Who are we and What has happened?

*Originally, my husband Max and I were called, individually yet at the same time, to missions in the middle of Patagonia, Argentina and we embarked on this journey together. However, in September 2017 the look of this changed when Max suddenly passed away. The months that have followed have been the most difficult of my life, but God has confirmed for me His calling on my life.  I remain completely surrendered to His will and through my grieving and healing process am seeking to faithfully follow where the Lord leads.*

We are Max and Colleen Nahnychuk from British Columbia, Canada. We lived in the Kootenay region of BC for 17 years after moving from our hometown of North Vancouver BC.   After moving to the Kootenays, we participated in planting a new church and have been involved in various church leadership positions since 2004. We were happy to join with the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada; we continue to be impressed by the affirmations and missional focus.

We are new missionaries with Serve Globally (ECC’s Mission Priority). We will be partnering with the Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico Argentina, which consists of several Covenant Churches. We are committed to serve there “to join in God’s mission to make more disciples among more populations in a more caring and just world.” Each church has its own outreach and community development projects. We eagerly look forward to walking alongside the Argentine Conference and Churches in the areas of Developing Leaders, Make and Deepen Disciples and Church Vitality.

What will we be doing in Argentina?

The primary backdrop of our mission, will be working under the direction of the President of the IPEA utilizing the Covenant’s Pathway to Vitality, available in both Spanish and English, as well as other ECC materials from the US and other Latin America countries. We will be serving as support for the pastors by assisting with developing stronger congregations through leader development and discipleship training. We will dovetail our efforts with quarterly general meetings where courses will be introduced and taught. Afterwards, our time will be divided between the six churches, participating in workshops and advancing the subjects with local context.

Secondly, every one of the six churches has their own specific ministry in which we have been asked to serve. This represents a full range of opportunities including:

• evangelism in hospitals, care facilities, schools and in the street
• children’s ministry
• outreach to victims of drug, alcohol and domestic abuse
• community development
• agriculture development
• church planting
• and of course there’s always some sort of construction

The list continues to grow; it’s already quite an extensive task we will be stepping into. Currently, we are the only Covenant Missionaries in the Southern Cone. One thing we learned about Latin America is that things don’t move fast but they can change fast so you have to be flexible and adaptable and very patient.

Thirdly, we will be forwarding information to Serve Globally and Merge about how they can come along side the churches to serve them in the most holistic and practical way possible. We’d be ecstatic if some of the objectives just mentioned line up with your local vision; inspiring a partnership with a church in Argentina.

Fourth but not last, we have a vision of hosting any individual, couple or family that wants to join us in service and cultural immersion in Argentina.