BMW - ECUADOR

A team of missionaries with Biblical Ministries Worldwide is planting churches in some of the highest mountains on the planet - the Andes of South America.

Ecuador is a small country in western South America that straddles the latitudinal line dividing the world in two. The country's name, Ecuador, is the Spanish word for Equator. About the size of the state of Colorado, Ecuador has a population of just over 12 million people. Only 5% of Ecuadoreans consider themselves to be evangelical in the broadest sense of the term. Nearly all of the remaining 95% are Roman Catholic.

Although this country has had the Gospel for more than 100 years, it has a lower percentage of believers than any other South American nation. Ecuador is a beautiful land. Its snow-capped volcanoes (some of the highest in the world) glint pure white under the equatorial sun. Yet, its people do not understand that they can know and serve the very God who created these mountains.

RIOBAMBA - UP IN THE VALLEY

After several survey trips, consultations, and much prayer and discussion, BMW's team decided to begin their work in the central region of the country. The team consists of five families, led by a couple who have worked in the country since 1986.

The colonial city of Riobamba is nestled in a high valley between the twin ridges of the Andes Mountains. At an elevation of just over 9,500 feet, this city of 140,000 people lies in the shadow of some magnificent snow-capped volcanoes. The granddaddy of them all is Mount Chimborazo, which is nothing short of colossal (just above, viewed from Riobamba). Situated 10 miles northwest of Riobamba, it is the highest mountain in Ecuador. Because of its proximity to the equator, Chimborazo's 20,500-foot summit is considered to be the point on the earth closest to the sun.

Founded in 1534 by a Spanish Conquistador, Riobamba gained its independence from Spain on November 11, 1820. Riobamba is widely known as one of the occult centers of the country - cold, unreceptive and even resistant to the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Over 100 years ago a customs agent vehemently declared, "As long as Mt. Chimborazo stands, we will not allow a single Bible into this place."

EQUIPPING NATIONALS TO START CHURCHES

Evangelism. Our approach will be to build relationships with lost people through various means and use every opportunity to proclaim the gospel to them, seeking to communicate the Good News with clear language and model it with consistent living.

Discipleship. As people come to Christ, we will need to disciple them - teach the Bible to new believers for the purpose of growth and maturity. That cannot be done quickly or superficially, and we are prepared to commit large amounts of time to this indispensable process. Effective discipleship comes not from meetings, but from relationships; not from a curriculum, but from personal training.

Leadership Development. Finally, in order to establish sound churches, we will need to train leaders in an in-depth manner, seeking faithful men who will be able to carry on the work of ministry. This, too, will require our involvement in the lives of national believers. Mentoring is molding people, not simply imparting information. It is done not only in classrooms, but also in homes and cafés, on mountainsides and riverbanks and city streets.

For more information about BMW's new team to Ecuador, please contact Rob Heirjermans at BMW's international office or Kevin Mayfield in Riobamba, Ecuador.

MINISTRY UPDATE

Since 2002, when BMW entered the city of Riobamba, the BMW team in Ecuador has developed a clearcut philosophy of ministry in the province of Chimborazo. We make contacts by developing relationships with the nationals. This is accomplished by various means, but primarily by visiting stores and businesses, and through other contacts. As relationships are developed, the team seeks to assess the interest in Bible study. As people show interest in studying the Bible, the missionaries seek to begin Bible studies in their homes. We have developed a series of evangelistic Bible studies which lays a foundation in the Word of God, its authority and the importance it has in lives. Salvation is introduced as the series progresses, with the intent that the nationals will realize their sinfulness before a holy God and recognize that they can do nothing to save themselves. Most of these Bible studies have resulted in people coming to know Christ as their Savior.

Discipleship Bible studies have also been developed and through these studies, the new believers are confronted with the importance of the local church. Subsequently, they join with a local church and continue growing and maturing in their new faith. An additional series of discipleship studies deals with practical Christian living. More intensive leadership training has begun among the believers.

At the present time there are four local church plants at various stages of development in the province of Chimborazo. They are Alausí, North Riobamba, South Riobamba and Chambo. There are approximately 150 believers involved in these local churches. New contacts are being made constantly and new evangelistic Bible studies are started as the Ecuadorians open their homes to the missionaries.

In Alausí, a city south of Riobamba, we are training leaders for future ministry in the outlying region through curriculum produced by the Bible Training Centre for Pastors, with whom BMW is a ministry partner. For more information on this approach to church-based leadership training, visit www.bibletraining.com.

ECUADOR TEAM STRATEGY
¡ARRIBA!

PURPOSE STATEMENT:
We exist to train leaders to plant indigenous, biblical churches.

VISION STATEMENT:
We will work by God's grace to establish ten churches in Chimborazo Province in the next ten years.

CORE VALUES:

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY - We believe the Bible clearly, unequivocally and authoritatively dictates our doctrine, and that Christian character, standards and actions flow out of a biblical theology. (2 Tim 3:14-17) The Bible, our sole authority for truth and life, is applicable to every facet of our existence. (2 Peter 1:3)

FAMILIES - Recognizing that in the Scriptures the family is the basic unit of society, all efforts will be made to maintain the integrity of our missionary families. We want our families to enhance our ministries, not to destroy them, nor do we want our ministries to destroy our families. (Genesis 2:24; 1 Timothy 3:3,4; Titus 1:6)

TEAM - We desire that our team be characterized by mutual trust and respect. In our communication, we will strive to exhibit openness and transparency with one another and resolve conflict in a timely and biblical manner. (Ephesians 4:25-32) We will be loyal to the leadership, members and tasks of our team, giving one another the benefit of the doubt. We will take time for fellowship together and consider ourselves a family, not an organization. Dynamic planning we will be part of our regular team meetings.

LOCAL CHURCH - The local church is God's vehicle for accomplishing His will in this dispensation. (Ephesians 3:9,10; 4:11-16) Every team member will be committed to the ministry of church planting by evangelism, discipleship and leadership training. (Acts 13:2; 14:21-26)

REPRODUCTION - We desire to build into churches we start an outreach-and-reproduction mindset. We will deem support ministries as valuable only if and when they contribute to the church planting effort.

EVANGELISM - Every team member will be involved in evangelism which, in addition to the proclamation of the gospel, involves training new converts to evangelize. (2 Timothy 4:5)

DISCIPLESHIP - Every person who is led to Christ must be discipled. (Matthew 28:18-20) Our goal is not converts, but mature, reproducing believers. (Col 1.28) Our discipleship will be relationship-driven rather than curriculum-driven.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING - We are committed to training faithful men for the work of the ministry. (2 Timothy 2:2) - We are committed to being mentors to Ecuadorian men and women, using the Titus 2 pattern, in both formal and informal settings, both in the local church and in the homes and workplaces of national believers. Leadership training will be part of the ministry description of every team member. Our leadership training will be characterized by modeling truth, not simply by imparting information.

INDIGENEITY - We will accept and adopt Ecuadorian concepts and culture insofar as they do not contradict the clear teaching of Scripture. Conviction transcends culture. (Luke 2:52; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23) We will treat the nationals as our peers, not as our inferiors, and we will not allow them to place us on spiritual, social or intellectual pedestals. We will maintain an attitude of mutual trust and respect on both a personal and ministerial level. We will nurture teachable spirits, learning as much from nationals as we teach. We will understand that nationals are capable of carrying on the work of the ministry, often better than ourselves. We will accept the Ecuadorians' hospitality without hesitation or complaint and reciprocate with grace.

EXPANSION - Our model will be that of "leading from behind." Our desire is to see a central church established, pastored by a national, from which we will expand to other sectors within our target area. This is a combination apostolic/catalytic church planting approach.

LIFELONG LEARNING - We want to demonstrate and maintain teachable spirits as well as intellectual curiosity. We are all committed to regularly upgrading ourselves in areas of personal spiritual development, language, culture, ministry skills and academic advancement through coursework or reading.

TEN-YEAR PLAN:

1. We want to focus on Chimborazo Province with emphasis on five targeted areas in Riobamba, but not excluding any ministry opportunities in surrounding cantons and smaller villages.
2. In keeping with the plan-people-place formula, we would like to see five churches started in Riobamba in ten years.
3. The first catalytic church plant will be in Riobamba Norte.
4. We will seek to start ten churches in Chimborazo Province in the next ten years.
   

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