A new cycle of One Year in Mission (OYIM) has launched in Argentina, bringing together nearly 60 young Adventists from across South America for a year of service, evangelism, and community outreach. The program, supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s South American Division (SAD), equips young people to share their faith while strengthening local congregations.

Carlos Campitelli, youth director for the SAD, which oversees the church in eight countries, explained that OYIM helps youth discover their gifts and empowers them to live with purpose.

“The youth of OYIM have the following goals: to work on church planting and revitalization, and also to showcase the church to the community,” he said.

This year’s group includes participants from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Nicaragua. According to Nicolás Luna, youth leader for the Argentina Union Conference, many of the volunteers paused their university studies or jobs to dedicate themselves fully to the mission.

“They’ve come with a spirit of service and commitment,” he said.

Training for the program began in January with virtual mission school sessions and participation in the global 10 Days of Prayer initiative. Volunteers were assigned to their mission sites before in-person training began—an improvement over previous cycles that helped streamline logistics and reduce anxiety.

Over the coming months, OYIM teams will serve in seven cities across Argentina: Bariloche, Neuquén, Villa Celina (Buenos Aires), San Andrés de Giles, Funes (Santa Fe), Junín (Mendoza), Famaillá (Tucumán), and Tostado (Santa Fe). Each group will focus on evangelism, church planting, and strengthening existing church communities in partnership with local conferences and missions.

Luna emphasized that while the program impacts communities, its deeper purpose is to shape the lives of the young missionaries themselves. “For us, the true project is the young people, helping them grow and develop,” he said.

To support their continued growth beyond the mission year, participants are encouraged to pursue further education. Scholarships are available through the Instituto Superior Adventista de Misiones (ISAM) and the Universidad Adventista del Plata (River Plate University, UAP). “Our dream is that it will not be just a year of mission, but a lifetime of mission,” Luna concluded.

The original article was published on the South American Division Spanish news site. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news updates.