Foursquare Argentina recently elected a new president, anticipating great growth and a powerful move of God in the days ahead. On March 26, 2010, denominational leaders in the South American country chose 37-year-old Sergio Caceres to serve as the movement’s new president (also called national leader). The term is for four years.
Sergio and his wife, Marcela, have four children: Florencia (15); Luciana (13); Santiago (10); and Martina (4). They reside in the capital city, Buenos Aires.
“We are face to face with a new day and a new horizon,” Sergio told Foursquare.org in an interview. “The Lord today is closing a chapter and opening a new chapter with joy and hope.”
And there’s much to be hopeful about. The Foursquare Church in Argentina has 289 congregations scattered throughout the country. They have a healthy ministry among the indigenous people groups in Chaco and Formosa. Outreach works to reach and rehabilitate drug addicts are also running strong, as is the movement’s focus in urban areas.
“I can see a special movement of God throughout the country,” says Serafin Contreras, area missionary for Foursquare Missions International (FMI) in South America. “We have here a wonderful church. Young people want to serve the Lord, and I can see the Argentinian church going to other nations to plant churches.”
Foursquare Argentina, in fact, is well on its way to becoming a force for church planting in other nations. They are what FMI calls a “stage three” work, taking its first steps toward “stage four,” in the denomination’s four-stage church development model.
In stage three countries such as Argentina, the Foursquare work is nationalized and self-supporting, with an emphasis on the multiplication of churches. In stage four nations, toward which Foursquare Argentina is moving, the work broadens to include sending missionaries outside the country.
Stage one nations are those in the pioneer stage, with an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. In stage two, countries are forming leaders and planting churches.
The future is promising for Foursquare Argentina, and Sergio Caceres is excited about it.
“I can see to God doing something great in the future,” he affirms. “The Foursquare Church will be a great, incredible and strong missionary force going around the world with the message of Christ.”
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By: Bill Shepson, a Foursquare credentialed minister and freelance writer in Los Angeles
