Church Planting Among Receptive People

The Ecuador Team of Church Planters

(Working with Team Expansion)

Receptive! Friendly! Challenging! Fruitful!

That's how we would describe the mission field in Ecuador where between 85-90% do not know Christ as Lord and Savior. While there are countries and people groups that have a higher percentage of people eternally lost, the fact remains that there are no varying degrees of lostness. People are lost if they don't know Christ and do His will. They will remain lost if not open to at least giving a hearing to the gospel. The Ecuadorians are open to studying the Bible and considering the cost of becoming Christ's disciples. For this reason we have chosen to serve Jesus Christ in the area of church planting.

Guayaquil, where our team presently ministers, is on the Pacific coast of South America and often remembered for its heat and humidity. Ecuador, named for the equator which runs though it, is bordered by Colombia to the north and Peru to the south.

The People targeted for church planting are middle class inhabitants of Guayaquil. Many people run small home-operated businesses such as restaurants or tiny convenience stores. Others are accountants, doctors, teachers, pharmacists or taxi drivers. Most work very hard to raise their standard of living and that of their children. They have a saying that "the best inheritance one can leave their children is a good education."

Ecuadorians have a nominal Roman Catholic background although many are not actively practicing Catholicism. Most Catholics place an emphasis on praying to Mary and a myriad of saints in order to procure good luck in the areas of relationships, finances, and health.

The Purpose of the Ecuador Team is to plant culturally relevant churches among the urban Ecuadorians by presenting the Gospel in a culturally understandable way with the desire of persuading and nurturing them to be committed followers of Jesus Christ, gathering and organizing them under Ecuadorian leadership.

Progress is being made among the 3 million people of Guayaquil. It is the first city targeted by the team. There are presently 5 churches in varying stages of development. The first church planted (Los Samanes) in 1991 is phasing out of missionary leadership and began a new congregation in the Las Orquideas area. The second congregation, La Fuente, is developing leadership. The third church, Torre Fuerte, has mostly national leadership. The fourth church, Las Orquideas, is the one that has been established by the Samanes congregation. The fifth church was begun by La Fuente in an area called “Los Vergeles”.

The Challenge is that there are another 9 million Ecuadorians outside of Guayaquil. The team hopes to plant 3-4 churches in other major cities, and that these congregations will in turn plant churches. For this next move we are looking for new North American families to partner with existing churches to plant new congregations.

The Crandall Family

Bill and Karleen have two children, Jennifer and Jonathan. Both Bill and Karleen graduated from Midwest Christian College and served as church planting missionaries in the Dominican Republic. Bill earned his Masters in Missiology at Abilene Christian University. The Crandalls are helping the Los Samanes and Las Orquideas congregations.

Click here to e-mail the Crandalls!

Click here for Bill's Personal Ministry Plan

Yes, you can be a part of this church planting team!

Pray-ers!!!

The greatest need is prayer partners. Putting aside all strategies, gifts, abilities and physical needs, church planting is a spiritual endeavor empowered by God’s Spirit and sustained by the prayers of His people. Each of the families sends out a newsletter that includes prayer concerns. If you would like to receive one or all please write us at the address below or use our e-mail addresses found on our web page.

Harvesters

We believe that the Ecuadorian people are open to giving the Gospel a hearing. How long that will last? Pray with us that God will raise up missionaries and Ecuadorian workers as well. Consider being one of those missionaries yourself!

Contacting the Ecuador Team

Write to:

The Ecuador team's Mission Statement and Ultimate Hopeful Outcome