PASTORING AT TOTORACOCHA - FALL 2019

Greetings in the name of the Lord! We pray all is well with you and yours. Things here are going very well. We are excited to write you with the good news that John is now pastoring our newest Arco Church in Totoracocha on the other end of town. The congregation has been meeting for three years as a campus extension of the main church. As a church plant, Totoracocha didn’t start with its own board, home groups, or worship team. And though the campus started strong, the past two years have shown little growth, so the elders have decided to change the structure and make it a separate congregation.  John turned over senior pastor duties to Gustavo Cabrera at the main church over ten years ago and has been focusing on all the Arco churches throughout Ecuador, so it’s been a long time since he’s experienced the joys and challenges of pastoring a local church. Bless the Lord, we are having a great time so far! We have a wonderful team of mature leaders who are passionate for the Lord and excited to see God moving in this part of our city. Our focus has been to evangelize this area of our city, raise up leadership in the church, and develop healthy home churches whose leaders minister to people’s lives on an intimate level, making disciples for Jesus.  We will be working with and raising up a young leader from the main campus, Andres Padilla with his wife Ana Pachi and their two wonderful children, Anais and Josue. Andres recently left his secure job with the city to work full time as church administrator. As a couple, Andres and Ana Pachi are especially gifted in building meaningful relationships with the couples and families that they spiritually lead, creating safe spaces for transparency and growth. They have been faithful and involved members of our church for eight years. Our plan is to have Andres set in as senior pastor within the next year or two as we continue working with them at Arco Totoracocha.

We are also working with Paul Hermoza, who is our worship leader in Arco Tortoracocha. He is an elder in our Arco Cuenca church, and he and his family have been our dear friends since we met them during our time as missionaries in Peru in the 1990s. Paul is a gifted, experienced worship leader, pastor, and preacher. He and his wife Diana will be playing a key role in the growth and development of our congregation.  We recently had an inauguration event at Arco Totoracocha to celebrate the transition to a self-governed church, and re-ignite the spirit of evangelism. It was a time full of wonderful Spirit-filled worship, the preaching of the Gospel, and the celebration of God’s faithfulness.

Close to 500 people from the local communities attended the event, many of whom heard the Gospel for the first time. Everyone enjoyed the delicious food, games, and children’s activities, spending time together, lingering throughout the afternoon to sit and chat. As a local church we are delighted to continue praying for and reaching our local community in tangible ways for the Lord.

During this time at our new church, I will also continue my work as coordinator for the 17 churches of the Arco Network throughout Ecuador, Brazil and Cuba. Please do pray for me, Marilyn, and our team of leaders in Totoracocha as we move in the vision of reaching Cuenca and Ecuador for Jesus. Blessings, John and Marilyn Guido