Churches Helping Churches

After about 27 minutes in Haiti, we discovered something important: our original long-sleeve, black CHC t-shirts are not convenient in tropical climates. So, we decided to rectify that.

We now have some brand-new t-shirts that are short-sleeve, but importantly, better reflect CHC’s Haiti mission specifically. The new shirts read “Bondye Beni Ayiti”, which means “God Bless Haiti” in Creole, with colors that mimic the Haitian flag. They come in all sizes and are made out of a super-soft, combed ring-spun cotton. You can order them through Harvest’s Walk in the Word online store. This can be a great way to wear your support on your chest, or maybe you just need some new prizes for your church’s youth group nights. Either way, this is a limited edition batch, so get yours soon.

All that said, if you live in a climate where it will not go above 70˚F for another eight months, you might still prefer the original t-shirt.

In this video, Pastor Mike talks about how he responded to that question, and how the Holy Spirit intercedes in the deep suffering we don’t even know how to identify.

In this clip, Pastor Mike Wilkerson of Mars Hill Church in Seattle talks about how the team prepared to minister and teach Haitian pastors, despite very real language and life experience barriers. Haitian men, especially pastors, are expected to be strong and are not often allowed to be vulnerable; this retreat was one of the first times these men were able to let themselves be ministered to, as Pastor Mike saw.

Pastor Mike, who oversees the Biblical Living department at Mars Hill’s Ballard campus, was one of four biblical counseling experts CHC brought down for the first Churches Helping Pastors retreat in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in May 2010. The goal of the retreat was to support and renew the pastors as they personally recover from the earthquake, and also to build them up as they go back into their communities and support the people in their churches.

CHC Haiti partner Pastor Jacques Louis is featured in the summer issue of Neue magazine. Here is an excerpt from the story, found on pp. 46-48:

What kind of messages are you preaching now?

At first, people were thinking, “This is the end of the world.” You have to tell them the earthquake is a natural disaster; it’s not the end of times. … But right now, we’re preaching that God is involved, that God can take care of you and that it’s OK to grieve. God can comfort you because he’s powerful enough.”

Incidentally, CHC co-founder Pastor Mark Driscoll is featured on the cover of this issue, which is just the third issue of the new magazine. Neue is published by the same team that puts out Relevant magazine, but with a specific focus on “Church leaders and innovators.”

In this video, Daniel Ulysse, a Haitian chaplain from Brooklyn, talks about the relationship between the Haitian government and Christian churches, and the importance of Paul’s words to the Haitian Church today.

For more, watch Chaplain Daniel interview the small group of pastors he led at our Churches Helping Pastors retreat in May in Port-au-Prince about their churches, how the earthquake affected them and their communities, and their vision and prayers for the future.

In this video, Daniel Ulysse, a Haitian chaplain from Brooklyn, interviews a group of pastors who attended our Churches Helping Pastors retreat in May in Port-au-Prince about their churches, how the earthquake affected them and their communities, and their vision and prayers for the future.

Stay tuned over coming weeks for more videos from Haiti from pastors from this conference and others we’ve held or sponsored in other cities around the country.

Here are a couple of low-res shots of the churches currently being built by Calvary Chapel and CHC in Haiti.

The church, Église Évangélique Baptiste Calvaire (Calvary Baptist Evangelical Church), is located in the small community of Laurent Meyer, situated between Jacmel and Cavalier, in southern Haiti.

The church, led by Pastor Pierre Richard, was founded in 1990 and has about 175 congregants.

Here is a letter Tom received from Dr. Muqaddam Zia, chairman of the Pakistan Evangelical Christian Alliance, a network of 356 churches:

Dear Brother,

Greetings!

I have just got back from Northern Pakistan, where our team is doing relief efforts for the recent flood victims. Pakistan flood damage and human suffering could not be worse. According to National Disaster Management Authority, up until today, there are:

• People affected: 12-14 million
• Dead: 1,680
• Homes damaged: 250,000

Please find attached some photos of a church, a pastor’s house and 6 Christian homes, destroyed in the recent flood in an area of Nowshehra city.

This is an interview of the pastor of that church.

We have also done some more interviews of victims of flood, which will be soon uploaded. Our team has initiated relief distribution and you will be getting the photos and updates quickly.

Be blessed,

Dr. Muqaddam Zia

www.prayforpakistan.org

This past July, Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative, with the partnership of Churches Helping Churches, put on a Pastors Conference in Jacmel, Haiti, with over 200 pastors and church leaders from all across the southeast region of Haiti in attendance. The following is an update from Jeff Kotrady, of CCHI:

With close to 200 pastors in attendance from around the Jacmel area, five pastors and two next-generation leaders had the privilege to edify the body of Christ through the Word of God. Our theme revolved around John 6:20, in that Christ can provide peace throughout the storm. Each day, we witnessed the Lord use the teaching, along with the Q&A time, to give pastors necessary spiritual tools to minister to them and their congregations during this time of crisis in Haiti. Pastors from all denominations were present and worshiping the Lord together.

The conference brought encouragement through the teaching of 1 Peter, several in-depth Q&A sessions that showed the pastors’ hearts for greater investment and long-term discipleship, as well as a fellowship dinner on the last night for the pastors. With the support of Churches Helping Churches, the Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative plans to help many of the local churches in construction and reconstruction efforts as well as by putting on further conferences to provide not only practical psychological relief but also to help meet the needs for spiritual investment and discipleship.

On the last night of the conference, we had a time of prayer for each pastor. We witnessed the Holy Spirit use this time to bring many to repentance, renewal and refreshment in the Lord. After this special time, CHC hosted a dinner for the pastors who attended. We had gospel music and great fellowship. The pastors were blessed beyond measure. With those in attendance we took down their greatest needs–in particular, commentaries in Creole and study Bibles– and we are looking forward to help them rebuild thier churches and their lives.

Follow the Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative, based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Facebook.

Up to this point, STEP has been our original partner in this mission and the institution through which we’ve been operating in Haiti. CHC is pleased to announce that we’re now partnering with STEP financially by awarding the seminary a $100,000 recovery grant. These key improvements will enable STEP to resume classes at the Port-au-Prince campus and continue to train pastors this fall.