Conversations and visits beginning in1990 led to Mennonite Mission Network forming a partnership for work in Ecuador together with Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia and the Central Plains Mennonite Conference. The initial invitation to Ecuador focused on theological education and leadership training with indigenous churches, which continues to be a priority of the partnership. Since 2015 Jane and Jerrell Ross Richer with their family focus on this ministry in the Eastern rainforest region.
The other priority is the development of new Mennonite churches. The Quito church planted through the partnership formed a new conference Iglesia Cristiana Anabautista Menonita de Ecuador (ICAME), that received its legal status in 2015. The church operates a significant ministry with refugees, which the partnership supports. While this ministry began in response to Colombian refugees, currently people from diverse nationalities are arriving, including many Venezuelans. The church also offers monthly peace education workshops for children and an after-school program EduPaz that gives homework help and broader learning opportunities for neighborhood children.
In 2018 Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Ecuador (ICME) was formed as a new primarily indigenous multicultural conference. This conference draws together already-formed churches whose leaders have received Anabaptist theological education through the years and identify with Anabaptist theology.
For more information about the Ecuador partnership and its history, click here to see the web page developed by Central Plains Mennonite Conference.
