Salta, AR The Final Conference with Catholics

In this third and final post, I have the privilege of reflecting upon the last Global Alpha Training conference given by the team which was presented in Salta, AR. This was an all day and early evening event given in a lovely new retreat house just outside of Salta. This event was attended by an enthusiastic group of young adults. There, we were introduced to Padre Angel, a man with a great heart and a deep love for the people he serves. Padre Angel oversees over 30 barrios and 46,000 parishioners.

The team worked hard not only to provide meaningful teaching, but following the talks diligently modeled Alpha ministry with the guests who were unfamiliar with the Alpha process. This allowed time for the guests to practice ministry with one another in a very practical manner. The team found this necessary as most of these young Catholics were very inexperienced when it came to minstry -but they proved to be very quick learners.

The homemade meals and hospitality of the sisters at this Catholic retreat center eased the twelve hour day, and the fact that each table received a bottle of 'Dalton' wine with each meal was a big hit with the team. (One of the team member's name is Dalton!)

We also had the privilege of meeting with the Archbishop of the Diocese of Salta who said to his little flock attending this conference 'I want you to do Alpha,' which a very great encouragement to us. Below you will see our picture with Arzobispo Monseñor Mario Antonio Cargnello, Arzobispado de Salta.

On Sunday the team attended Mass with Padre Angel and visited four of the churches he oversees. Padre Angel's hospitality extended to a Bar B Q held at a friend's home and extensive sightseeing. On Monday we headed out for the journey home. We were all overjoyed that we could be used of the Lord in such a fabulous way. What a gift and wonderful opportunity -to preach and teach the saving Gospel message of our Lord through preparing many evangelizers who the Lord can use in Argentina for many years to come.

Deo Gratias!

Peter Carpentier

Director

North Shore Christian Ministries

Cordoba to Salta-The Evangelical Conference

In our earlier post, we were leaving Pablo's house (our host in Cordoba who we named the 'Alpha Man") for the overnight bus trip to Salta. Pablo and his wife Fer exemplified the gentleness, love and compassion which seems to be rooted in the Argentinian people and which so deeply touched all of us.

[In this picture you will see Pablo and his wife and children along with Suzanne and myself.]

The bus trip to Salta from Cordoba is 11.5 hours, and while the bus was a sleeper bus, sleep proved elusive and we all arrived at the Salta bus terminal quite sleep deprived. Fortunately, we did have two days to rest at the house of Walter and Alejandra (our hosts in Salta) who were wonderful and gracious to us in every way. Upon arrival, much of this time was dedicated to meeting the local support and music teams (Salta was scheduled for two conferences) and working out logistical issues.

[In this picture you see the team eating at Walter and Alejandra's grand table with the local evangelical team.]

Before the commencement of the evangelical conference, some of the team did have the opportunity to travel with Walter (our host in Salta) to the foothills of the Andes were we saw the colored mountains ("de colores"), and visited an indian village. This was a breath-taking and awesome experience as we had the opportunity to witness the wondrous vista of the Argentinian countryside under a brillant azure sky.

The following day, we began the first of two back-to-back conferences, a two day conference with evangelical leaders and an extended one-day conference with Catholic leadership. The evangelical conference included the attendance of many pastors and leaders from local churches and outlying areas. There was a real hunger to understand the principles of Alpha and to gain an understanding of how Alpha could be used to evangelize the Argentinian people for the cause of Christ. Over the two days of this conference, rapt attention was given to all of the presentations, and during the times of Q&A there were many thoughtful questions regarding implementation, and a good discussion of many practical issues. In the end, there was no doubt that the principals of Alpha had been understood by all the attendees who were quite eager to begin their own courses. [Here, were having lunch with some of the attendees.]

In my next, and final Argentinian post, I will address the Catholic conference which was extremely encouraging, and the wonderful gift of Padre Angel who sees Alpha as a much needed tool and a gift from the Holy Spirit to all of the church.

Blessings,

Peter Carpentier

Argentina Global Alpha Training Initiative

The NSCM GAT team is back, and it can honestly be said that the training events held (2 Catholic -one Evangelical) were nothing short of amazing and deeply fulfilling experiences. We are all very tired (perhaps exhausted is more descriptive) as the overall schedule was gruling and very demanding. In fact, one of our team members became quite ill after the first training event, but recuperated in time to assist at the last training event and a follow up time of teaching at the evangelical church.

To give you a sense of things, the trip to Cordoba, AR, from beginning to end, took over 48 hours to achieve due to air travel delays, cancelled connections, and multiple transportation difficulties. We arrived in Cordoba, AR just in time to have team meetings, and then to commence the first training conference. We did get some rest, but very little, and to to say that we started 'tired' is probably an understatement. But, this only begins the travel saga, which became even more interesting as we moved to Salta, AR for the subsequent training conferences (more on that later).

The training conference in Cordoba was held at an old Catholic convent named "Convent of Divine Love" which was without heat and quite cold in the evenings. However, the attending audience was young, quite enthusiastic, and also included three wonderful priests who were a joy to work and speak with -especially as each of them spoke very good English. Yes, in case you are wondering, all of our talks were presented in English and translated by an interpreter as we presented the various sessions. To our great relief, this worked out very well, and the training time proved to be quite effective despite the language barrier.

On the second full day of this conference we decided to move the training outside where it was warm and sunny (70F) in order to escape the cold of the convent. Here, we presented the talk on 'How To Be Filled With the Holy Spirit' and prayed for all of the guests. This was a wonderfull and precious time full of genuine warmth for each other with an embrace from the Holy Spirit which we will all long remember.

Once we finished our training outside we all moved inside for a time of celebration and feasting. We soon learned that that eating 'pasta frita' and drinking coffee was an Argentinian pass time, and to be hospitable it was necessary to join in. There was never a lack of pastries or coffee and it soon became very necessary to restrict intake if you thought remaining 'thin' was ever a realistic option for you.

In all of our training events worship was very important, and we were very fortunate to have Josh Young along as our musician. Josh related to all the young Argentinian musicians in a wonderful way and he soon became 'famoso' werever he went. Worship was always intimate and personal as Josh with his genuine spirit of worship opened the door for the Holy Spirit to come and to minister to His people. This was always an amazing time. The adjacent picture is of Josh with some of the Argentinian music ministers from the Cordoba conference.

From Cordoba, AR, we first went to the home of Pablo and Fer and his family for the evening, and then on the overnight bus to Salta. But, that story and that post will be made tomorrow -please check back in.

Blessings,

Peter

Getting Ready For Argentina-Global Alpha Training

To All of Our Friends:

The NSCM Global Training Team (GAT) has spent a lot of time preparing and practicing the talks to be given at the three scheduled training conferences in Argentina. In total, there are eight significant talks which will be given at the trainings, exclusive of times of prayer for impartation and commissioning, summary statements, talks during lunches, etc. (e.g. Prison Alpha), and times of Q&A.

This heavy load has been spread among six presenters as follows:

Peter Carpentier
Suzanne Carpentier
Stephen Dalton
Ann Kater
Michael Kater
Jodi Young


We are privileged to have Josh Young with us to lead worship and times of intercession.

The International GAT Team from Holy Trinity Brompton has made all of this possible, and without their assistance and zeal, none of this could be possible. It has been a joy to work with a team so committed to the cause of Christ and His message of salvation. Therefore, hat's off to Rachel Abraham, Global Alpha Project Manager, Emily Richter, International Conferences Event Manager, and Karen Tigar, Alpha Argentina Advisor, who will be on team with us in Argentina. These woman are not seeking recognition for the hard work that they do, but they are certainly deserving of it.

It is my opinion (as realized experience over these past nine years), that there is no program of evangelization as effective as Alpha to bring conversion to individuals and renewal to churches. The Holy Spirit has always authenticated this powerful reality with His consoling and healing Presence during the courses we have presented and witnessed. Therefore, we rejoice at the opportunity to spread the Alpha program among many of the Christian churches in the beautiful nation of Argentina.

The team leaves this coming Wednesday (June 25th) and will arrive in Cordoba, Argentina on Thursday, June 26th at 1:00 pm local time. The following morning we will brief with local team at 10:00 am and head off to the retreat center to set up for an evening presentation to Catholics (6-10 pm), followed by a full day of presentations on Saturday (9 am to 6 pm).

Then, on the following day it's off to Salta on an overnight bus for two more conferences. One with Evangelicals (Thursday-Friday), followed by one with Catholics (9 am to 6 pm on Saturday). After all of this, we once again jump on the overnight bus to Cordoba and make our way to the airport for a return flight to Boston. The flight down and back are quite long, each taking a full day to complete.

Surely, we shall be tired upon our return. But, what a privilege it is to serve the Living God! We are all extremely grateful for His provision, care and protection.

You will (hopefully) receive emails to this Blog for updates, statistics and pictures in the days to come. Of course, all dependent upon access to good internet services.

Blessings To All!

Peter Carpentier
Director
NSCM

Things Are Breaking

Dear Friends:

It is clear that the Lord has opened the doors wide to NSCM for ministry opportunities and that the sky is the limit as to what may be accomplished in His Holy Name, with prayer, humility and perseverance.

Recent activity includes the presentation of the Fusion worship event which was an awesome experience of worship in song to the glory of God. NSCM will be presenting Fusion II at the end of this summer -so, stay tuned.

NSCM also presented two Youth Alpha courses in parish settings this past winter to over 120 teenagers using trained young adult presenters who love the Lord and who are committed to His cause. This dynamic was very important as the teenagers saw firsthand the witness of other young adults (albeit, a bit older) lending power and witness to the messages which were presented over the ten weeks of the course (and the included retreat). In this setting, church leaders and presenters actually witnessed the transformation of many of the young teens attending, with a new openness in the other teens to the biblical truths presented. Given the urgent need to evangelize youth, there is no question but that Youth Alpha provides an important and extremely valuable tool to reach the hearts and minds of teens who are confronted on every side with cultural messages which dramatically oppose the teaching of Christ and His church.

In March of this year, NSCM had the great privilege of commencing the first formally approved Alpha Prison Course in Massachusetts at Old Colony Prison in Bridgewater, MA. While this outreach will continue for many more weeks to come, already the response of the 27 attending inmates, the prison administration and the prison chaplains has been overwhelming positive. NSCM has pledged to all MA prison chaplains wishing to do Alpha that it will supply at no cost all the necessary materials to run the course. In additon, NSCM will make contributions of Alpha materials to prison libraries for general reading by the prison population. Therefore, NSCM asks your prayers and support of this very important ministry outreach.

NSCM is going international! Yes, as part of the Alpha Global Training initiative, NSCM is sending a team of seven persons to Argentina in June of 2008 to present two day Alpha Course training events. The team will visit Cordoba and Salta and will provide training to many churches, with a principal emphasis on Catholic churches. The travel and events schedule is very intense, and the team will be providing worship and prayer venues as well as presenting all of the teaching materials in a series of talks (through a translator) so as to equip attending churches to present The Alpha Course in their own church settings. We know that the Holy Spirit will energize the team when it is there, but it is certain that the team will also need some down time upon its return. Posts to this blog will be made periodically to keep you updated as to events.

Finally, NSCM is in the process of filming a Youth Alpha training program for use by churches to enable a kick start to presenting the Youth Alpha program, and will likely be presenting in the fall a Youth Alpha conference which will be a major initiative.

Visit our website at http://www.northshorecm.org/ for events and more.

Thanks, and Blessings,

Pete Carpentier