Pray for Ecuador

Ecuador

Stats
• Percentage of Evangelicals - 6.10%
• Human Development Rank - 72
• Number of Unreached People Groups - 12
• Persecution Index - N/A
• Population - 14,898,509
• Total Number of People Groups - 28
• Languages Spoken - 22

Ecuador's major exports are flowers, shrimp, oil and bananas. The gap between poor and rich has grown as a result of oil exploitation. Inflation, corruption, the 1995 war with Peru, and several natural disasters nearly bankrupted the country in 1999. Political instability since independence from Spain in 1830 has had a detrimental affect on the economy and people of Ecuador. Catholicism has had a profound affect on the culture, and as a result, many people are resistant to change despite freedom of religion. There are many indigenous tribes and group that live in the Andes mountains and the jungle of the Amazon who have yet to hear or who have had little exposure to the Gospel.

• An honest government is desperately needed to give stability and peace to this country while still tackling the serious economic and social problems there
• The Catholic Church has long held the majority and feuds have broken out against Evangelical churches resulting in sporadic persecution of many Christ-followers, such as believers in the mountain village of Apatug; pray that the hearts of those who do this are changed and that Christ is glorified above all
• Ecuador has Latin America's lowest population of Evangelicals; there are still dozens of unreached groups, particularly in the Andes Mountains and the rain forests of the east
• Praise that the Gospel has had a huge impact on the native Quichua people, growing from 120 believers in 3million in the late 60s to 45-50% Evangelical in some areas
• Pray for Steve & Carol Thompson, American missionaries who Brook Hills has worked with in the mission field; pray that God will continue to provide them with strength and that through them the Gospel will continue to spread and be heard
• Mission work among the jungle tribes has come a long way since the 1960s when several missionaries were killed by the Waorani tribe; there are now many believers among this group, and the families of those who died have continued to minister to the tribe over the years, displaying the tremendous power of God's love, forgiveness and grace