Churches Helping Churches is prayerfully reviewing how and when we can best help the areas affected by the Chile earthquake. Since this development is so recent, we still don’t know what the damage is yet. Therefore, we are postponing any type of benevolence offering at this moment. Meanwhile, we continue to remain focused and committed to the efforts that we have begun in Haiti.

Haiti

I’ve come across the word “Haiti” at least 1,000 times in the past week – in the news and on the radio, in conversations and in prayers, in articles and in emails. Most of the time, I hear awful stories and statistics. True confession: I don’t even bother putting myself in their shoes anymore. It’s just too painful. But this blog post isn’t about that. I want to tell you what I hear about the other half of the time.

Relief organizations have flooded Port Au Prince. In some areas, so much aid has reached the people that bags of food are being returned to the distribution centers. So many foreign aid workers have responded to crisis that some are looking for work to do. The job is nowhere near finished, but I am absolutely blown away by the generosity and service of the international community. If you’ve given to some of these agencies, it’s showing.

Furthermore, I am blown away by the generosity and service of God’s people that gave birth to Churches Helping Churches. Here are a few updates for you:

Haiti Trip

I am leaving for Haiti tomorrow with very specific objectives in mind.

• First, I am meeting key Christian leaders within Haiti to refine a church planting strategy into the tent cities. FYI, the tent cities are exactly what they sound like. People who are homeless or afraid to enter their buildings are living in large communities of temporary tents. We are exploring how we can bring the church to them.
• Second, we are partnering with Calvary Chapel, who is launching a holistic care base camp. This project is in full swing! The goal is to provide for all of the needs of those who are displaced, from food to medicine to counseling, even VBS for children. We will bring back pictures!
• Third, remember Jacques? He and STEP Seminary are still housing 2,500 people. The wall to the seminary has been rebuilt to provide protection from the violence outside. Many of these pastors-to-be have had their dreams crushed. We hope to get them back on track, so they can someday lead churches that serve the local community.

In these efforts, we are coming alongside existing churches and organizations that were already in Haiti pre-earthquake. Please pray that this trip would be fruitful and accerate our efforts.

T-shirts

T-shirts are for sale. Proceeds from your purchase will go to Churches Helping Churches. Buying this shirt helps support a church. Wearing this shirt helps promote awareness. You can’t go wrong on this on fellas! =)

Thomas Hurst

Thomas is a Pulitzer Prize-finalist photojournalist who currently serves on staff at Mars Hill Church and was part of a team that traveled to Haiti on behalf of Churches Helping Churches. Check his posts in coming weeks as he shares his thoughts on particular images he took and moments he and the team experienced in their 32 hours on the ground in earthquake-ravaged Port-Au-Prince.

Volunteers

Let me echo James’ statement: We hear you! We have ALL of your requests on file. Thank you for your willingness to serve and your patience with us. We’ve identified the key needs at this moment and have contacted those best suited to help. As soon as more needs or possibly even trip opportunities surface, we will contact you.

Thank you for your partnership!

For a new Haiti,
Tom
Acts 20:24

Pray that we can serve where we are needed, as reports indicate that so many pastors are dead and churches destroyed that those Christians seeking to grieve and serve need much support.

Pray that we can forge some solid bonds with the best local churches and international relief agencies on the ground.

Pray for the ongoing generosity of people around the world sending in support and supplies.

Pray for the complicated task of getting supplies to needy people when roads are not passable, and only a quarter of the country’s roads were paved before the earthquake.

Pray for the hearts, minds, and souls of the people, who are reportedly 80 percent Catholic and 16 percent Protestant, while roughly 50 percent also practice voodoo.

Pray for the rebuilding of the city of Port-au-Prince as prior to the earthquake it was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with 80 percent of people under the poverty line and 54 percent in abject poverty with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of only $1,300 with two-thirds of the labor force not even having a formal job.

Pray for protection for disease, as the spread of hepatitis A and E, typhoid, malaria, leptospirosis, and dengue fever is a reality as conditions worsen.

Pray against civil unrest that would further promote chaos.

Pray for the government which has lost many of its buildings and leaders.

Pray for the safety of the people, since some of the jails and prisons are now emptied and dangerous criminals are running the streets without police patrol to contain them.

Pray we get home safely and can take what we learn to help encourage churches and Christians to strategically pray and give of their resources for the long haul, as this will not be a short rebuilding effort.

Pray for the children as roughly half of Haiti’s population is reportedly children.

Pray that Christians will help bolster the remaining churches in Haiti and support the planting of many more Jesus-centered churches so that the people of Haiti can see the gospel rise out of the devastation.

Pray for us as a plan is forming for churches helping churches in places where war and disaster have struck.

We will pray and seek God’s direction for a way to rally churches around the idea of an organization existing for the sole purpose of helping the church help church. Down the road, there will be more needs of this kind and we want to be prepared to work together in our relief efforts on behalf of the churches that do so much, but often such receive so little.

Answered Prayer from Trip to Haiti, January 18-19, 2010

Pray we can get some great stories on video about what God is doing in order to help encourage God’s people around the world to be generous and help those in need.

Pray we can get great photos and other video footage to give away online, to give to Christian agencies who could use it to help get the need out, and to give to mainstream media outlets showing the difference the church and God’s people are making as well as all that remains to be done. There has been a great deal of great media coverage, and we want to add to it some of the stories of God’s people doing God’s work to encourage more of God’s people to support that work.

Going to Haiti early this week to see first hand and assess what can be done to meet the needs of the church in the toughest areas.

We will bring a team to help us capture this story so we can bring it back to you.

We will activate a website churcheshelpingchurches.com. The goal of this site will be to share what we discover and to raise support from churches in North America for the church in Haiti.

We need your prayers for the effectiveness of this first step and invite you to follow our updates on this site and on Twitter while we are in Haiti.

When Pastor James MacDonald secured our transportation into and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the earthquake, he informed me that I could bring three other men with me to capture the footage in video and photo formats. In God’s providence, we had just the man. Thomas Hurst is the senior administrative deacon at Mars Hill Bellevue. Thomas is a Pulitzer Prize finalist photographer who has covered events in Kosovo, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Rwanda while working for Time magazine, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe. Ten years ago he actually spent a few months as a photojournalist in Haiti.

I first met Thomas when he was assigned to shadow me for a story in The Seattle Times. We got along great and I deeply enjoyed his company. Eventually both he and his wife became Christians and started to rise up as leaders in our church. I love and appreciate this man and his family very much.

On the trip we all loved having Thomas with us. The thousands of photos he took are simply stunning. To help the cause in Haiti, we have decided to simply give away all his work. Feel free to use these photos for God’s glory and Haiti’s good. Individuals, churches, relief organizations, and others are welcome to use these images. If you would like to make a donation, please do so at www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. Lastly, I want to thank Angela Hurst for sending her husband into harm’s way for Jesus, and thank Thomas for volunteering his time to do such a fantastic job.

Free Haiti Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/churcheshelpingchurches/sets/72157623183233883/

A lot has happened in a week and a half. And, by God’s grace we have been to Haiti and back, seen God launch Churches Helping Churches, heard from numerous Christians who are praying fervently for the church in Haiti, and seen many churches generously take special offerings to support the church in Haiti that has already culminated in over $1 million.

Thank you!

In light of all that is happening, we felt it was important to update you on what we are working on next as well as thank everyone for praying. There is a great deal for us to juggle between our ongoing pastoral responsibilities and the opportunities God has opened for us in Haiti to help the church there.

We hired the first paid staff member of Churches Helping Churches, Pastor Jacque. He is a Haitian brother in Christ who helps direct the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Port Au Prince as part of the organization www.crossworld.org . God, in His providence, connected us on our trip and he served as our guide and translator. The school he serves at has trained over a thousand pastors across many evangelical denominations and networks throughout Haiti so he is connected to a wide range of pastors and churches. Furthermore, he has a law degree as well as a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary. Therefore, he understands both the Haitian and American cultures and is fluent in multiple languages which is important since Creole, French, and English are all common spoken languages in Haiti. He lives and serves on campus at the seminary which also has a school for 800 children and partnership with local Christian agencies such as orphanages. Before leaving Haiti we gave him the money to get a good Internet connection and digital camera so that he can keep us abreast of what is happening in Haiti.

We are now hiring our first staff member in the States to coordinate efforts from our own nation. We are asking you to pray for God to raise up just the right person for this vital ministry. We are getting numerous great leads of other organizations we can partner with and support for everything from food, water, shelter, medical care, church planting, children’s education, adoption, etc. And, we need this person we are seeking to hire, an Executive Director, to find us the best partnerships and opportunities so that we can ensure that the generous gifts of churches are most effectively stewarded.

We know that many of you want to know when you can land in Haiti to help out. We sincerely appreciate this. The answer is that we will be ready to send teams as soon as we have an open opportunity. Right now the docks are sunk in the harbor, so ships are unable to land. The airport is closed for nearly all flights trying to get in. Subsequently, getting teams of people into Haiti is very difficult and nearly impossible. Furthermore, it’s not yet entirely safe. We will send work teams in fields such as theological training, medical support, church planting, children’s education, construction etc. as soon as we can do so effectively.

We also know that many of you are interested in adopting children from Haiti. The early reports are that the records for many children awaiting adoption have been destroyed. What remains of the Haitian government is easing adoption restrictions and we are in contact with Christian organizations that may have a way to expedite the adoption process.

Lastly, Haiti is a nation of roughly nine million people. At present, roughly two million are homeless, half the buildings in the largest city, Port Au Prince, are rubble, there is no military to call in as the nation does not have one, and the government is not really functioning. So, we are also investigating where people are relocating to as there is a mass exodus out of the city. Some people are going to the villages, and others are being relocated to new cities made of tents and temporary shelters—places where we need to get church planters as there are literally no churches.

For us Americans who are used to a world of organizations, institutions, efficiency, and speed, we know this all may be difficult to understand, but patience and prudence are really needed. We don’t want to just do things, we want to do the most important things the most effective way and so we are moving as fast as is wise. More details will be forthcoming and more plans unfolding. Until then, your prayers are essential as we have seen firsthand God answer them in Haiti.

Before leaving Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Pastor James MacDonald and I hired Pastor Jacques Louis as our first employee of Churches Helping Churches. We gave Pastor Jacques the money to purchase a digital camera and obtain ongoing secure Internet access in order to stay in contact with us and keep us abreast of what is happening on the ground. I asked him a few questions via email and wanted to pass his answers on to you for a most recent update.

How many people remain on your campus seeking help? Is there any new news to report?
-Still get two to three perceptible aftershocks a day. Our census reveals that on a given night we have 2.5 thousand people on campus. We still have medical teams coming in every day. We are able to provide potable water for those in need with the help of Water Missions International. They installed a system of purification right here on campus. Banks are open but there is a maximum limit of $2,500.00 per person/day.

What are the most pressing needs you have?
-On a personal level, the same basic needs of people victim of natural disasters. But as an institution we are facing a dilemma of how we are going to pay our employees (some lost everything they had!) if we are not open. Those taking refuge on our campus have to move out before we can open or start any important construction project. We will need four big tents for classrooms.

How are the pastor and church at the edge of your campus? How large was that church before the quake and how is it faring and what do they need?
-The pastor lost his home. The church building is fine. But people have not come to church because of their fear to enter any building. They picked the site of the elementary school on campus to have their worship service next Sunday at 7:00 a.m. The church used to have a 2,000+ attendance.

We have heard reports that they are moving people out of the city in large numbers to new cities made of tents and hopefully more permanent housing. If this is true, do you know where those locations will be and are there qualified church planters we could support and send to those areas to plant churches since there are likely none already in place?
-Most people leaving Port-au-Prince are heading to their hometowns. Given the fact that some no longer have a place to stay in Port-au-Prince or their hometowns, they leave the capital city with friends who still have a place to go so that every town in Haiti may have a “tent city” part.

As a side note, this sermon is a bit different than the one that is posted online on Mars Hill’s media library and that played at the Mars Hill Campuses on Sunday. The sermon that played at Mars Hill included some issues about our giving and generosity that will not pertain to other churches and ministries. So, we have cut out that content but left everything else. We hope it is helpful to God’s people for God’s glory and you can download it for free here, including an option to burn it onto a DVD, if that is easiest for you.

Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQo76Itl6cw

M4V:
http://bit.ly/7i5Sa3

DVD:
http://bit.ly/awsLE3

Many pastors have been contacting us, saying that they too want to take a special offering this Sunday. We rejoice in your willingness to help those who are suffering so greatly. I would like to specifically invite my brothers in Acts 29 and our pastor friends at The Resurgence to do the same.

For those of you who, like us at Mars Hill, have not ever taken a special offering, the following tips were coaching points Pastor James MacDonald gave me on our return flight from Haiti.

Why You Should Take a Special Offering

1. It is biblical. Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, ​as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
2. If you want the people in your church to be generous, then be an example for them by being a generous pastor. If your church does not give regularly and generously to such things as mercy ministries and church planting, then it is hypocritical to ask your people to be generous.
3. As ministry leaders, we need to give voice and bring clarity to the tragedies that people are processing through the news. By instructing our people biblically on how we intend to help, and then inviting them to participate at whatever level they are able, we guide them in working to help with what breaks their hearts rather than simply grieving it. God ignites a passion within a leader, who then takes that torch of passion into their church and sets their people aflame for the cause. Simply put, people follow the passion of their leader.

How to Take Your Special Offering

1. Notify your entire church of the special offering at least a few days before the service. Such thing as email, the church Web site, church blog, and social networking tools (e.g., The City, Facebook, Twitter) should be used to notify people in advance so they come prepared to give generously.
2. Keep your first offering in its usual place.
3. Put your second offering at the end of the service. Begin by inviting the ushers forward and allowing them to stand. This will provide time for people to prepare their offering. Use this opportunity to show multi-media to inform your people. If you like, you are welcome to use any of the photos, videos, blogs, and so on that we have provided at ChurchesHelpingChurches.com. When the offering is being taken, it is generally not a time for corporate singing, but rather a time for the performance of a special musical piece while the people are led in prayer by their pastor for the needs in Haiti.

Harvest Bible Chapel (harvestbiblechapel.org) gave the first fruits of the mission of Churches Helping Churches. Their people gave generously and were very joyful at the opportunity to give. As I witnessed their offering, I could see that the Holy Spirit had moved their hearts to give generously and their church leadership served them well by helping them to be obedient to God’s call.

When your church takes its special offering, you can forward the money to ChurchesHelpingChurches.com in one of two ways:

1. You can add up your church’s entire special offering and simply make one contribution through PayPal on the Web site.
2. You can mail one check on behalf of your church to the address listed on the Web site.

Lastly, we hate that we even need to say this, but in our day it is a legitimate concern. Neither Pastor James MacDonald nor myself will receive any monies from Churches Helping Churches, as we serve in this ministry on a volunteer basis.