Ecuador | Discovery Bible Studies Multiplying and Forming Churches

Tomás Moreno, who leads Novo’s CoNext partner organization in South America, left his home country of Venezuela due to the collapse of the government, moving his ministry base to Ecuador. At first, he thought it would be an easy task because he had several connections there. However, because he was an immigrant, it proved more difficult than expected. Eventually doors opened to invest in church leaders, helping them form life-giving friendships with one another. He wanted to encourage them toward gospel movements, but most of the leaders were very attached to their own work in their own churches.

Then the pandemic hit. Suddenly, with churches shut down, the church leaders were asking all sorts of questions about what to do. Tomás was able to train them in the use of virtual platforms, as well as Discovery Bible Study (DBS). His ministry reach now went far beyond just Ecuador and Venezuela, expanding throughout the rest of Latin America and part of the Hispanic world in the United States. Forty-three of the Discovery Bible Studies became new churches—in countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and in the United States. In the last year alone Tomás has counted 331 active Discovery Bible Studies, with a resulting 857 new committed followers of Jesus, and has trained 524 new leaders to facilitate DBSs.