Loja is the southernmost province in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, studded with towns and cities in sixteen counties, a truly beautiful place. Rick and Laurel planted the first Assemblies of God church in the province in the early 1990s. A devoutly religious enclave, God broke through and Loja has never been the same.
In March the church celebrated their 30 year anniversary. As founder of the church, I was honored to be invited to travel from my home in Cuenca to speak at their gala dinner, choosing to make a comparison of this great church with the powerful church of Antioch of Syria in Acts; sending missionaries, planting churches and influencing their city.
The vision of Centro Cristiano de Loja is to plant a church in every county of Loja Province. They are well on their way! During the pandemic they switched their life groups to Zoom with hundreds finding new life in Christ. In addition, CCL is one of the strongest missions churches in Ecuador.
© 2026 Laurel Ellis