The CENTA Foundation is a registered non-profit Ecuadorian training center dedicated to empowering the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. We encourage indigenous people to lead the way in creating positive change within their own communities and finding their true identities in Christ. We seek to empower the indigenous leaders to be catalysts for Godly change in their local churches and communities.

But church leaders in these remote villages lack biblical training and fellowship with other leaders. CENTA owns a 10-acre facility in Shell, Ecuador, equipped with lodging and training facilities that provide an excellent location for spiritual and technical training. Unfortunately, getting to and from their villages demands days of difficult trail and canoe travel. The only other option is a flight with Mission Aviation Fellowship. This reduces travel time to minutes, but costs more than these subsistence agriculturalists can afford.

Problem: Church leaders in Ecuador’s isolated jungle villages lack often basic biblical training and are unable to interact with fellow pastors and leaders for encouragement or to strengthen their biblical understanding.

Initial Activity: Host an intensive three-part training course for key leaders in the remote Saparo/Shiwia sector near the border of Ecuador and Peru where we have existing personal connections. Trained Indigenous pastor/instructors will share biblical study principles and practical help with fellow pastors at the CENTA training center in preparation to prompt these same leaders to organize and run an evangelistic bible conference in a central village as the final part in the course.

Relevance/Impact: This project is not only to provide training to the pastors in two different five-day trainings, but also mobilizes the student/pastors to host and preach at their own bible conference in a central village. The instruction will be put to practical use by empowering the indigenous pastors to collaborate and run their own event to reach their own people, providing new energy and relevance to the faithful pastors and leaders who have sacrificially carried these isolated churches for many years. The effort hopes to encourage more village church participation and equip existing leaders in the same project. We pray that new leaders will emerge as a result.

Cost: