ECUADOR MISSIONS

Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then said I, “Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8

For the Sake of the Gospel
Jesus Christ gave his life so that all people of the world could be saved from sin and death and receive eternal life with Him. He calls his followers to join him in reaching the lost with the good news of his salvation. A particular assignment the Lord has given to Cary Church of God in fulfilling this great commission is the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. A major thrust of our assignment has been our annual summer mission trip.

Our Vision
Our vision is for the churches of Guayaquil to be healthy, growing, multiplying and reaching the harvest of their city.

How We Minister
Jesus instructs his disciples to not just tell people about the love of God, but to show them His love. We do that by conducting medical clinics, providing health and hygiene education, going into prisons, and connecting with children and young people through kid’s crusades and campus ministry.  We also help to build and support new churches through leadership training, and street and crusade evangelism. By these ways of outreach, our missions teams have been able to minister to the citizens of Guayaquil and its barrios where the poorest of the poor live.

Built on the Foundation of Prayer
The Kingdom of God is advanced by the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our first and foremost ministry assignment is to pray. We are asking our Heavenly Father to prepare the hearts of the people to repent and receive Jesus as Savior, for destructive strongholds in their lives to be broken, for ongoing effective ministry as God raises up churches and pastors, and for healing and help for the impoverished.

Prayer for our missionaries is also essential. God has a special encounter in store for each person who will step out of their comfort zone to obey Jesus’ command to go and make disciples. Experience has clearly shown that people, whether adults or teens, come home changed from a mission trip. God is more exalted in their lives and their compassion heightened. Opportunities to minister in their own communities become apparent and compelling.

Opportunities in 2011
Taking the gospel to a developing country is an experience in which opportunities to minister are different than what might be effective in the US. We will conduct a street crusade that will draw approximately 2000 people. Our medical and dental mission teams will see between two and three thousand patients and lead hundreds to Christ. Our evangelism teams are allowed to go into public schools where the students are eager to gather to watch the dramas and listen to the testimonies and presentations of the gospel by our missionaries. The leaders of the evangelism teams are committed to preparing team members for effective ministry during the spring before the trip.  Prison and medical ministry teams address issues in people’s lives where there is desperate need. Our intent is twofold—we want to minister so that people are blessed in practical ways and we want to bring a message of hope that can turn their hearts toward God and his saving power. When our missionaries address those in need with loving kindness, they experience a facet of the abundant life God intends for each of his followers. 

Goals for 2011

• Continue to support the year round operation of the Hands of Compassion Medical Clinic.
• Conduct a medical/dental mission in the summer.
• Minister in the prisons and rehab centers.
• Lead Kid’s Crusade outreaches in local churches.
• Conduct outreach events on the university campuses in partnership with on-campus ministries.
• Lead assemblies on high school, middle school and elementary campuses.