Church Planting

GUABO
LOCATION: Guabo, with a population of 35,000, is located in the Province of El Oro, It has and agricultural based economy.

HISTORY: On April 1st of 2000, Raul and Patty Bonifaz with their daughter Sarita were sent out from the Verbo church to plant the church.  Starting with 15 at a banana plantion the church has grown to over 500 and is the largest evangelical church in the province.  people meeting in the "Sabalucal" zone, (12 kilometers from Guabo) then Gregorio y Alexandra Saldaña took the church to Guabo.

MANTA                                                                                          
Manta is an important port city on the central coast with a population of 200 thousand people.

HISTORY: In July, 2006 Fabian and Clara Molina with their 3 daughters moved to Manta from Cuenca to plant the church.  The congregation has been growing steadily.  They also have small groups meeting in three other cities in the province on Manabí.  In October they regularly host a medical outreach team from Global Health Outreach.

GUALAQUIZA
Gualaquiza is small town of 8 thousand in the southern jungle.

HISTORY:The church was planted in has 3 leaders: Sergio Choco, Guillermo Choco, and Benjamin, Also helping is Oscar Delgado, a major in the military. The church has around 60 members.17 people were baptized in water. On June 23rd to the 25th we held a retreat where 40 people attended. August 25th to the 27th we held a youth retreat with 40 youth attending. Both retreats were a special time where God transformed many lives! Through the church in Gualaquiza we delivered “Samaritan Purse” gift boxes to needy children. We have also hosted 2 medical teams with Zacchaeus Steimle, a missionary serving the Shuar Indian community with health care, and also helping in the Church. 

AZOGUES
LOCATION: This city is 20 minutes north of Cuenca and has a population of 30 thousand people.

HISTORY: Many people were praying for Azogues including Emma Carpio and Monica Mena. In November of 2005 we started to hold a home group in Monicas home. People showed much hunger for God’s word, and the group grew rapidly into 2 home groups.  
ACTIVITIES: Even though the church is young, on March 25th 2006, we held a special “invite a friend” night where 110 people attended, the majority new. The church did a great job with all the decorations and sound system. On June 15th 2006 we shared the “Welcome to Verbo” course with the help of Gustavo Leon. On July 30th, 6 people were baptized in water. Sunday November 12th was the church´s one year anniversary and we held the first Sunday meeting!