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Redwood Falls, Minn. —
For more than a century, missionaries have been ministering to the people of the South American nation of Ecuador. As of earlier this year, one denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, has deemed it no longer necessary to have missionaries serving in Ecuador, as it has, from the Alliance point of view, been reached.
What that means is it has established a strong national church and has a program through which it can train ministers to continue the work.
The nation of Ecuador has also taken the next step, as it has also been sending its own people to other nations as missionaries.
While the success of the nation is to be celebrated, the event is bittersweet for people such as Paul and Nelda Johnson, who have been serving as full-time missionaries to the people of Ecuador for the past 34 years.
The couple with roots in Minnesota, were among the last to leave the nation earlier this year.
“The mission officially closed in 2009,” said Paul Johnson.
The couple stayed on to fill roles, including that of the coordinator for short-term missions groups who do various projects in the country.
The change from a nation where the evangelical church had been all but non-existent , with less than 3 percent deemed evangelical, to one with nearly 15 percent evangelical is a demonstration of God’s faithfulness.
Paul and Nelda Johnson have been in the area speaking at the Redwood and Echo Alliance churches as part of the annual missions conference.
The two met at St. Paul Bible College, and while neither had the initial intent to end up on the mission field both ultimately felt the call to serve God in that way.
Nelda, who grew up in Latin America as a child of missionaries, came to the U.S. for college, while Paul, who grew up in Milaca said he attended Bible college at first because so many of his friends from church were going. After earning degrees, the couple served in a pastorate in Wisconsin for six years. Feeling the call to overseas work, the two then applied to the missions program, were accepted and received added training, including spending one year in Costa Rica learning Spanish.
“I grew up speaking Spanish, so it was easy for me,” said Nelda.
Paul, however, learned even an entire year of immersion would not fully prepare him to communicate in Ecuador – the country they were selected to serve in. Their work varied from serving as church planters in southern Ecuador to helping coordinate short-term missions trips.
This June Paul turns 66 and is retiring from missions work, but that does not mean his time in ministry is over. In fact, he hopes to find a new calling, adding, with a smile, he hopes by June God tells him just what that is.
The Johnsons said they are going to miss their work in Ecuador and the people, and are hoping to regularly return to renew those relationships.
While the mission is closed, Paul said the light in Ecuador remains as the church serves the people and brings the Gospel to more and more people who have never heard.
For more than a century, missionaries have been ministering to the people of the South American nation of Ecuador. As of earlier this year, one denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, has deemed it no longer necessary to have missionaries serving in Ecuador, as it has, from the Alliance point of view, been reached.
What that means is it has established a strong national church and has a program through which it can train ministers to continue the work.
The nation of Ecuador has also taken the next step, as it has also been sending its own people to other nations as missionaries.
While the success of the nation is to be celebrated, the event is bittersweet for people such as Paul and Nelda Johnson, who have been serving as full-time missionaries to the people of Ecuador for the past 34 years.
The couple with roots in Minnesota, were among the last to leave the nation earlier this year.
“The mission officially closed in 2009,” said Paul Johnson.
The couple stayed on to fill roles, including that of the coordinator for short-term missions groups who do various projects in the country.
The change from a nation where the evangelical church had been all but non-existent , with less than 3 percent deemed evangelical, to one with nearly 15 percent evangelical is a demonstration of God’s faithfulness.
Paul and Nelda Johnson have been in the area speaking at the Redwood and Echo Alliance churches as part of the annual missions conference.
The two met at St. Paul Bible College, and while neither had the initial intent to end up on the mission field both ultimately felt the call to serve God in that way.
Nelda, who grew up in Latin America as a child of missionaries, came to the U.S. for college, while Paul, who grew up in Milaca said he attended Bible college at first because so many of his friends from church were going. After earning degrees, the couple served in a pastorate in Wisconsin for six years. Feeling the call to overseas work, the two then applied to the missions program, were accepted and received added training, including spending one year in Costa Rica learning Spanish.
“I grew up speaking Spanish, so it was easy for me,” said Nelda.
Paul, however, learned even an entire year of immersion would not fully prepare him to communicate in Ecuador – the country they were selected to serve in. Their work varied from serving as church planters in southern Ecuador to helping coordinate short-term missions trips.
This June Paul turns 66 and is retiring from missions work, but that does not mean his time in ministry is over. In fact, he hopes to find a new calling, adding, with a smile, he hopes by June God tells him just what that is.
The Johnsons said they are going to miss their work in Ecuador and the people, and are hoping to regularly return to renew those relationships.
While the mission is closed, Paul said the light in Ecuador remains as the church serves the people and brings the Gospel to more and more people who have never heard.
