Reaching Cowboys
for Christ
churches, making this ethnic group about
2 percent evangelical!
In addition to medical ministries, OMS
has helped found and operate Good
Shepherd Radio, which has been a key
to reaching many difficult areas through
broadcasting Gospel messages and music.
Loja province
The 2010 Ecuadorian census revealed that the
evangelical population of Ecuador is 10 percent
in the five largest cities, but we know that in the
rural areas, the numbers are much lower, with
some lacking any evangelical witness. How can
OMS Ecuador be more strategic to reach the
least-reached parts of the country?
Shuar home
We are targeting the
Manabi and Loja provinces.
Now, another exciting new ministry is
emerging in the jungle lowlands. God has
called these new believers to touch the
Shuar people, another unreached ethnic
group native to the jungle. Churches had
been established among the Shuar in the
northern provinces of Ecuador, but none
in the Zamora Shuar area where several
thousand live. Last year, after much prayer,
the Saraguro churches targeted several
Shuar communities where they had connections. Last May, OMS sent a medical team to two of these communities.
Saraguro evangelists and team members
ministered to people with both physical
and spiritual needs. One Saraguro man
was able to start a house church in each
community and is training Shuar leaders
to be lay pastors for those groups.
God’s work continues, and we are
awed by the ways he is working in southern Ecuador.
One people group in the coastal area of Manabi
is the Montubios. These 1.6 million rural dwellers
raise cattle and horses, which has given them the
name of vaqueros or cowboys. Montubios, a fusion of Native Americans, Mestizos, and African
Ecuadorians, are well-known horsemen and have
their own version of rodeos with calf roping and
bronco busting. Many wear hats similar to that of
the western U.S. cowboy. Montubios have little or
no contact with the Gospel.
The people of the Loja province are primarily
rural/agrarian—raising corn, peanuts, cattle, and
chickens. Last July, we visited 9 county seats,
representing a population of more than 90,000
people, and found only 2 groups meeting regularly, with fewer than 200 believers. That is only
0.2 percent evangelical! OMS plans to launch a
new initiative to reach the Loja province in 2015.
Pray for wisdom and direction.
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photo page 18: Saraguo Quichuas
worshiping before a baptism
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