Visión Evangelística y Misionera de la Región Central (VEMCE, formerly known as VEMZO) in Central Argentina focuses on planting churches and strengthening a vision for mission.
VEMCE was affirmed as a regional mission program by the Argentina Mennonite Church in 2002 with the vision of churches in the historic region of the IEMA to plant churches in neighboring communities, especially ones where a Mennonite church was started in the past but didn’t survive through the years.
The VEMCE vision later extended further to the West with a business-as-mission model of church-planting. Ramón Godoy, who was sent to Villa Mercedes in 2010, operates Beraca Pre Moldeado. In 2019 he shared, "Now God has given us a new vision that Villa Mercedes will be the mission center for this zone. From here pastors and workers will go out to extend the Kingdom in other cities, in San Luis, Mendoza, San Juan and Córdoba, places where we are visiting now. Here couples and young people will be prepared to be sent to extend the Kingdom of God in more places in Argentina."
VEMCE coordinator Daniel Oyanguren explained the vision with these three steps: 1) Training through workshops and a more formal program called SIMM (Seminario Intensivo Misionero Menonita); 2) Serving in short-term opportunities; and 3) Being sent to start a business and a church. The business supports the workers and some of the costs for the mission project, plus provides needed jobs for people in the community.
Partnership conversations with congregations in Pennsylvania began in 2002. A formal partnership agreement was signed in January 2005, recognizing that in different ways in each location congregations sought renewal within, and energy for mission beyond themselves. Delegations from Pennsylvania and Argentina made visits to deepen relationships between partners through firsthand experiences of one another’s contexts, to review and learn from one another’s practices, and to stimulate deeper spiritual bonds and prayer for each other. The Pennsylvania churches also provided a grant to help support the work of VEMCE. The formal partnership ended in 2022, while relationships continue.
VEMCE coordinator Daniel Oyanguren reflected on the impact, "Churches that were planted and continue until today are, Nueva Plata, Chacharramendi, Thomson, Chiclana, Junín, Pellegrini, Bocayuva, De Bari, Piedritas and 9 de julio, plus the mission center in Villa Mercedes. Achievements also include the strengthening of the churches that were established earlier and the positioning of emerging leaders with this vision."
Congregations that participated in the partnership with VEMCE and Mission Network include Akron, Forest Hills, Neffsville and Ridgeview Mennonite Churches.
