Throughout the history of the Evangelical Waldensian Church in the Río de la Plata in South America, the work of pastors has been fundamental to the life of faith communities not only from spiritually but also culturally and organizationally. These pastors, who in the early days came from Italy, in later years were increasingly pastors who had been trained in the region.
Wherever they came from, these pastors were fundamental for the strengthening and growth of the congregations in the Río de la Plata.
However, since the year 2000, for many reasons, the number of pastors has been declining, at least in the historic churches. The decline in the number of pastors and church workers has resulted in a profound change in how ministry is done.
The reasons for the decline in the number of pastors are many and complex, but the consequences is a decrease in the number of theology students and even more in the number of new pastors being ordained. The number of new pastors is significantly lower – and sometimes even dramatically lower than the number that would be needed to fill vacancies caused by the simple passage of time and generations. Is it the end of the churches?
Without a doubt it is the end of a way of being church. But there are positive signs that show that the churches (or at least some of them) are preparing for a different time, in which lay leadership will have a significantly greater importance. We are preparing for this new time partly by engaging in new efforts to strengthen the theological training of lay leaders by converting traditional faculties of theology into educational platforms that are much closer to the needs of lay people.
Copernicus changed astronomy by discovering that the sun and not the earth is the center of our solar system. This change in who does ministry and how they are prepared for ministry is resulting in a church that is much closer to the church in the first century. This is a new Copernican revolution in Latin American Christianity.