We have had a very busy year at Churches Helping Churches and we want to thank you for your continual support. Churches and individual donors have responded in an amazing way and God has opened doors for us to serve the global church. We are excited to share with you more exciting news about the future of CHC in the months ahead and look forward to continuing to see what God does through this ministry!

Many of you have asked us to share an update of our activities up to this point.  With that in mind we have created this short video. Thank you for partnering with us!

Churches Helping Pastors retreats have recently concluded in Japan, though the pastors involved have agreed to continue meeting together to share in one another’s burdens, to give and receive encouragement from others, and to continue in their common goal of spreading the Gospel in Japan. It has been an amazing experience to witness God’s power of renewal through interacting with and serving our Japanese brothers and sisters.

Pastor Shigeru Suzuki, who has been to every past CHP retreat, and his wife, Atsuko, recount their experience after the tsunami and give their heartfelt thanks, saying, “We felt lots of love from God through the people that you sent to us.” After this last retreat, they are refreshed and ready to continue serving the Lord and working to rebuild their ministry for the sake of the Gospel.

We look forward to see what God will do through our brothers and sisters in Japan!

I was staying in a guesthouse recently that had no central heat. My options each evening were to sit in the cold or try my hand at building a viable fire. My attempts seemed fruitful at first.  Newspaper catches fire quickly, but shrivels and burns out in no time. The logs – trusty logs – were difficult to get started, but rewarded me with a fire that burned long and strong.  Then, I started to think about churches in Japan.

There are not many churches there.  Few believers, few baptisms, and few signs of the progress that every person loves to see.  If you hit 200 people, you’re a mega-church.  Honestly, I don’t know if I would make it in this context.  I’m accustomed to seeking visible fruit.  Results spur me on and energize me to keep doing more of the same.  But what if you don’t have that?  What if you don’t (or can’t) see the fruit of your labor?  It begins to test your calling, conviction, commitment, and character.  These are the qualities that are abundant among our brothers and sisters in Japan.

Many Japanese pastors lead tiny congregations that fit into a building slightly larger than a home.  All kinds of struggles come along with that from limited human resources to financial strain to discouragement and loneliness.  One pastor I met didn’t have an opportunity to lead a new believers’ class in 13 years!  Gifted, able ministers seem to receive little reward here on earth.

So to my heroes in Japan, I hold you in high honor and offer this encouragement:

“each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.” (1 Corinthians 3:13-14)

Your work is revealed by the fire that it goes through everyday.  Thank you for being modern-day Jeremiahs who have placed faithfulness above successfulness.  Jesus sees your labor for the gospel, and all the unseen, unappreciated, unrewarded acts of love will be revealed on that Day.  Press on.

You are laboring to get a huge log to catch fire.  When it does, may it burn with raging intensity and for a long, long time.  And the story will be that you were faithful and did not give up.

I just returned from our final pastors’ retreat in Japan—a response to the 2011 tsunami.  By the end of our retreat, the pastors decided that even if CHC does not sponsor more retreats, they will continue to hold them on their own. As an organization, this is immensely encouraging.

One early morning, while still severely jet-lagged, I went to the empty lobby of our hotel in search of an Internet connection.  I saw Ken Nishiono, the thirty-one-year-old Japanese minister who leads CRASH’s spiritual care efforts for victims of nuclear radiation in the Fukushima prefecture.  He had settled into one of the lobby’s chairs and was looking out the window.  He had no books, no paper, no pen and no computer with him, so I assumed that he was thinking or praying.  When I went over to say “hello,” he was visibly startled—his eyes were brimming with tears and he wiped his face with his sweatshirt and sniffled.  I had interrupted an intimate moment with the Lord.

I knew that there was a story behind his ministry for victims of disaster and I wanted to know how he had got there. Ken graciously accepted my invitation to share his story with me over breakfast.

Ken began by saying, “My parents divorced soon after I was born. I lived with my mom, who soon remarried, and had no communication with my biological father. I started rebelling against my family at a young age, and it only escalated with time, so much so that I dropped out after only one month in high school—thinking that I would live for myself and not be dependent on anyone else.

After working and saving money for one year, I left Fukuoka and started a part-time job in Tokyo at the age of sixteen. I didn’t have any friends and was completely cut off from my family. Eventually, I ran out of money and spent the next year searching for food amongst trash.

Exhausted from living in these conditions, I took a job delivering newspapers on a scooter. After one month on the job I got in a traffic accident while on route and spent the next couple weeks in the hospital. Later that year there was another accident, but this time it was more serious. I had been hit from behind and was suffering from internal bleeding. I was just nineteen years old.

After a successful 10-hour surgery, I had a long journey of rehabilitation ahead. I sunk into a deep depression and isolated myself from the rest of the world. During this time my family attempted to contact me, trying to reestablish a relationship, but I didn’t know how to respond. I felt cursed, thinking that I would be better off taking my own life. This went on for four years.

I knew that I needed to find a reason to live, so I began looking for one in books. One night, while walking past a church, I saw a church sign reading, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you… Matthew 7:7.’ I had no Christian friends, had never attended church and I knew nothing about Jesus. That verse struck a chord in my heart, so much so that I bought a Bible and began reading it ferociously.

I was greatly encouraged by a number of verses, like ‘Come to me and I will give you rest’ from Matthew 11:28. If there really was a God who spoke like this, that was reason for hope—so, I went to church and heard about Jesus for the first time, not understanding why he would die for me.

Then, at twenty-four years old, my desire to get to know God didn’t change, and over time I came to understand the magnitude of my sin and rebellion. I also experienced an unconditional love, telling me that I was entirely forgiven and cleansed.

I decided that I wanted to live for God, but I didn’t know what that meant. Without having completed schooling, I was accepted into Bible college, where I graduated on March 10, 2011. The tsunami hit the very next day. I knew that I was called to do something.”

Ken is now leading in spiritual care for CRASH and is involved with victims of nuclear radiation.

As if that were not enough, the retreat speaker, Takahashi sensei, told a story with uncanny parallels.  He went through a harsh season in his life and resigned from his pastorate on March 10, 2011.  While in a state of confusion about what to do next, the tsunami hit the next day.  He now mobilizes disaster response chaplains throughout Japan.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29)

Tom Kim and I just returned from the last Churches Helping Churches Pastors Retreat being held in Japan. Our hotel, nestled deep in the mountains of Miyagi and just outside the city of Sendai, hosted thirty pastors and wives in a traditional Japanese setting.

This particular retreat focused on developing a chaplaincy program that will assist in building relationships between our communities. As well, we heard several testimonies of how God is working through our congregations, renewing a sense of spiritual hunger.

During this retreat we had times of reflection and teaching, we worshiped and prayed, as well as shared good food and fellowship together. I’m personally encouraged to see how relationships with one another have developed throughout this trial.

March 11, 2012, will mark the one-year anniversary of Japan’s horrendous earthquake and tsunami; and even though the country is working hard to rebuild itself, there is still significant evidence of the destruction that occurred. Much work remains in order to restore the devastated areas and churches that were relocated due to the flooding.

Churches Helping Churches is currently supporting the renovation of seventeen churches—a small contribution to the overall need in devastated areas, but a step in the right direction. With greater resources we could do so much more.

If you are interested in joining our mission, please sign up or contact us so that we can provide you with additional information.

Over the next few weeks we will present some of the stories that our pastors shared with us at the retreat. Please continue to pray for them, as well as for their families and churches.

We’re all in this together.

While making progress in these two countries, we also look ahead.  (I do this at the risk of sounding like a prophet of doom.)  We can’t predict the future, but if the past means anything, more natural disasters at record-setting levels are on the way.  Some say global warming, others say the end times, and still others say pure happenstance.  But whatever reason you believe it’s happening…it’s happening.  And churches are being devastated.

God is using CHC to make a pivotal impact on churches in Haiti and Japan, all made possible because 400 churches took an offering immediately after these crises.  Churches from the US, Canada, UK, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and even Haiti were an integral part of our response.  By God’s grace, we hope to see thousands of churches rally together to help the suffering church.

What We’re Asking

Would your church join our global fellowship by committing to take an offering at the next crisis?  We don’t ask for a dollar amount.  We leave that up to the Lord.  But we do ask that in the event of a disaster that you put the opportunity in front of your church family to help their brothers and sisters in distress.  Please consider making CHC a part of the missions strategy of your church.  And together, “Let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10)

Shigeru Suzuki is the senior pastor of Sendai Bible Baptist Church, a surprisingly multicultural church in northeast Japan.  During a recent car ride, he shared his personal reflection on the disaster.

“After the tsunami, I preach more boldly.  I preached Revelations before but I didn’t feel it.  Now I feel it.”

“People are more open to the gospel now.  They are curious and ask questions, even at the gym.  Now, two gym members are attending my church.”

“I don’t like that the tsunami happened, but I love what He does through it.  I feel it was needed – not just for non-Christians but for Christians.  There is an awakening and renewal in the church.”

”God has a great plan.  This is not a curse.  This is a blessing.”

CHC’s pastor retreats aim to minister to and equip pastors, who have experienced devastation.  Suzuki sensei and his wife are regular participants in these retreats.  He states, “It’s only now as we look back, we see how much that the retreats helped us get through this time.  We didn’t realize how we really felt until we attended the first retreat in June.”

CHC is privileged to play a small part in supporting churches and pastors.  Our next and final retreat will be held in Sendai on February 23-24.  Please pray for Suzuki sensei and other pastors as they continue to lead their churches through this disaster.  Pray that this New Year would be a year of renewal.

I have never been more excited for the vision and future of Churches Helping Churches.   However, I am also filled with sadness because my involvement as Executive Director will now come to a close.  I have submitted my resignation from Churches Helping Churches, effective March 1st.  This decision was born out of much thought, prayer, and counsel.  It has been my privilege and honor to serve in this ministry under this board.  I can honestly say that I’ve grown as a Christian, minister, person, and have come to love Jesus more during my time here.  Though in a different role, I will continue on-mission as the goal of my life forever remains the exaltation of Christ!

The board has graciously extended me the invitation to continue serving the organization as a board member.  I’ve accepted and have also had the unique opportunity of helping find my replacement.

Introducing Bruce Poore: Bruce brings with him an impressive mesh of experience from the business and ministry fields.  Most recently, Bruce worked at the executive level for companies like American Express Canada and GE Money Canada where he managed employees, products and business processes. He also spent time as COO of Muskoka Bible Center overseeing financial planning and a wide range of business operations.

His heart for ministry grew in his early 20s when he and his wife began serving in the local church leading the college and career program. They remained active in ministry – teaching children and adults throughout the years – which eventually connected Bruce and Sharon with Walk in the Word and Harvest Bible Chapel.  Bruce and Sharon helped launch Harvest York Region in 2005 and also supported the Harvest Bible Chapel plant in Muskoka, Canada.  Recently, Bruce was serving as an elder at Harvest York Region and as a board member for WITW Canada.

Taking these next steps as Executive Director of Churches Helping Churches, Bruce will again reference the verse that has meant so much to him and his wife over the years (Habakkuk 1:5) and wait to be astounded by God’s plans for him.  Bruce and Sharon have three wonderful adult children and will be based in Elgin, IL.

Organizational Update: This week marks the second anniversary of Churches Helping Churches.  When CHC was born, we had a crisis of our own.  Within a month of inception, we were $1.5 million, a God-inspired vision, two influential leaders, and a website.  Generally, donors give towards specific projects, but the early days of CHC seemed to defy those rules.  It was a unique place to be for an NGO. 

For the past 24 months, we’ve poured ourselves into the design and execution of effective programs, consistent with the vision that people gave towards.  Haiti has been a complex set of knots created by the disaster, further exacerbated by poverty.  Japan has its own unique complexity – disaster coupled with culture challenges.  By God’s grace, our programs are well underway, and I hope you’ve been blessed by the stories that have come out of them.  In Haiti, we expect eighteen new buildings to be completed in Haiti the first half of this year.  This will mark the completion of our engagement there.  In Japan, we are holding our final pastors retreat (February) and have awarded grants for church resource recovery.  Stay tune for stories on these projects.

In addition to maintaining our programs, Bruce will focus on organizational development.  Among his top priorities are:

• Recruit churches.  We had 400 churches give so far.  We hope to see thousands of churches take up an offering for the household of faith immediately after a crisis devastates a region.
• ID high risk areas.  Maplecroft, a risk management company, released a list of the Top 10 Countries Exposed to Natural Disasters, categorized by economic risk.  We’ll need to create our own prioritized list of regions and develop networks of churches before disasters hit.
• Connecting churches to one another.  This is a weakness in our current work.  How can we connect churches better with one another?  Immediately after a disaster, volunteers from other countries have had varying levels of effectiveness and impact.  But how can we involve local churches beyond financial contributions?

Please join me in welcoming Bruce Poore to Churches Helping Churches.

Because He lives,

Tom

January 2011 started off with a bang when we hosted a huge rally in Haiti on the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake. What an amazing time of remembrance with over 40,000 of our Haitian brothers and sisters gathered together, thanking God for His protection and continued provision, and celebrating the hope that so many of the men and women there have found in Jesus Christ. While there is still a long road of healing and recovery ahead, people left with a renewed sense of God’s love for them, and a feeling of hope for the future of Haiti.

This year Churches Helping Churches continued our involvement in the long-term recovery effort in Haiti, providing transitional shelters for existing church congregations, and working with U.S. structural engineers to develop seismic/hurricane-resistant permanent church structures. The church buildings we’ve developed can be fully assembled almost entirely by local Haitian congregations using simple hand tools. That’s almost unheard of! As construction of our first church began in Haiti last fall, I was amazed at the dedication of the hard-working local church members who tirelessly volunteered for weeks until the church building was done. I am pumped about the buildings we’ve helped make happen. But in the end, the building is just a minor part of this story. The greater blessing will be a congregation who has grown in their capacity to trust Jesus and partner with Him as they serve the local church.

As the first church building was dedicated to the Lord last fall, there was praise, singing, dancing, and believers on their knees in prayer as over 1,000 church members gathered together. Work is going on right now on our next two structures in the Port-au-Prince area. After these churches are completed, an even larger round of building is slated to begin in February and March. I can’t wait to see how God will use these buildings within the communities!

March 2011 brought the deadly earthquake/tsunami that nearly leveled parts of Eastern Japan, shaking the Japanese people to their core. Who can forget the images that came out from Japan in those early days? Churches Helping Churches was on the ground within days. We set to work, partnering with several Japanese churches and a local relief organization called CRASH Japan. We began hosting Churches Helping Pastors Retreats, grief counseling retreats designed to both treat and train pastors for post-trauma recovery through gospel-centered, Biblical counseling. The pastors who attended showed up feeling run down, overwhelmed, and exhausted, having worked non-stop since the disaster struck. How precious to give them the gift of rest, and to serve, encourage, and equip these church leaders with Christ’s love.

As Haiti and Japan both continue to be rebuilt out of the rubble, we continue our dedication to supporting the local churches and church leaders. The year 2011 has come and gone, but the work we’re doing in Haiti and Japan is the timeless, lasting work of our Heavenly Father, giving us reason to praise Him even during hard times. Just as the Apostle Paul challenged the Corinthians, we should also be challenged in the New Year by II Corinthians 8:11 “Now you should carry this project through to completion, just as enthusiastically as you began it. Give whatever you can according to what you have.”

Because I have seen God’s word in action during disaster recovery, my confidence in Scripture has grown.  The Bible doesn’t shy away from pain as I am often so tempted to do.  Rather, God’s word steps into our pain and says so much about crisis.

I still remember my first time in a disaster area.  I was in Haiti in a makeshift circle of pastors, meeting outside a perfectly strong church building.  They wouldn’t go into the building out of fear.  Occasionally during our conversation, someone would muster enough guts to mention a promise of God from Scripture.

So what Scriptures do people think about?  Which parts of God’s word do people turn to?  Here’s a common oasis.  One of the most frequently visited passages in the Bible is Psalm 46.  This passage is usually recognized for verse 10 “Be still, and know that I am God”, but what makes this verse all the more meaningful is its context.

Verses 1-2: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”

“Earth gives way” sounds like an earthquake; “mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” sounds like a landslide; “waters roar and foam” sounds like a tsunami or hurricane.  It’s in the midst of natural disasters we are commanded to “be still”.

If you’ve ever been to a disaster area, or even if you just imagine the scene from the images you’ve seen in the news, meditation is the last thing you feel like doing.  But it is in the midst of utter chaos and destruction, God says, “The remedy is still the same.  It’s me. When the world is caving in around you, I am your refuge and help.  I am your salvation.  Know it.  Cherish it.  Fear not.  Be still.”  This stillness is the resting place for those who know Jesus.

Here are some other passages:

1 Peter 4:12-13, ¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Isaiah 43:1-2, ¹But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

Romans 8:18-23, ¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Psalm 119:71, ⁷¹It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.

Ester 4:14-16, And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

How does God’s word comfort you in your trials?