"I felt a special call in my heart to plant a church. I have a passion for the souls of those who do not yet know the Lord and I wanted to do something that would make a difference," shares Víctor Cunalata.

He went to his pastor and told him, “Pastor, I want to plant a church. I feel God is calling me to this plan and I want to do it." The pastor of the mother church gave his support so Víctor could make his dream a reality.

Víctor participated in the church planter training with Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM) and his calling was confirmed. He received tools, materials, and was encouraged to put into action what had been placed in his heart.

This Ecuadorian church planter met the Lord 23 years ago and shares he was very religious in the traditional beliefs. He sometimes even persecuted those who came to his town to share the gospel. But upon meeting Jesus, Víctor and his family decided to serve Him with all their hearts.

Víctor prayed about where God wanted him to plant a church and he decided on the town of Cuchibamba, Ecuador. There was not a community of faith for the people and there was a lot of alcoholism and a large amount of homes were being destroyed by this.

Through his mother church, Víctor was introduced to a family who lived in the town. "We began a discipleship group with just their family and my family. Later, more people began to come. The community has a church in their area so the distance to go to church isn’t an issue."

Now this new church has around 30 people and Víctor happily shares that he has baptized eight new people.

The change in the community has been noticeable and various families have been rebuilt. The family of Gerardo and Rosita was destroyed by Gerardo’s addiction to alcohol. Víctor invited the family to join their group. After meeting Christ and being discipled by Víctor, Gerardo no longer got drunk in the plaza and doesn’t disappear for a week like before.

"By the mercy of God, Gerardo has changed and is now working with us,” Víctor shares with a smile. “It hasn't been easy but we have not let the vision of a new church be extinguished."

Prayer Requests:

-Pray for Víctor's family, his wife Rosa Pilapanta and his four children, especially for his wife and her health issues.

-For one of their sons who is studying in another city for missions.