WEA Secretary General Bishop Efraim Tendero shares how the National Evangelical Alliance of Argentina (ACIERA) is able to work and partner with their government and serve their countrymen during this pandemic.
Transcript:
Greetings. I’m Efraim Tendero and I serve as secretary general for the World Evangelical Alliance (or WEA), a global network that represents evangelical Christians worldwide.
We are living in a strange time, when churches all over the world are unable to come together for worship. But amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the church has continued its work in every corner of the world! We have continued sharing the Gospel, discipling believers, and caring for people in need.
On the week before Easter, WEA produced a unique set of devotionals called Holy Week in Lockdown. The print versions were widely shared and the videos were watched by an average of 70,000 people.
The result of this initiative has shown us that people are seeking messages of truth and hope in this time of lockdown. And so, we decided to produce similar resources, starting with a weekly video series. Each week, we will share stories of evangelical Christians in one of our 135 national alliances around the world. We will show you how they are living out their faith and making an impact in their respective countries.
Let me tell you a bit about the World Evangelical Alliance. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church with a pope as its head, the evangelical church is comprised of thousands of separate denominations. Thus a global organization like the World Evangelical Alliance exists to serve evangelicals all over the world.
The history of the World Evangelical Alliance dates back to 1846. For more than 170 years, we have been supporting Christian work in many ways. We promote worldwide unity among evangelical Christians and coordinate mission work, discipleship of believers, and relief activity.
In recent decades, our work has become even more important. There are about 600 evangelicals worldwide, making the World Evangelical Alliance one of the world’s largest religious movements. As a result, we have become a major force in advocating for religious freedom for all people. We are also an influential voice in discussions and dialogues among global religious organizations, and at the United Nations.
You can learn more about WEA at our website, worldea.org.
Now, let me tell you about our national alliance in Argentina, called ACIERA. ACIERA has been a shining example of how evangelical Christians can make a difference in this pandemic. Because of the credibility of the evangelicals in Argentina, they have earned the trust of their government. ACIERA was tasked by the Argentine government to manage the distribution of one million boxes of food and hygiene products to four million needy people.
Here’s what ACIERA said about taking on that huge task: “We will be judged by what responsibility we take on in the most difficult hour, by what we did for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. This is no time to avoid responsibility, for we are all one. We must work together as a community. In response to this request, we are partnering with our national government and remaining close to our neighbors.”
ACIERA is doing an excellent job in fulfilling Matthew 25, where Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for Him. The integrity and effectiveness of our Argentine brethren have made them a go-to partner for their government, enabling them to play a lead role in mobilizing resources and reaching those in need.
May the example of ACIERA be an encouragement to you. And may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Please join us again next week for another inspiring story!