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Introducing phase one of CHC’s Haiti Response: Churches Helping Pastors.
Imagine this…
“And so he [Jesus] was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever.” The professor continues, “This is the greatest miracle in the Bible”. You’re intrigued by the lecture, but you fight the urge to yawn. It’s been a long day. After a hectic shift at work, you rushed halfway across town and up the hill to get to this seminary class. Now, that physical workout is followed up by this mental workout. You look at your watch. 4:52 PM – a little more than an hour to go.
Your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a train in the distance. “That’s strange”, you think, “There are no tracks in this part of town”. Dogs begin to bark uncontrollably. Something is terribly wrong. The “train” quickly approaches and then…..”JEZI!!!” The ground beneath you begins to shake violently, and the train is now replaced by the sound of chaos. Classmates yell “JEZI” (Jesus in Creole) at the top of their lungs, desks and chairs are tossed around like nothing, and there is the constant rumbling of the earth.
You stand up to make a run for the door. Immediately, the wickedly shifting floor causes you to collapse. You don’t stand a chance. You look up, and everything in sight is in ferocious turmoil. There’s no escape, there’s nothing you can do. You just lay down, shout “JEZI!”, and pray for your life. Just when you thought it was unbearable, someone cranks up the juice. The building is starting to come apart. You reach for something, anything to hold onto, but nothing is stable.
The shaking lets up ever so slightly. You and the others stumble out of the room and down the stairs. Seconds after you’re out, the building comes crashing down. You look around, and others notice the same thing you do. Not everyone is here. People begin to frantically call out names and climbing over the rubble.
Immediately, you call your wife and kids. The phone is not working. You need to get home. As you make your way off campus, you’re glad that you have just enough money for a tap-tap (a Haitian cab).
You rush out of the school’s gates and freeze dead in your tracks at the overwhelming sight. “Oh…my…God. This…was…” Toppled buildings, the fog of unsettled dust, spilled rubble poured into the streets, pancaked cars and tap-taps, dead bodies in plain view, injured people writhing in pain, others crying hysterically in disbelieve. Gulp
After four hours of determined walking on foot, you get home. You’re glad to find that your home is in tact. At least, it appears that way. You find out that your daughter was out and is still missing. You don’t know that she’s hurt, you don’t know that she’s not. The truth is you may not ever receive that confirmation.
While in pensive contemplation about your daughter, your church members begin to show up. Oh, that’s right. You’re the pastor. And this is just the start to a long, arduous journey. What do you say? What do you do? You don’t exactly have a talk prepared for these kinds of things. And even if you did, are you prepared to do that day in and day out for who knows how long?
“Wait, what did you say? Our church building has been destroyed?” Talk about the ministry challenge of a lifetime…
I’m not a writer, but I wanted to provide a word picture of the experiences of pastors in Haiti. Hearing these stories convinced me to do what we’re about to do, and I hope it will do the same for you.
The Plan
Some of the greatest stresses in Haiti right now are the shoulders of local church pastors. Not only were they victims themselves but they’ve been under the gun 24/7 for the last three months. They are carrying the weight of their wounded congregation while they themselves are limping. Thus, we believe the best way to rebuild the church in Haiti is to rebuild its pastors. Churches Helping Pastors – because sometimes pastors need a pastor.
In May, we are inviting key local church leaders to gather in Port-au-Prince for one week. We are partnering with seminaries, denominations, missionary networks, local church chapters/leagues, expatriate Haitian pastors, and more. Our goal in doing so is:
- To provide an oasis of spiritual renewal and healing. We’ll worship together, pray together, study Scripture together, share together. For many pastors, this may be their first pit stop since January 12th.
- To equip pastors with Biblical, gospel-centered counseling. If there’s one thing that every Haitian pastor cannot afford to be less than excellent at right now, it’s counseling. We want to serve these heroes by providing guidance that is specific and practical to their environments. (I will write an entirely separate blog post on this.)
Port-Au-Prince will be the launching pad. From there, we will organize similar regional efforts throughout Haiti in May-July. Even though some areas were untouched by the earthquake, they do not go unaffected. In an attempt to escape the chaos, thousands have fled into the outlying regions. Even there, pastors’ flocks have swelled with traumatized victims, and they are faced with the same ministry challenges.
If you (or someone you know) are a local church leader in Haiti and are interested in getting involved in regional Churches Helping Pastors efforts, please have that local church leader contact Jacques Louis at jacfranc@hotmail.com. He is our man on the ground in Port-Au-Prince and will be coordinating logistics on behalf of STEP Seminary.
Thank you for your partnership with Churches Helping Churches!
Tom
Acts 20:24
