In 1997, a mission team traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to build a school in a very poor barrio. Upon their return home, the Lord gave some a deep desire to become more involved in ministry to Central America. This conviction gave birth to a Great Commission ministry known as El Ayudante (The Helper). El Ayudante became a 501(c) 3, tax-exempt, non-profit corporation in August of 1998 and began its ministry by bringing relief to the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras.
Then in late 1999, the Lord gave the El Ayudante Board of Directors an eagerness to expand our ministry to the country of Nicaragua. Unlike Honduras, we had no contacts or financial resources to reach out to a country that had suffered greatly during the previous twenty years as a result of revolution, natural disaster, and political corruption. However, this place of conviction—devoid of resources and a definition of ministry—would be the starting point for many miraculous events that would increase our faith and bring us to a realization that this was not our work, it was the Lord’s.
As a board, our initial response was to pray and fast. We knew Jesus said that after a fast the answer comes, and we needed to know how to proceed without key contacts and financial resources. So as a board, we fasted together, searched the Scriptures, and prayed fervently. At the end of the workday, we shared what the Lord had revealed to us. What we discovered was clarity of mission: we were to minister especially to the fatherless (James 1:27), the orphans of Nicaragua. After our vision came into focus, both human and financial resource began to appear in such miraculous ways that our faith and that of our families was dramatically increased. We were in awe of what we were witnessing!
El Ayudante purchased thirty-one acres in the fall of 2000 near Leon, the second largest city in Nicaragua, from which the nation historically seemed to pivot. To influence Leon would be to influence the nation. The following year we began the construction of a building complex that included a child protection center, mission team housing, and a medical clinic.
As the construction continued, we began to establish a legal identity in Nicaragua by achieving NGO and tax-exempt status. Relationships were developed with local and national leadership based on the Truth that all authority is ordained by God and should be honored. Strategic partnerships were also developed with local and international ministries. We then developed a dynamic team in Leon which included administrators, accountants, lawyers, and an architect.
With mission team housing completed in the fall of 2002, mission teams from the states became the instrument God used to build bridges of hope and influence into Leon and northwest Nicaragua. El Ayudante hosted 25 mission teams in 2003 with 400 team members providing humanitarian and spiritual aid. In 2006, El Ayudante hosted and coordinated the ministry of 51 teams with over 1,000 team members from across the United States and various church backgrounds. By the Grace of God, the ministry of mission teams through El Ayudante is changing thousands of lives in Nicaragua!
Ministry is presently being expanded northeast from Leon to the area of Matagalpa where poverty rates are twice the national average (and Nicaragua is the second poorest country in our hemisphere). Chronic malnutrition among children in this area is nearly forty percent. Matagalpa has been characterized as a place of great spiritual darkness. Two families from Tennessee recently purchased a coffee plantation near Matagalpa and donated property on which mission team housing will be constructed. This housing will facilitate mission teams who will serve in this region..
Mission Statement
El Ayudante is an inter-denominational, Christian ministry which is partnering with the Nicaraguan people to transform their nation by providing humanitarian and spiritual aid.
Our Distinctives
El Ayudante is a Great Commission ministry serving Central America and Mexico that has sprung forth from the commitment to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. The purpose of El Ayudante is to bring people to Jesus by continuing His ministry of service on Earth until His return.
El Ayudante, Inc. is a 501(c) 3, non-profit, tax-exempt U.S. corporation (August 10, 1998). In Nicaragua, El Ayudante, Inc. has obtained NGO and tax-exempt status. The ministry is committed to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Luke 20:25), honoring the laws of both the United States and Nicaragua where we enjoy the privileges of legal status.
El Ayudante is an inter-denominational ministry bringing together “fellow citizens, members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-22) to serve in unity so the world will believe that Jesus is the Messiah. (John 17:20-21)
El Ayudante is an outwardly focused ministry, utilizing its facility as a base to build bridges of influence into Nicaragua through works of service. We believe that these influential works of service will transform the nation and will glorify our Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
El Ayudante is a ministry which believes in and is in partnership with the Nicaraguan people—a resourceful, gracious, and gifted people.
Our Belief
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. (II Timothy 3:15-17)
Milestones
August 10, 1998
El Ayudante, Inc. obtains 501(c) 3, non-profit, tax-exempt status (charter qualification date-State of Tennessee).
November 1998
El Ayudante, Inc. begins its ministry of service in Honduras shortly after Hurricane Mitch destroyed its infrastructure. Ministry included medical help for children, scholarships to quality Christian schools for children from underprivileged families, and school construction.
November 1999
God gives a vision to the Board of Directors of El Ayudante to expand ministry into Nicaragua.
November 2000
Members of the Board of Directors go to Nicaragua in obedience to God’s call to see first hand the multitude of at-risk children and consider possible locations for a facility which would include a child protection center.
October 2001
Thirty-one acres (18 manzanas) are purchased near Leon on which a child protection center, medical clinic, and housing for mission teams would be constructed.
November 1, 2001
Groundbreaking ceremonies on the 18 manzanas held for mission team housing.
September 23, 2002
Mission team house opens as the first mission team of 15 people from West Tennessee comes to Leon to build the child protection center and minister to Northwest Nicaragua.
July 9, 2002
Construction begins on the child protection center, Hogar Cristiano Nicaraguense.
July 17, 2002
El Ayudante, Inc. registered as a corporation in Nicaragua.
December 15, 2003
Omar Alvarado and wife, Ruth, begin their ministry as administrators of El Ayudante in Nicaragua.
June 2004
El Ayudante, Inc. obtains NGO Status in Nicaragua.
July 5, 2004
Construction begins on the medical clinic.
October 2004
El Ayudante, Inc. obtains tax-exempt status in Nicaragua.
January 14, 2005
Ribbon cutting ceremony for the child protection center, Hogar Cristiano Nicaraguense.
March 2, 2005
Nicaragua’s Ministry of the Family places the first children into the child protection center.
November 7, 2005
Construction of El Ayudante’s medical clinic is complete and the first medical mission team partners with Nicaraguan doctors to treat over 400 patients and fill 1600 prescriptions.
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