The Grace Brethren work in Chile officially began in 2001 when a single Argentine woman (Adriana Camandona) and a Brazilian family (Edson and Ivanise Silva) moved to this country which borders Argentina. They joined the Jose Sepulveda family who were part of the Wilde, Argentina GBC and who three years earlier had moved to the southern city of Curicó.
Although Jose had grown up in Curicó in a religious environment, he admits to never really hearing and understanding the gospel of the grace of Christ until his adult years in Argentina. His heart burned with the desire to see a Grace Brethren church established in his hometown and he moved his family back there for that purpose.
The call for help went out to the Argentine and Brazilian churches, and the coming of Adriana and the Silva family was the regional Grace Brethren response to those pleas for support for the Sepulveda family. Steve Bailey, Encompass staff living in Argentina, traveled frequently in the early days of the work to help support the Sepulveda family, and later on a periodic basis to help see the team consolidated.
The ministry oversight of the work in Chile is currently being carried out by the Argentine national mission. In actuality there exists one established church in the city of Curicó which is led by a group of Chilean leaders. There is also a Point of Light in the capital city of Santiago. Outreach efforts have taken place in other localities of the country for the purpose of planting further churches but have not yet proved fruitful in that regard.
Although Jose had grown up in Curicó in a religious environment, he admits to never really hearing and understanding the gospel of the grace of Christ until his adult years in Argentina. His heart burned with the desire to see a Grace Brethren church established in his hometown and he moved his family back there for that purpose.
The call for help went out to the Argentine and Brazilian churches, and the coming of Adriana and the Silva family was the regional Grace Brethren response to those pleas for support for the Sepulveda family. Steve Bailey, Encompass staff living in Argentina, traveled frequently in the early days of the work to help support the Sepulveda family, and later on a periodic basis to help see the team consolidated.
The ministry oversight of the work in Chile is currently being carried out by the Argentine national mission. In actuality there exists one established church in the city of Curicó which is led by a group of Chilean leaders. There is also a Point of Light in the capital city of Santiago. Outreach efforts have taken place in other localities of the country for the purpose of planting further churches but have not yet proved fruitful in that regard.
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