Our Story

How it Started

This international semester opportunity really started out as a dream—a message and prompting from God—to give college students an opportunity to come down and see what God is doing in Ecuador. To get involved in the Global Kingdom while they are still in the midst of their college experience. We are thrilled with how God is using this life-changing program as we continue to grow and develop our programs and opportunities.

Phil and Elizabeth Payne showed up in Ecuador in 1999 to go to work with an organization called International Teams; specifically, an organization that was focused on youth ministry and impacting young people and families throughout South America. We were (and still are) training youth workers in the local church, working with street kids, establishing and helping run a 350-acre camp, hosting short-term mission teams, working with international students living in Quito, AND running an Intern program for North American college-aged students.  

In 2006, a young student who was participating in one of these programs was chatting with Phil Payne and said, "I love being down here in Ecuador. I love all that God is teaching me. I just wish it somehow connected to my college work. I wish I could somehow get CREDIT for doing missions and ministry!" That was one of those moments where God radically and powerfully spoke and nudged Phil to do something about it.

Phil returned to his office and spent the next couple of hours with a yellow pad of paper writing and dreaming, doodling, brainstorming, and asking: WHAT IF?

What If:

Phil brainstormed ideas where he asked, What if we took our existing intern program and added an academic component to it? What if we added missions and ministry to a semester-abroad model? What if college students could come down for a semester (or longer) and this program fit into what they were studying at their college or university? What if they could use their financial aid to pay for it? What if God used this program to raise up godly college-aged students who would impact the world? What if we had an amazing staff of professors and deans and RAs who poured into the lives of college students for the Kingdom? What if students could live in Ecuadorian homes? What if students could grapple with language and culture and Kingdom? What if they could serve in a practical internship?

Result:

And God has answered those questions. We started working through those questions, and college students started showing up. We continue to do that today. We have more and more students every semester. We have more and more schools getting on board with us every semester. We have added more classes, more ministry, more missions, and now more locations. We have added to our staff and the program. God is using this incredible opportunity to challenge college students to live intentionally, to grow in their faith and walk with Christ, and ultimately impact the nations.