Covenant News

Second Covenant Church Opens in Argentina

ROSARIO, ARGENTINA (March 10, 2002) - A joyous group of 34 people inaugurated The Covenant with God Church in Rosario on Sunday, March 4. It is the first Evangelical Covenant Church in Rosario, and the second Covenant church in Argentina.

Rev. Patricio Valenzuela was welcomed as pastor of the church, known in Argentina as La Iglesia Pacto con Dios de la Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico en Rosario. He and his wife, Luz, along with CIPE (Fellowship of Latin American Covenant Churches) missionaries Javier and Connie Carrillo form the team that will lead this group.

Pastor Patricio encouraged the congregation not to stay in the darkness of the cave with those who were afflicted (I Samuel 22:1,2), but to go up to Horeb (I Chronicles 12:38) for the blessing of God.

Following the service, the group enjoyed a meal together, which included a cake decorated with the Covenant logo. They plan to continue with home Bible studies, Sunday services and an outreach that includes evangelical scouting (much like the Boy Scouts of America). The latter program has elements of community service and pastor Valenzuela recently held a youth retreat that was well attended.

Rosario is the third largest city in Argentina with a population of 1.5 million people. It is located northwest of Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, a city of 15 million. Another Covenant church is located in Nequen, a city south of Buenos Aires. Luis Cardenas, the pastor, is the brother of Flor Retamal, whose husband is pastor of Iglesia del Pacto Grace in Chicago.

Cardenas and his church are making a difference in their neighborhood, feeding 50 children in a program started last October. The congregation of 100 is known as Eternal Rock (Roca Eterna) Covenant Church.

It is hoped that the two Covenant churches can be a blessing in a country that has had much economic difficulty in recent months. Argentina has an unemployment rate of 22 percent and of the population of 37 million inhabitants, 19 million are considered below the poverty line. Recently the government began a program for heads of households to provide four hours of work a day at a salary of $100 (U.S. currency) per month.

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