Indigenous Rural Outreach
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Formerly called the Ayoré Holistic Ministry, this team is expanding their reach to include other indigenous and rural people along with the Ayoré. The IRO (Indigenous Rural Outreach) Team is committed to serving individuals and communities as a means of building relationships and following the example of Christ. We strive to minister to the whole person as a means of drawing people to Him. Through transformational ministry we also try to help believers move toward a quality of life that reflects His image and redemption and glorifies Him.
Some of our core values are discipleship, sustainability and mercy. The vision is to see a truly independent tribal and rural church where believers take responsibility for their own and their neighbor’s spiritual and physical well-being. The IRO team aims to build relationships through service and ministry to the whole person and to help believers work toward a quality of life that reflects the image of God and His transforming power. Besides SAM personnel, the team includes many Ayoré and non-Ayoré Bolivian believers.
The IRO ministry reaches out to the Ayoré youth and young children through Sunday school classes, camps and retreats. They take children’s ministries and Bible teaching to isolated communities along the rivers in the Beni department of Bolivia, also trying to respond to whatever needs we see during these outreach efforts on the rivers. The youth they encounter are at a high risk for involvement in drug and alcohol abuse and prostitution. The children are at risk for abuse and neglect.
The IRO team works alongside Ayoré Christians to reach out to more communities to build and strengthen the Church among this group and to maintain solid Biblical teaching in the churches. A lack of trained leaders and teachers leads to a lack of depth in local churches within these remote areas. Additionally, no doctrinally sound schools accept students who are illiterate. Despite these challenges, the Ayoré church is blossoming under the care of Ayoré pastors and missionaries.
