Accessible. Non-threatening. Family-friendly. Portable. This is “The Church in Your House,” a church-planting movement that empowers lay leaders and small groups gathering in Jesus’ name to reach their neighborhoods for Christ.

Poised for Multiplication

There are more than 100 house churches in Guayas Province; 31 of them started in 2005, and 307 new believers were baptized during the year. The five team leaders thank God for the results He has given over the past five years. Now they’re poised for multiplication. During 2006, the leadership team is evolving into “five teams of eight”—40 leaders, each of whom will seek to win, disciple and mentor eight new believers. The original team leaders will support those teams by one-on-one mentoring, monthly team meetings and training sessions. As the Lord enables these efforts, 320 new church planters will be mobilized by the end of the year. As the multiplication continues, the teams envision a half million new believers in the next five years.

Mentoring is a key strategy. Three years ago, Marcos Ruiz and Juan Abelino came to faith in Christ. Team leader Giovanny Ruiz began at once to train and mentor them. SIM helped them gain some theological training. Now they are trusted members of Giovanny’s “team of eight.” They still worship with the church in his house, but they have also started their own house churches. Moreover, they contribute to the broader church-planting movement by facilitating theological education by extension courses for other leaders.

The fulfillment of our vision depends on God’s continuing work in our hearts to keep us on track. Please pray with us that He will send out workers; pray for the 40, the 320, and the 500,000. Ecuador’s primary exports are bananas and coffee; whenever you consume those products, please remember to pray that God will multiply leaders and believers for His glory.

The author serves in Guayaquil, Ecuador, a city of 3 million, where SIM partners with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and local lay leaders in the house church movement known as La Iglesia en tu Casa (The Church in Your House). In January 2007 he will become Director of SIM New Zealand.