YWAM Iquitos is located in the state of Loreto, where 74 people groups live in approximately 3,000 villages in the Upper Amazon region. The vast majority of these villages have no church, and some are virtually unreached. Even villages that have a church often have great need for the most basic of Christian teachings. Currently we are ministering in villages along the Momón, Tigre, Ucayali, and Marañon rivers.
Our ministries to river villages include the following:
- Church Planting: We collaborate with established church denominations in planting new churches in river villages, as well as spearheading church planting projects where no church denominations are actively working.
- Construction Projects: YWAM Iquitos seeks to aid the spiritual growth of river villages with the construction of church buildings to supply a central place of worship. Once there is a core group of believers in a village and with the approval of the village elders, we work side-by-side with local believers to build their own worship place. Often short-term mission teams who have carpentry skills come to help us in these efforts. Once the wood is milled we can construct the building with a team in 1-2 weeks.
- Pastoral Training: There is a pressing need to train, mentor, and minister to the precious pastors and leaders in the river villages. They are hungry to learn from God’s Word. Our ministry team helps to equip ministers in the Amazon to better teach the Word of God and to walk in integrity through intensive Bible training for pastors and leaders throughout the year. We also welcome pastors and capable teachers from the outside to come and assist us in this valuable ministry. Please also note the AMSBATH ministry page (Amazon School of Basic Theology).
- Medical Outreaches: YWAM Iquitos organizes the visits of medical/dental teams that come to minister to the practical health needs of the river villagers. Most villages have no medical attention available and the villagers must travel by boat, sometimes for days, to a city to receive medical care.
- Well Drilling: YWAM Iquitos has an on-going project of drilling wells in river villages. The vast majority of villages use questionable rainwater or contaminated river water for drinking, causing a myriad of health problems. We invite short-term ministry teams to come and assist us and local villagers to drill their own fresh water well.
- Bible Distribution – The vast majority of people living in the river villages have never had their own Bible. We purpose to bless each village with Bibles for every family.
- Special Children’s Programs: YWAM Iquitos ministers to children in villages through special children’s programs. We also invite visiting teams to come to minister to children through a VBS-type format.
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