Morningview Baptist Church

It is that time of year to begin thinking about our Ecuador partnership and considering whether God might be leading you to participate with our 2012 Ecuador Mission team. Ecuador is our oldest and most established missions partnership. Steve and Carol Thompson have been in Ecuador over 20 years, and we have been sending teams down to work with them for over 5 years now. They are involved in various forms of ministry and outreach in Ecuador, all with a primary focus of evangelism, church planting and church development

This is a great place to experience your first overseas mission trip, because it is a more safe and stable environment than our other missions partners. Almost anyone can participate as our team has the opportunity to partner with Steve and Carol and their wonderful staff (Esteban, Roberto, Esther, and others) to work with local believers and pastors to spread the gospel through conferences, vacation Bible schools, and youth retreats.

This year our trip will be July 7^th through 16^th. We will not be going to the UNPES Jungle Camp, but will be helping the entire week at Camp Chacauco in Patate. Chacauco is a beautiful, hand-built retreat centered in the central mountain region of Ecuador, where the Theological Seminary we have helped fund is located, and where Steve and Carol live and host their Pastor Retreats and Youth Camps.

We will be helping with a Youth Camp at Chacauco from Sunday to Wednesday, where we will have the opportunity to minister to High School students from the mountain region of the country. From Thursday to Saturday, we will be leading a Vacation Bible School in a local church. During the evenings, from Thursday to Saturday, we will be leading our annual Pastor’s Conference in Ambato. We will also get to participate in worship with two Ecuadorian churches. This will be a good week for Ecuador missions.

As part of the mission adventure, we will get to visit the Equator, swim in the Vina del Rio, hike to Pailon del Diablo, and ride the Swinging Basket at Manto de la Novia. We will also learn a lot about the history of religion and Christian missions in Ecuador.

There will be an information meeting immediately following the worship service this Sunday (March 18) morning in the Big Room (Room 300). I would like to encourage anyone who has any interest in participating with the Ecuador Mission team this year to come to that meeting. This will give us an opportunity to give you some more general information about cost and other requirements, and some more details about what we will be doing while in country. It will also be an important meeting for us to gauge how many people are interested in going to Ecuador this year. The more team members we have, the lower the individual cost per person.

I hope this has stirred an interest in your heart for the work in Ecuador, and I will be praying that many of you will have enough interest to attend the meeting. I will look forward to seeing you there and talking with you more about the work that God is calling us to be a part of in Ecuador. Finally, I pray we will get to serve alongside one another this summer in Ecuador.

Brief (30 minutes) informational meeting Sunday, March 11 following the morning worship service.  If you have interest in this trip and want more information, meet with us in the Big Room on third floor.

Friday, September 10 – Sunday, September 12

~ Schedule ~

Friday, September 10

5:15 pm    Dinner in Armstrong Hall (sign-up required)

6:00 pm    Conference Opening

7:10 pm    Breakout Session #1

Saturday, September 11

3:00 pm    Opening Assembly

3:25 pm    Breakout Session #2

4:30 pm    Breakout Session #3

5:30 pm    Dinner/Worship (sign-up required)

Sunday, September 12

9:15 am    Sunday School

Children, Adult 4, Adult 5 classes on normal schedule

Youth – Steve (Ecuador)

Adult 1/Adult 2 combined – Jeremy (Central Asia)

Adult 3/Fellowship Class/Singles – Ted (Central Asia)

10:30 am    Morning Worship

Global Missions Offering

4:30 pm    Meet and Greet the Missionaries

5:00 pm    Breakout #4

6:00 pm    Meet and Greet the Missionaries

6:30 pm    Evening Worship

Youth will attend Breakout Sessions with Adults.  Separate Breakout Sessions are planned for children ages K-6th grade.  Nursery available for children ages 0-4.
*** Call the church office to make your reservations for dinner and childcare.

June 18 – 26, 2010

Pastoral Training Resourses

Classic Christian books for pastors and leaders are one of the most important aspects of our Ecuador Mission trip next month. We’ve assembled a good set of solid biblical resources in Spanish that we feel will be helpful in encouraging and equipping the Ecuadorian pastors and leaders teach their families and lead their churches. We would like each of our Morningview families to look over the list of books below and consider giving to help provide these books for the pastors/leaders. Each ‘Pastor Training Pack’ contains key theological books, family shepherding books, and pastoral reference books in Spanish. The retail value for each packet is about $85.

Here are the books each pastor or leader will receive in Spanish:

For Biblical and Theological Training:

Finally Alive by John Piper

Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

Let’s Study Ephesians by Sinclair Ferguson

For Biblical Pastoral Ministry:

Introduction to Biblical Counseling by John MacArthur

All Round Ministry, 2 Vols by Charles Spurgeon

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

For Biblical Family Training:

Strengthening Your Marriage by Wayne Mack

Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

Please prayerfully consider how you can give towards a ‘Pastor Training Pack’ to help us provide these great resources to the church leaders in Ecuador. Each family may want to consider giving half of the cost of a packet, which is about $40. Sunday school classes can sponsor a pastor for $85; we’re training (30) pastors in total. Whatever part you can have in helping us will be greatly appreciated. These packets will be an excellent resource for the Ecuadorian church leaders for many years to come. Thank you church family for your prayerful support of this ministry. Please mark your giving envelope, ‘Ecuador Pastor Training Pack’.

Date of Trip:  June 18-26, 2010.

Costs:  $1380, plus spending money

Deposits:  $150 non-refundable deposit is needed by Sunday, April 11^th.  You are responsible for the remaining costs of the trip.  You are encouraged to begin now writing support letters to family and friends that would consider praying and financially supporting your mission endeavor.  The church will assist by paying (up to) 25% of the trip cost.

Who can participate:  Adults and students.  All participants must be members of Morningview Baptist.

Students must have completed the 10^th grade.

Is there an application for the trip? Yes.  Participants must turn in application wit deposit by April 11^th.

What is the main purpose of our trip? We’ll serve alongside with Missionary Steve Thompson at Camp Chacauco through pastoral training, bible clubs, and construction/camp work.

Ecuador Theological Seminary In-Gathering

Sunday, September 13

10:30 am

Missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson (our missionary contacts in Patate) have been serving faithfully in Ecuador for over twenty years. They have detailed plans to open a much needed theological Seminary in Patate by January 2010. They have secured the initial leadership for this Seminary and are ready to complete the Continue reading

I has been a supreme joy to me to be able to work through the first 18 verses of Matthew 6 over the past several Sunday mornings.  Giving emphasis again to prayer has been especially significant, because I believe this is an area where our church family has great potential to deepen and grow.   And if we add the discipline of fasting to our prayer lives, I know God will draw us deeper still.

As I said on Sunday morning, the reward for fasting and prayer is personal conformity to God’s will and person, a clearer picture of His splendor, and a stronger confidence Continue reading

You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
(2 Corinthians 9:11, ESV)

Please be in prayer about what God would have you give to the Ecuador Theological Seminary In-Gathering on September 13.  As you consider how God would have you involved financially in supporting this ministry, consider the words of Randy Alcorn:

“The opportunities for using our financial resources to spread the gospel and strengthen the church all over the world are stronger than they’ve ever been. As God raised up Esther for just such a time as hers, I’m convinced he’s raised us up, with all our wealth, to help fulfill the great commission. The question is, what are we doing with that money? Our job is to make sure it gets to his intended recipients.”

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Hab. 2:14)

Praise God for the great trip our team had to Ecuador.  I trust that you heard their wonderful report this past Sunday night.  Continue to pray for the church, the pastors, and the political situation in Ecuador.  Please pray that our church would have the Lord’s wisdom in knowing how we should be involved in the seminary project at Camp Chacauco.

What a tremendous week of ministry.  Our team saw, first hand, the spiritual darkness of the Ecuadorian culture and the inspiring work the Lord is accomplishing through the faithful pastors in Ecuador.

Ecuador’s religious climate is one of syncretism:  a religious blend of pagan idol worship from long ago and Catholicism.  Most families are raised with the errant theology that Mary, the mother of Jesus, remained sinless her entire life and is the co-redeemer for salvation.  This Catholic theology is centered on man-centered works rather than biblical doctrine.   The Catholic church in Ecuador recognizes that authority is shared by a multi-faced panel composed of Jesus, Catholic tradition, the Pope, and, chief among these – Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Obviously, this is heretical Continue reading