Our Missionaries
Nick and Bekah Ecker
Eight months ago, we arrived in Rio Bueno, Chile to begin our first solo church plant. Almost exactly one month after our arrival, everything we had planned was flipped upside down by the pandemic. How would we start a new church plant in a country with intense quarantines, a military enforced curfew, and prohibitions on gatherings? How would we meet people from behind masks and
six feet away? How would we teach God’s Word in this uncharted territory?
Despite our questions, it became abundantly clear that the God who sovereignly called us to Rio Bueno had a sovereign plan for Rio Bueno.
Ed & Annita Hoagland have been serving Christ in México City since October, 1984. They are involved in church planting (3 established and 10 in the process), Bible Colleges (the main one in México City with 3 extensions in the country), two Manna feeding centers (ministering daily to 120 needy children in the city), a Christian magazine that they write, print, and distribute all over México and into 8 other Spanish speaking countries, and summer evangelistic youth camps (this year they plan on taking 8,000 unbelieving young people to their camp where they will present the gospel to them). The Hoaglands have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
JJ moved to Togo for the first time in 1989 as the son of missionary parents where he lived for all of his grade school years. It was in 2009, twenty years later, that JJ and Melissa Alderman moved to Togo. Their focal point in ministry is to use a youth camp called Togo Palms as the driving force of the church planting movement. Togo Palms is currently running mobile camps in the southern part of Togo. The 25 acres of lakefront property is under development. They have planted the first church plant in the city of Aneho and are looking to plant a second church in the near future. The Togo Palms Institute is currently training young men for the ministry. JJ and Melissa have two daughters named Mia and Aubrey.
My name is Gary Pate. My wife Dena and I are full-time missionaries living and working in Ecuador. We have been in this beautiful country for 6 years, hosting mission teams, and working in rural remote villages. We came to Ecuador for the first time in 2001 and this is where the Lord melted our hearts and has continued to do so since. Eight years ago, we sold everything, raised our support from churches, friends, etc., went to language school, and then moved to Shell Mera (the jungle) of Ecuador. We are now living in a city called Cuenca as we work in 9 different rural villages every month. We minister to about 900 to1,200 indigenous children, their families, and the communities where they live. Our primary work now is with children and their families. We do Bible Discipleship Clubs, a youth club, and ladies crafts. Pray for us as continue serving our Savior.
We are located in the fastest growing region in Australia. On average less than 5% of Australians will attend church on a given Sunday. Australia is a country desperately in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the history of Australia there has never been any kind of revival. We are praying and hoping that the Lord will use us to help start that revival. Our church has seen some exciting things happening within the last few months. Our attendance has doubled and we are seeing lost people attend as never before. Please make it a matter of prayer that Revival will start in Australia.
We started a Baptist church in 2003 and have been reaching people in Odessa through this church with various ministries including Free Japanese, English and Soccer lessons with Bible study and Drama ministries to reach children at schools and orphanages. We have camp ministries to reach children in Odessa and in towns outside of Odessa. We have been training believers through Bible training courses at our church so that they can reach their own world with the gospel of Christ.
Wow! It is amazing to see God answer prayers! With the intention of helping the transition of moving our family go a little smoother, Jeremy was recently able to take a ten-day trip to Ethiopia. In anticipation of this trip, we requested prayer regarding the accomplishment of some very specific things. We prayed that he would be able to finalize important paperwork, receive a driver’s license, and find a house to rent. God answered those prayers in a miraculous way. While it has previously taken weeks in the case of others, both the paperwork and driver’s license were completed in a single day. It all happened so fast even the Ethiopian man who was helping said, ”Ethiopia is looking kindly on Jeremy.” O
In 2006, I joined a team of missionaries working among the Madak people of Papua New Guinea. Madak is one of 800 different languages of PNG. In November 2008, our team began teaching through a series of evangelistic Bible lessons in the Madak language for the first time. We praise the Lord for those that have placed their trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of our main goals is to equip the Madak Church to read and comprehend the Bible on their own and in their own language. Our desire is for them to be able to recognize and discern what is and what is not in line with Scripture. This is a slow process, but we are encouraged with the growth we have seen. We also desire for the Madak Church to be able to stand firm on its own and have Bible teachers that clearly teach the truths of God’s Word.