Three young men are working beside Pablo and his wife Noelia in this ministry. Nestor Pastor, Martin Ponce de León and Mauricio Bustos are from the Córdoba church and are training to be pastors. Please pray for continued spiritual growth for this congregation, for the men training them, and also for a solution as they look for either rental or permanent property for purchase.

Malvinas Argentinas

The rental contract was renewed for the current meeting space in the town of Malvinas Argentinas. Roberto and Elida Romero continue growing in their leadership of the church body and are a good influence on the community. They had a good number of teens that went to camp this year. For the first time they were able to raise most of their camp costs instead of depending only on scholarships from the Córdoba church. This is just one way in which we see lives changed through God’s word being taught. Please pray for the gospel to spread through this drug infested community.

La Rinconada

With the Abregú family now living in La Rinconada it has helped firm up the believers they had for so long been working with by long distance. They are meeting regularly and have begun weekly bible studies with the children, teens and women. Fabián is working with the men as well but they tend to be slower in trusting outsiders. Marcela has set up a bread store to help supplement their income until a teaching job becomes available. Selling bread has given them many opportunities to share the gospel. The church has outgrown the house and is in need of its own space. It is our hope that after the summer rains cease, construction can begin on the new church building. Please pray for this project. Funding and manpower are needed in order to complete it in a timely manner. Pray also for the Lord to bring men to work alongside Fabián to bring hope to this desolate area.

Cachi

cachiThe church continues to grow in Cachi. We’ve been asking the Lord to send men to work alongside Marcelo and Nancy Brondo. God has answered and Marcelo now has 10 men he is discipling. One has even begun classes at our Seminario Bíblico William Carey. Please pray for the new believers in Cachi that they would grow in their walk with the Lord and become fruitful and serve Him. Please pray as well for the health of Nancy. She has an issue with a heart valve and is scheduled to have it repaired April 21. 

Villa Dolores

Fabián and Gabriela Grau have begun a Bible study with their neighbors. It is a first step to seeing fruit. Please pray for the Grau family as they work in the city of Villa Dolores. Pray also that the Lord would send a pastor to lead the ministry.

Seminario Bíblico William Carey

This is an exciting year. Three new study centers have been opened for the seminary. One is located just north of the province of Córdoba in the province of Tucumán. The other two are both located in Chile in the cities of Santiago and Valdivia. We now have students in our online program from Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Perú, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. seminary certificateGod has blessed the seminary team working here in Córdoba which is headed up by Juan Leyton. In November we had the privilege of having Dr. David Sills as our guest speaker for our annual conference. He is a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and also the founder of Reaching & Teaching International Ministries. He will be returning in August with a team from Reaching &Teaching to train our leaders. In October this year we will host 9Marks for our annual conference. Please be in prayer for our professors and students as they train to “go into all the world.”

Thanks for your faithful prayers and support.

sam-signature

Sam Masters