Churches Helping Churches

by Jamie Munson, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church

When you’re heading into battle you want good men fighting alongside you and great men who rise above the rest as servant leaders. Through Churches Helping Churches, I met such men In Haiti.

Jean Dorlus is a brilliantly gifted man. At the Churches Helping Pastors retreat, he knew exactly how and when to exhort, teach, and crack a joke with the 250 Haitian pastors present.

Jean is president of the seminary that hosted us, STEP, which basically means he does a little bit of everything. At the conference he led worship, he taught the men and challenged them to be on mission in the tent cities, he played the role of diplomat when the men got restless, and he brought a lot of levity to the room after long days sitting in uncomfortable chairs.

As we talked I could see the lingering pain on his face as he said, “When you knew someone who died in a building, it isn’t just a building anymore.”

Wadestrant Jean “WaWa” Baptiste has a profound story. His father was a witch doctor who would torment his son. After WaWa came to know Jesus, his father kicked him out of the house, and he moved in with some missionaries and celebrated his first birthday party at the age of 22.

A lot more could be said about WaWa’s story, but after many years he is now dean of students at STEP, and his 71-year-old dad has accepted Jesus and sits in on his son’s seminary classes.

When I visited Port-au-Prince, WaWa walked and drove us around the city for hours, sharing stories from the quake and about Haiti in general. We drove by the dry-cleaning shop where his wife was during the quake. He wasn’t able to contact her for hours, but she survived yet was deeply saddened by the collapse of a seven-story school around the corner.

Jacques Louis is the business manager for STEP. For the pastors retreat, he was responsible for housing, feeding, and translating materials for over 200 people.

In addition to his role at the seminary, Jacques pastors a church and leads a wonderful family of a wife and three kids. His 5-year-old daughter isn’t in the photo (above) because they sent her to live with friends in the U.S. for a few weeks—partly because the aftershocks were very frightening to her, and partly because Jacques had to help manage STEP’s temporary housing (tents city) for 3,000 people following the earthquake.

Finally, I’m grateful that Thomas Kim is leading the Churches Helping Churches effort. He organized the Churches Helping Pastors retreat in Port-au-Prince, and, with tact, grace, wisdom, and service, he is forging meaningful church connections that are resulting in more lives changed by Jesus.

Each of these men has had a life-altering experience that began January 12, 2010. Jean, WaWa, and Jacques are living in the immediate reality of a broken country, but, by God’s grace, maintain a really stable grasp on their identity, hope, and security in Jesus. These men are good soldiers on the frontlines of ministry: pastoring pastors, equipping leaders, and discipling people out of a deep, tested, and evident love for Jesus.

Find Pastor Jamie on Facebook and Twitter.

There were logistical challenges to the retreat. They turned out just to be another awesome time to be reminded of how big our God is. Here, Tom talks about this from the retreat in Port-au-Prince.

The January 12 earthquake killed an estimated 250,000 people and left over a million homeless in the capital of Port-au-Prince.

Further, over 600,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince to smaller towns since the earthquake. Churches in these outer regions, although unaffected directly by the quake, have felt its affects acutely as they have been flooded with refugees from the capital. These refugees–who often camp out in the church buildings–bring intense needs, both physical and emotional, to churches and pastors whose resources are already.

To support churches and pastors in these outer regions, CHC will be replicating the successful Churches Helping Pastors retreat in these outer areas for regional churches. These regional retreats will be organized by STEP, the local leagues of pastors, and other organizations that have asked for our involvement. Currently, we have two planned for July: one in Jacmel, to the southwest of Port-au-Prince, with Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale (July 11-15) and one in Verrettes, to the north of the capital, with Maiz, a network of Brazilian churches (July 26-30). If you are a local Haitian pastor in these regions or an organization working in these regions, please contact us.

Church Reconstructions

Based on the needs, we will either rebuild or repair churches. Based off an approach developed with Habitat for Humanity, we are partnering with Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale to donate a frame structure and tarp covering to 30 smaller churches in Jacmel. For donors who are interested in sponsoring specific needs and permanent building materials beyond the initial frame structure, direct sponsorship opportunities will be made available online.

Haiti is no longer in a state of emergency, and some form of regular life has returned to the street of Port-au-Prince. Because of the extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure prior to the earthquake, however, proper recovery is extremely complex and fragile.

Therefore, one of CHC’s core operating principles is to lead from behind. This is why we are being very careful not to rush these rebuilding plans. Haitians have to own and execute initiatives for sustainable recovery. Many well-respected NGOs are responding the same way: Plan slowly by consensus, then execute quickly through Haitian leadership. While this plan might seem slow, we are convinced it is the best way to ensure that the church in Haiti rebuild and be strong, not just until the next crisis, but for generations.

More children and and life in the tent cities,
along with the rest of the Port-au-Prince set.

A Haitian Dorothy, her yo-yo toy, and friend

There was a very humble and generous group of staff who served all the attendees at the retreat.

The rebuilding of Port-au-Prince in the wake of the earthquake has miles to go.

Haiti went to the World Cup once, in 1974. These days, they cheer mostly for Brazil and Argentina. US men’s national team striker Jozy Altidore is of Haitian descent, too, and has contributed to relief efforts. Wa-wa, as S.T.E.P.’s dean of students is known, says soccer is one of the few things people look forward to these days.

Haitian men are not known for being vulnerable. One of the big prayers for the week was that the small group time–something many of the pastors had never experienced–would be fruitful, and pastors would be able to open up, share, and grow.

It turned out to be one of the most successful parts of the whole week. After taking the big group shot at the end of the week, one small group asked if they could have their picture taken. Suddenly, all the other groups started lining up, each one eager to make sure they got a picture together.

Pastor Robert Cheong, of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, was one of four counseling experts from the U.S. who taught at our pastors retreat last month. The following are excerpts from his travel journal entries, published in full over on Sojourn’s blog.

At the end of April 2010, I received an invitation to be a part of a team to lead a pastors retreat in Port-au-Prince, Haiti sponsored by CHC. We had one month to plan and pull together all of the details! The goal of the retreat was two-fold: first, to renew, encourage, and strengthen Haitian pastors with the gospel, and second, to equip them to care for and counsel their people with the gospel once they returned to their towns.

Day 1: Reality in Haiti
Sunday, May 23

I stepped into Sea-Tac airport in Seattle, already tired and fatigued after teaching a Doctoral level class in Marriage and Family Counseling at Northwest Baptist Seminary in Tacoma, WA for three days straight for a total of 24 hours.  God had blessed my time there as the students gained a better grasp of the gospel for their own lives, family, and ministry. I prayed that the Haitian pastors would experience this same transformation but I knew that we would have extra challenges with teaching through translators.

Day 2: God’s Faithfulness
Monday, May 24

God was working powerfully as we saw Him breaking down the stoic culture of Haitian men through two specific ways. First, the Haitian pastors who agreed to lead the 25 small group arranged by regional clusters agreed to lead their groups with honesty and openness regarding their struggles since the earthquake. Second, when Paul Randolph was listing the symptoms of post-traumatic Stress in the first session, the pastors were openly acknowledging their struggles through a show of hands.  Pastor Luke shared about his suffering as he lost both a son and daughter on the same day through the collapse of two separate educational buildings.  His son was the only student who was killed at STEP seminary and his daughter was killed as she attended classes in a downtown building.  God used Pastor Luke’s testimony to personalize the grief and pain in my heart and mind-suffering in Haiti was no longer a concept, but real grief was now connected to a real person, up close and personal.

Day 3: A Birthday and a Spiritual Battle
Tuesday, May 25

During a Q&A time that followed the teaching sessions, a pastor shared that he had taught the 1 John 4 passage many times, but he never saw the connection that his failure to love made him a hypocrite.  He went on to share that the Lord convicted him deeply about being a hypocrite-he was referring to the point I made that growing in God’s love drives out hypocrisy (cf. v. 20), “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” He shared very openly and honestly that he was bitter against a friend who distributed relief aid to surrounding churches, except to him and his church.  I praised God not only for the Spirit’s conviction but also for compelling the pastor to share transparently before his fellow pastors.

Day 4: Teaching & Longing for Home
Wednesday, May 26

The rest of the day was highlighted by an energetic Q&A session where the pastors asked thoughtful questions about Christian counseling versus secular counseling, how to minister to children in their grief, how to equip members for gospel ministry given they are the only paid staff, note-taking during counseling, how to teach church members about love in tangible ways, and how to minister to those dealing with anger, confusion, and fear-especially fear of going back into homes or other buildings with concrete roofs. Whew!  The pastors seemed to get a lot from these Q&A sessions.

Lunch was a choice between whole fried fish, heads and all, or goat, along with rice and beans and a delicious grapefruit casserole.  I chucked because I remembered seeing Wah-Wah off load several ‘hog-tied’ goats from the back of his pick-up truck earlier in the morning.

Day 5: The God of All Comfort & Tent Cities
Thursday, May 27

I woke up around 3:45am by a loudspeaker that amplified the drone of a Haitian man whose message was delivered in a militant-like cadence.  It was hard to go back to sleep because I thought I heard the jeer of a crowd, which caused my mind to imagine a rebellious uprising taking place right outside the seminary walls.  The loudspeaker finally died down after about 30 minutes and I fell back to sleep. I woke up around 5:45am by the ritual rising of the tropical sun, the raspy crows of roosters and the charcoal smell of the open-fire kitchens. Immediately after waking up, the Lord reminded me of my craving for comfort, but more importantly, He reminded me of who He is. Forgive me Lord for seeking comfort apart from You, the God of all comfort (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3-5).

… We were all tired but extremely thankful for the privilege to minister to our Haitian brothers. We praised God for His faithfulness and for enabling the gospel to do its transforming work in our hearts and in the lives of the Haitian pastors.  We were amazed how God lavished his grace and wisdom upon us as he allowed us to get a glimpse of His vision, to witness the conference become a reality and to take part in a God-sized event that will have a lasting impact on the pastors and people of Haiti!

Day 6: Leaving Haiti & the Trip Home
Friday, May 28

The flight from Haiti to Miami was a blessing as I sat between an Army soldier stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and a non-profit business owner who has devoted her life helping the Haitian people find jobs.  The conversation was filled with talk about God, His gracious and saving work accomplished through His Son Jesus Christ, and the need to share the gospel.  I also marveled at God’s creation as we flew over several Caribbean islands embedded in a sea of deep blue and emerald green waters.  I always flash back to my days in the Navy when I experienced the beauty of the vast ocean, whether on an old destroyer, cruiser, or a super aircraft carrier.  God has blessed me with diverse life experiences that He has used to grow and change me. Praise Him!

… I praise God for the unique opportunity to minister with a team of pastors from across the country to pastors who lived in totally different country. Despite the ethnic and culturally differences, we are all one family, who share the same faith, hope, and love in Christ! We all recognized that God enabled us to participate in something that was above and beyond what we could ever ask or think (cf. Eph. 3:20).

Pastor Robert serves in the Care & Counseling ministry at Sojourn. Dr. Cheong, holds a PhD in counseling and MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and served in the U.S. Navy and trained in nuclear power matters before becoming a pastor.

More vendors and industry from the full Port-au-Prince set.