Ecuador - Central Plains Mennonite Conference

The Ecuador Partnership is a joint mission with its beginning in 1998 and is supported by 3 different organizations. They are Central Plains Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Mission Network and the Colombian Mennonite Church. The two Mennonite churches in Ecuador planted through the partnership are becoming new partners with us. A very important part of the Partnership is developing relationships among the people of Central Plains, the Colombian Mennonite Church and the people in Ecuador. This is accomplished by sending Fellowship and Work Teams and Learning Tours to Ecuador and sometimes Colombia. We also encourage and support visits to Central Plains by our brothers and sisters from Ecuador and Colombia. Partnership Meetings are held every 1-2 years in one of the three countries bringing together representatives from each entity to evaluate the past and plan for the future of the Partnership.

Recent Interactions

Two Fellowship and Work Teams from Central Plains and Colombia went to Arajuno, and worked alongside the people of Arajuno in helping build a church in this indigenous community in the Amazon area of Ecuador. The first group went in February, 2010 and the second group went in March of 2011.

In March, 2010, a Learning Tour with people from Central Plains and Colombia spent time visiting the two churches in Ecuador and an indigenous community. They also attended the Partnership Meeting in Quito.

Youth from Christ Community Mennonite Church in Des Moines visited Ecuador as part of their preparation for baptism in June of 2010. They helped with a medical mission in Riobamba and with repairs on the refugee house in Quito.

Nine people from Ecuador and one person from Colombia attended the Central Plains Annual Meeting in June, 2011, followed by the Ecuador Partnership meeting. They then visited churches in Central Plains and church institutions in Goshen, Indiana, for three weeks. An article and photo are available on the Mission Network website HERE.

Original Mandate

The original mandate of the Partnership was in response to the request of FEINE (Consejo de Pueblos y Organizaciones Indígenas Evangélicas de Ecuador) [Council of Indigenous Evangelical People and Organizations of Ecuador] for leadership training and Bible teaching for their pastors in May of 1990. There are approximately 4 million indigenous people in Ecuador and about half of them belong to the evangelical churches. There are about 2500 churches and only 500 pastors. Many of them have very low levels of academic education. In the 1990s Mennonite Board of Missions (a predecessor agency of Mission Network) responded in various ways, including a 3-year personnel appointment and partnership exploration. The partnership began in 2000, the same year as César Moya and Patricia Urueña from the Colombian Mennonite Church were sent to Ecuador to teach and work with students and church leaders in designing courses in pastoral leadership and Biblical studies from an indigenous perspective with Anabaptist emphases.

César and Patricia also have been teaching at SEMISUD (Seminario Ministerial Sudamericano) [South American Ministerial Seminary], which is a seminary of the Church of God located in Quito, Ecuador. This seminary has students from many different denominations and from other countries in Latin America, also. They have requested that César and Patricia teach courses centered on Anabaptism and peace. This seminary is also working with FEINE to train 150 indigenous pastors in a four year program.

César and Patricia have spent the 2010/2011 school year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana, with both of them teaching courses and studying. César is doing research to enter a PhD program, while Patricia participates in some of the AMBS classes.

Quito Church

The Quito Mennonite Church is a result of César and Patricia’s teaching and friendships in Quito. They were meeting with friends and students in a Bible study and the participants decided that they would like to become a church. This church has about 40 members with more people attending regularly. Colombian refugees who live in Quito often participate actively with the congregation while in the city. The church in Quito began in 2001 and members are increasingly taking leadership roles as the congregation matures.

The congregation has two main areas of outreach. Peace Workshops are held on one Saturday a month with children from the church, the refugee families and the Inca neighborhood. This is an economically poor area of Quito near the church where domestic and gang violence is prevalent. Most other evangelical churches in Ecuador are hesitant to address these issues. The workshops are attended by around 80 children, with up to twice as many coming for special celebrations. Daniela Sánchez coordinates a team from the church that designs workshops and implements them. They teach the children that violence in the home and community does not need to be tolerated. They are taught to interact peacefully and respectfully with their friends, parents, and teachers. About 8-10% of the 2000 children in this neighborhood have attended the workshops. Comments from the President of the Inca Association and parents in the neighborhood are very positive about this program.

Aid to refugees is the second area of outreach for the congregation. There are about 300,000 refugees in Ecuador. They come fleeing the violence of the civil war in Colombia. The situation for Colombian refugees is much the same as for undocumented immigrants here in the U.S. in the sense that they are often unwanted and face much discrimination. In addition, they often are not able to find jobs and arrive with only the luggage they can bring with them. Most Ecuadorians don’t want to involve themselves in helping refugees. The refugee needs can be overwhelming for the church. It is also sometimes dangerous, as some of the refugees have participated in the violence and are involved in drugs. The congregation rents a house with a couple of acres of land. They are able to provide housing for two refugee families and also use the land for projects to provide food and income for the refugees. Currently, they are receiving $11,000 annually from MCC to fund these ministries. In the past, the Anglican Church also supplied financial support. Trish Mork from the Episcopalian Church (Anglican Communion) is coordinating this program. David Shenk, a Mission Network worker with the Quito Mennonite Church, focuses his time in this ministry.

Riobamba Church

Relationships formed through César and Patricia’s teaching ministry led to the eventual formation of a church in Riobamba. In the early-2000s, several couples who had experienced marital problems went to a Catholic marriage enrichment workshop. Their lives were changed as a result of this. However, the Catholic Church wasn’t prepared to follow up on the workshop. A priest who had participated in César and Patricia’s Anabaptist theology courses connected them with César and Patricia and they began meeting with them in September 2003, which led to monthly Bible studies. In 2007, two of the couples visited the Central Plains Conference and the Newton area. After they returned, they decided that they wanted to start a Mennonite church in Riobamba. In September of 2008, Mission Network workers Don and Jan Rheinheimer began two years as pastors of the church in Riobamba. Sunday services began in February 2009. They were not supported financially by Central Plains, but rather by a Ministry Support Team (MST) formed by Mission Network that raised funds from churches in Illinois and Colorado where Rheinheimers had relationships. Currently, the Partnership does support the church in Riobamba with funds that help with the functioning and ministry of the congregation. The church has started saving money with the hope of eventually being able to own its church building.

Daniel and Beatriz Escobar have been lay pastors for the congregation in Riobamba since the departure of Don and Jan Rheinheimer. With the support of the Ecuador Partnership, William and Luz Valencia began as pastors in Riobamba for two years beginning in January, 2012. The Partnership is also presently supporting Rosemburt Ipuz, a volunteer from the Colombian Mennonite Church, who is planning to return to Colombia in March, 2012. Rosemburt is supporting the Riobamba congregation in music, worship, and youth and other ministries.

Ecuador Partners

On September 6, 2008 the Outreach and Service Committee requested that an Ecuador Task Force be created by Central Plains Mennonite Conference to build relationships among the churches in North America and in Ecuador. It is called Ecuador Partners and is a loosely defined group of people from Central Plains Mennonite Conference who are directly involved in supporting the functions of the Partnership. Members presently include, Dave Boshart, Mark Boshart, Diane Zaerr Brenneman, Rosie Epp, Leslie Harder, Larry and Lois Kaufman, Don Kempf, Keshia Littlebear, Edie Nebel, Fernando Ramos, Doyle Roth, Katie Spohn, and Holly Blosser Yoder. If you are interested in becoming a Partner, please

For additional information, articles and photos see the Ecuador page on Mennonite Mission Network’s website HERE.