The number one priority for the missionaries who serve with Team Expansion is to make disciples who make disciples, but the process to achieve this goal can look different in each field. Often, the best way to enter a community is by working with them to address physical needs. We call this approach Community Health Evangelism or CHE. CHE creates beautiful metaphors for sharing the Gospel. As a community witnesses life-changing transformation through clean water, home-grown food, medicine/healthcare, or whatever needs are addressed – they hear the Gospel proclaimed and learn about the eternity-changing power of Jesus Christ.
CHE isn’t about handing out quick-fix solutions, it’s about education and empowerment. By working with communities, local leaders can identify problems in their community and work together to solve them. CHE is giving many missionaries an unprecedented opportunity to enter communities, develop meaningful relationships, share the Gospel, and baptize new believers.
Clean Water Filters in Ecuador
Water filter training
Our Team in Ecuador has been using these CHE-like strategies to share the Gospel:
We have portable water filters that we use as a tool to enter the communities. The goal is to educate the people on how important it is to drink filtered water. The water filters give us a chance to meet more people to be able to share the Gospel with. When we find someone who is interested in these filters we gather of a group of their neighbors. Once the group is gathered we train them on the health issues that present themselves when one drinks bad water. The training also consists of how to properly take care of the water filter. We currently have about 50 water filters within the communities we are working with. The idea is to have one person in charge of the filter and share it with 4 to 5 families. These filters have given us the opportunity to do more peace treaties (lessons on how to have peace with God) and make more disciples for Christ!
This approach is changing lives and changing eternities. Most of the people that have water filters are also participating in lessons the team calls “Peace Treaties”. Through these lessons, participants learn how to have peace with God.
Water Filter Training
Here are the testimonies from some of the families:
Dermo
My name is Dermo and my wife’s name is Margarita. We have three children. I first want to thank God for allowing me to enter into a loving relationship with Him. I am a member of the church Connecting Hope Mission and I am extremely grateful for the water filter. I am grateful for this filter for two main reason one being that it is cheap and another is for health reasons. Before the filter, I spent $10 a week on water and I had to measure my water consumption so that I do not run out throughout the week. However, with this water filter I have a lot of purified water that I can use for everything. The filter is in my kitchen and we use it to drink, cook, and wash our fruits and vegetables. The most important way this water filter has benefited us is through our son’s health. He is four years old and he suffers from parasitosis. His latest analysis has a great results and they keep on getting better. I am in charge of a filter that rotates between two other families, who are also benefiting greatly due to the filter.
Jorge
My name is Jorge and I live with my partner Sandra and we have three children. I am in charge of a filter that rotates between three other families. I never liked buying bottled water for I saw how dirty it was and how it was sealed. Due to that mistrust I preferred to drink water straight out of the faucet even though it was brown and dirty. So we were consuming tap water and it had consequences. My partner and children had constant stomach pains and headaches. However, now that we have this water filtered we are drinking purified water and the results are amazing. There are no more stomach pains nor headaches. We overall feel so much better with the purified water. I am getting to know God through the Peace Treaty.
Dora
My name is Dora and I live with my partner Galo and many of my relatives like: my daughter, grandson, nephews, and brothers. In total we are 15 people living in my house. I thank God for blessing me with the water filter. There are sometimes when we did not have enough money to buy bottled water so we were forced to drinking water from the tap. We would have terrible stomach pains and parasites. The children were the ones suffering the most from the pains. Four of my nephews were abandoned so I had to take responsibility for them. Now with this water filter our health has improved and the money we would have spent on water we can now spend on food. I am also getting to know God through the peace treaty. Thank you!
There are many more testimonies, but as you can see, lives are being saved and God is being glorified. Please pray for the team in Ecuador as they continue to distribute water filters and build relationships. If you want to get involved in their work, you can support them by visiting our online giving page and selecting account #1130 under the “Purpose” dropdown. If you’d like to learn more about CHE, consider attending a CHE training.
