El Recreo is the newest church plant of the IberoAmerican Ministries (IAM) Team in Ecuador. Located just 20 minutes from the coastal city of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, El Recreo is a large low-income barrio and home to thousands of families. This community deals with tremendous economic and social problems including major alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, juvenile delinquency, and gang related issues.
El Recreo from the rooftops.
A “manufactured” city that came into existence in 1999, El Recreo is a mix of people from the city of Guayaquil and the surrounding farming communities that came to this town for the promise of a new life. The growing number of people migrating to El Recreo has begun to tax the capability of the area to keep up with its growth, and basic infrastructure problems, such as inadequate sewage and sanitation, have begun to arise.
Baptism in the streets of El Recreo.
The IAM Chilean missionary couple serving in El Recreo since 2003 has developed relationships and built trust among neighbors and people in the community. They began working with children and teens by sharing the Gospel with them, in turn opening the door to reach their parents. Beginning in July 2003, Chilean and North American mission teams have served this area through evangelistic outreach, firmly establishing the church there.
Outreach to the children of El Recreo is an effective way to reach the entire family with God's love.
In the summer of 2008, through a partnership with churches and individuals in the United States, the church in El Recreo was blessed in purchasing the property surrounding its current meeting place, setting in motion the expansion of its effective working space.
Read more about the future plans in El Recreo and how you can participate in this growing work in the Projects section of our site.
Samborondon
Located across the waterways from Guayaquil, Samborondon is a tale of two cities and a community in transition. The area closest to Guayaquil is home to some of Ecuador’s wealthiest people, but traveling out farther toward the country, it's easy to see that things change quickly. Samborondon is a gateway to the many banana plantations and rice fields where many of the area's poorer people struggle to make a decent living.
Samborondon, a city in transition and home to the first IAM church plant in Ecuador.
When an IberoAmerican Ministry (IAM) Team first visited the city things were very much like the “wild west” of America’s past. Cowboys-or "vaqueros", still came to town after long days working the fields outside of town and looked for a release from life troubles. Travel and communications in and out of this area during this time was extremely difficult, but the first IAM church in Ecuador was planted there nonetheless.
The Lord blessed this planting with a few faithful who kept the vision alive and things moving in a positive direction even without a lot of hands-on help from the outside. This initial church served as the base of operations for IAM in Ecuador and grew beyond its initial vision by planting churches in Baba and in El Recreo, the base of IAM operations today.
It's common practice for parents to send these taxis for their children at the end of the day.
The city of Samborondon is growing in positive ways as well as the initial church planted there. The church body has grown, and the vision of reaching this community with the Good News has expanded to include a school. The Samborondon School serves children in pre-kinder through second grade, blessing them with the foundations of a great Christian education. In 2008, the school served more than 80 children, including five special needs children who would have otherwise been lost, if admitted at all, in the public school system. When visiting the school, it is so easy to see the joy of the Lord in the faces of these children as they learn from an early age how important it is to have the love of our Lord in their hearts. The school serves as a wonderful tool for reaching the people of this community and offering them a church home.
Kinder class at the Samborondon school.
Requests for enrollment in the Samborondon School far exceed the capacity of the classrooms. A construction project is underway to add additional classrooms and eventually make additional grades available to families so that children can stay enrolled in the school.
Baba
Located in the countryside, or "campo" outside the larger city of Babahoyo, the capital of the Los Rios province, Baba is a city populated by many poor families who work and live off the land. Baba is a low-lying agricultural area that is highly susceptible to flooding and has some of the country’s worst roadways. Baba is known for its banana plantations, rice fields, and sugar cane fields, where many people work for large farming operations in the area or are subsistence farmers, or "campesinos" who live off the land.
Downtown Baba, Ecuador, a farming community.
The church from Samborondon planted the church in Baba which is thriving. Today, this church serves the residents of Baba through regular services, children's programs and community outreach. Not satisfied to serve only those residents of Baba who live close to town, the members of this church family planted a small country church outside of town to reach workers and their families more easily.
Part of the church family in Baba gathered together in front of their in-town meeting place.
The people of Baba and the surrounding area are in great need of hope, and these churches are growing and becoming beacons in the community to share the only true hope for mankind.
The country church planted in Baba reaches the workers of the rice fields and banana plantations.