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.

As we were wrapping up our board meeting my very first day on the job, Pastor Mark Driscoll recounted with me a conversation he’d had with Pastor Rick Warren. “Don’t go to solve but to serve” was Pastor Rick’s counsel to this newly birthed organization. I didn’t know it at the time, but those words would eventually shape the core values of Churches Helping Churches.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45

We have much to learn about serving local churches, but a few values have already become the core to who we are:

Lead by listening

Our plans are born out of conversations and relationships with local pastors and their churches. During my first trip to Haiti, I ended up driving a random Haitian man home because he happened to be on my way to a meeting.

After I explained our active involvement in rebuilding churches, he was adamant that people should not be given food for their labor but cash. He went on to explain that the history of slavery made Haitians hypersensitive to non-monetary compensation. It made complete sense.

When we understand a local community’s strengths and assets, needs and frustrations, our response becomes more meaningful and relevant.

Jesus, knowing other people’s thoughts, entered into conversation. Even when it was painfully obvious that the men were blind, he asked them what was wrong.

And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Mark 20:32-34

Lead from behind

In the eyes of the affected communities, the local church must be the hero. They lead, we empower. This brings lasting and sustainable fruit as it strengthens the churches’ relationships with the community and gives ownership to the local leaders.

Jesus’ strategy was not that he would live on earth for eternity and perform every baptism of every believer. He paved the way through a perfect life, brutal death, and victorious resurrection. Then, his disciples carried on the work that he already began.

Lead with long-term vision

Once out of emergency mode, we don’t make short-term relief decisions at the expense of long-term development. Our strategies seek to foster progress at the infrastructural level of a community.  There were 10,000 relief organizations in Haiti prior to the earthquake. There is no shortage of relief now; there is a shortage of development. There’s a shortage of work around what assets in the community can be used to address the needs of that community.

During a long period of exile in Babylon, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah of his ultimate plan for a future and for good.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jer. 29:11

This greatest difficulty with all of these values is that they produce results, albeit more slowly. It takes time to teach someone to fish rather than catch fish and give it to them. I asked Dr. Jean Dorlus, president of the Evangelical Seminary of Theology in Port-au-Prince (STEP), if Haitians must own the efforts, even if it means things go more slowly.

“Yes,” he said immediately. “Sometimes slower is better.”

I pressed, “Even if it means things never happen at all?”

This time he hesitated. He thought and then responded, “Yes.”

*

Our goal is not to fix these countries and places and their governments. Our goal is not to simply be a channel for charitable contributions.

Our goal is to go and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ and bear with them as they reel and mourn in the wake of disaster. Our goal is to encourage and build up these communities physically, but more importantly, spiritually as a body of believers. This work takes time, patience, and investment. But we’re fixed on an eternal God and a timeless truth, and we will not faint.

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.

Inside a Tent City from Thomas Kim on Vimeo.

Last week, I worshipped in a tent city called Pétionville Club. What was once a golf course is now home to an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 people. Jacques Louis, a Haitian seminary professor and one of CHC’s dear partners, told me they cleared the trees on the course to make more room for people.

At one point in the service, I took a risk. The people were so used to being asked what their problems were and what they needed. Instead, I asked if anyone wanted had a testimony of what God had done since the earthquake.

Immediately, a thin lady jumped to her feet.

“Praise the Lord! God has given us so much. Yes, we’ve lost a lot. We don’t have much. But we believe in Him and we worship Him and we are so happy!”

She went on for a few minutes, filled to the brim with enthusiasm and conviction. Her joy brought smiles to both my interpreter and me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing – far more than optimism, but intense God-besotted gratitude.

When taking a step back, it almost looked ridiculous. No home, no job in a crowded makeshift tent, boldly standing in front of other people to declare how thankful she was.

Her testimony was followed by another, which was followed by another. So many people seized the opportunity to share a “what my God has done” story that regretfully, I had to cut it short. Since then, I’ve often wondered how long they would have gone if I wasn’t such a Westerner on a schedule, running late for another meeting.

Those people ministered to me deeply that day. They are amazing Christ-followers who have unshakable joy. I am so privileged to know them and have much to learn from my brothers and sisters in Haiti.

The Pétionville Club I visited was smaller than it once was. A portion of this tent city was relocated due to overcapacity. (To me, it was already bursting, so I had a hard time picturing that in my mind.)

One pastor, Maxi Blanc, has many church members in that tent city. He now feels burdened to plant a church there. The Haitian government has recognized Pastor Maxi as a community leader and subsequently, gave him the land to start a church. Churches Helping Churches is going to build Pastor Maxi a structure for this unique church in mid-September. We can’t wait to see all that the Lord does through Pastor Maxi and this church within their new community. Thank you for your continued prayers and support of Pastor Maxi, the church in Haiti, and this mission we’re on.

–Tom

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

“Those wishing to assist in Haiti relief efforts should be aware that despite their good intentions, travel to Haiti will increase the burden on a system already struggling to support those in need on the ground. Those wishing to volunteer their services are advised that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are reporting that their capacity to absorb additional volunteers is limited. Cash donations are the most effective way to help the relief effort in Haiti.”

US Department of State Travel Warning, June 24

When I was in undergrad, one of my best friends was hospitalized with a collapsed lung. We were blessed with a large community of friends who individually came to visit as soon as they heard the news. I was among the first to visit him at the crack of dawn; others started trickling in shortly after I left. Throughout the day, his hospital room became a revolving door of visitors—people who came to cheer him up, shower him with gifts, and pray for him. Soon enough, the doctors noticed that his recovery rate was slowing from the exhaustion. The blessing had become a curse. And somehow, I was stuck with the responsibility of asking visitors to no longer come.

I now find myself in a similar situation. One of the gut reactions so many individuals and churches have had to the earthquake in Haiti is, “How do I get over there and help?!” I’m going to ask that we pause and ask ourselves, “Is that the best way for us to help Haiti?” In some cases, the answer is a clear “Yes.” However, in many cases, the answer is a disinclined “No.”

These are difficult things – difficult to say, difficult to hear, and difficult to accept. But unless you are bringing a strategic skill set that is indispensible to Haiti, please reconsider going. With two-thirds of Haitians unemployed, there is plenty of general labor available. Additionally, each person who goes means an extra body and mouth at a time when housing accommodations and drinking water are scarce. That one extra accommodation may better benefit a homeless Haitian or a skilled foreign worker. A much more strategic contribution for your church would be to donate the money from your group to employ local Haitians to do work you were hoping to do.

With that in mind, Churches Helping Churches is going to rebuild the local churches with as much paid Haitian labor as possible. This not only meets the objectives of rebuilding the houses of the Lord, but it attacks poverty in a smarter way – through employment rather than handouts. Think about it: that worker now gets to purchase a snack from a street cart, that cart owner now gets to pay for his taxi ride, the taxi driver now… so on and so forth. That ripple effect contributes much more to the Haitian infrastructure than a week of free labor from an American would. It’s not a perfect model, but it’s better. What’s more, that local Haitian worker has now been introduced to a church. After having worked on a church alongside church members for a month, he or she just might be more inclined to check it out.

The Lord has gifted some of us in such a way that we want to be on the front lines and in the trenches. Sacrificing that immediate desire and that experience may be one of the best ways that we can serve Haiti’s recovery from the earthquake in the long-run.

So now, the burning question: How can you help?

1. Cash: We don’t need clothes, we don’t need books, we don’t need blankets. We need cash. Of the $5.3 billion that has been pledged to Haiti by foreign governments, only 2% has actually been given, so there is a great need for liquid assets on the ground. Any creative ways that you can use to raise and donate money will help build up the local church and employ local Haitians. We’ve posted CHC banners and graphics should you need them for fundraising purposes.
2. Prayer: Please join us in the prayer, “Lord, multiply our efforts, ideas, and money.”
3. Skilled workers: If you are an experienced architect or general contractor and are interested in volunteering, please contact us.

This response is specific to today’s relief landscape in Haiti. We’re not against short-term missions, and I don’t want to deflate the compassionate energy that the Lord has stirred up in us. I am pleading for us to prayerfully reconsider and redirect how that energy can be better channeled toward a new Haiti.

The truth in love,
Tom

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 20:24

“The conference helped me to understand better those who need my help in difficult times.” Jacmel Marigo

“This conference should continue through the country. It offers a great opportunity to spread the gospel and help pastors who find it difficult to answer to the needs of the times.” Petit Goave

“I am definitely better equipped to face actual problems. Thanks for the American brothers who came in these difficult times. Thanks.” Croix des Bouquets

“Thanks for your care… The methods used to make sure we learned ‘faith, hope, and love’ applied in the social context is quite appropriate. Being young, I hope to see this more often.” Foret des Pins

“I have learned much to help me with my trauma.” Anse-Rouge

“Thanks for this training ministry. Meeting with other leaders was excellent.” Saint Marc

“This retreat was so important. Wish we had more pastors.” St. Jean du Sud

“… I see I need to develop a great capacity to listen to others, with much attention… Thanks CHC and best wishes in the LORD.” Port Salut

“This conference should be for schools, churches, government officials. I have discovered my weaknesses and mistakes as a shepherd. I hope to receive more reading dealing with different catastrophes.” Bainet

“It was a good time of reflection. I have learned new ways to handle problems efficiently and how to listen to those suffering. My faith has been strengthened.” Bassin General

“I have been suffering a lot–headaches, unjustified fatigue, stress. At last this week I am really strong. The Spirit of the LORD is with me. Please do more of this kind of retreat.” Port-au-Prince

“I have been much impressed by the practical aspects of faith, hope and love. Thanks for all.” Petit Goave

“I received more than I expected. The subjects are quite appropriate: new vision, new approach to ministry. Repeat this retreat in other departments.” Jacmel

“Highly needed… wish we had more time.” La Palmiste

“Can’t wait to share with my friends. I became a de facto counselor on trauma for my church, now I am better equipped… need to have more for young people…” Cayes-Jacmel

“Thanks, thanks for your efforts. Please follow up. I understand the word of God better and how to use it in time of need.” Desjardines

“This conference was a compass for me. My ministry should improve.” Azile

“This conference [unpacks] things I knew little about. I see changes I need in my life, my behavior.” Cap-Haïtien

“May the Almighty bless you. He was the One leading you to this fruitful and blessed training ministry.” Saint-Marc

“Great retreat. Cannot go but forward. Thanks CHC, Thanks STEP and others who helped.” Anse Rouge

“Very touched. I will be more efficient in my new ministry. I will surely apply soon so many things taught.” Port-au-Prince

“It is comforting spiritually and mentally to understand disasters better from a biblical perspective. Wish to have more support for the sessions. Congratulations. Keep being strong in the LORD.” Carrefour

“I did not know before how to handle extreme crisis situation well. Now I am better-equipped to help not only my church but my community and my country in similar situation.” Jacmel

“Thanks. This seminar was good for young leaders like me.” Code de Fer

“This seminar changes my opinion. I understand better the role of leadership in distressful situations.” Port-au-Prince

“You were simply sent but God.” Petite Riviere de Nippes

“Very relevant, timely. Thank you CHC, STEP and others. I did not understand what had happened in Port-au-Prince, being from the South. I learned much about ministry in critical times of natural disasters. Thanks to the American team.” Camp Perrin

“This seminar was a motivation for me to be opened, keeping no secret to churches. It has challenged me to be a true pastor, to be honest about own struggles, pain and grief.” Liancourt

“Great. Do your best to get more pastors next time.” Les Cayes

“A real big gift. Great to add to what I already knew. The first day was hard on me. I am glad I stayed. A week of great spiritual blessing and great fellowship. Wonderful.” Arcahaie

“Hope to receive the materials not cleared by customs… Great to understand better natural phenomenon and God’s role…” Les Cayes

“I am becoming a new person. Great teaching, great teaching on counseling.” Baie-de-Henne

For more words of gratitude from the pastors and photos of the retreat, see this post. Thank you all for your support of CHC’s mission to rebuild the Church in Haiti. Know that the work continues there as we begin to replicate this retreat and the teaching sessions in other parts of the country, and we’d ask that you prayerfully consider continued support and prayer.

The following is a letter from Frantz Morisset, one of the retreat’s organizers. Frantz is a Haitian pastor and scholar who lives in the states.

Grace to all of you.  It was one month ago when we were on our way back to the US after spending the week in Haiti.  I am taking advantage of this occasion to say thank you for your marvelous work in my native country Haiti.  Thank you, in the names of the Haitian pastors in the Diaspora and of those who participated in the May pastors retreat. Rather than using my words, let me share with you a few of the hundreds of written comments from Haitian pastors at the retreat.

The Pastors in Their Own Words

“This conference has comforted me… It challenged me to help my community and my country… I am now committed to comfort not only members of my own church but to go beyond… Thank you LORD, you have sent me what I truly needed.” (Les Cayes)

“I was satisfied with my work and concern for church members before the conference … Now I see the need to love, to love more for a truly biblical ministry… I will assist the members of my church in a better way and be available to answer their questions” (Bois Pin, La Gonave)

“Thank you. The subjects have stimulated me to want more seminars. Thanks to the TEAM. May God continue to bless CHC.” (Delmas)

“The conference is changing my life and will change the way I used to lead the church. I am better equipped to administer it, to develop it spiritually, socially and economically… (Cote de Fer)

“Thanks to the conference, I have new friends and contacts… new direction”. (La Gonave)

“Thanks. I have learned to listen to others… I see the importance of counseling… my duty to help other leaders in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ… Please, make plan to invite more people next year…” (126 Gros-Morne, Gonaives)

“Thank you CHC and STEP for the beautiful initiative. It was a week of training and encouragement and meeting other evangelical leaders” (Arcahaie)

“I have been comforted and will go back to share it… I see the need to be transparent to all, in all good conscience.” (Port-au-Prince)

“Thanks. I knew I was a servant of God… I learned that I need to develop it further for the harvest of Christ.” (Port-au-Prince)

“I have new vision, new attitude…I see the need for character change… Congratulations for such an important conference… I hope to see another one.” (Cerca-la-Source)

“Thanks for your efforts and your sacrifice to help us spiritually so to bear fruit, much fruit in the growth of the gospel in Haiti and be useful to others… May God bless CHC, the teachers.” (Charlotin)

“Thanks for this initiative… I have learned much to help my pastoral ministry… I need radical changes in my life… For sure, I am better equipped to help people in my community and especially those in the tent cities.” (Port-au-Prince)

“I did not want to come to Port-au-Prince… But I am glad I did, especially to witness the attention that our brothers from overseas showed toward us Haitians… The small groups were so edifying, so profitable… an ambiance of good brotherhood (fellowship).” (Les Cayes)

“I can summarize that it is the work of the Holy Spirit.” (Petion-Ville)

“Thanks! Thanks! Thanks CHC! I was so discouraged looking at my future and that of my family. Now, I have a better understanding of God and natural disasters. It is good to see there are people who love me… I need help for my family, they are suffering and I cannot help much. I was alone but now I see there are people who think of me… Thanks.” (Carrefour)

“If you can afford it, please have another conference in 3 months.” (Kenscoff)

“My understanding of the word of God has been reinforced… I have more enthusiasm for my pastoral ministry in my community… May God bless CHC and preserve/protect you from now and ever.” (Port-de-Paix)

“This conference challenges me to have more love, more tolerance, and more compassion for others. As I reflect on the love of the teachers for us, Haitians, it challenges me to do the same… Thanks.” (Aquin)

“I have a new vision for love, hope, and am more committed to plant new churches and get involved with my team in tent city ministries and assistance to victims.” (Cayes)

“I am better prepared to work with difficult people… Have this conference next year in the South and Grand’ Anse.” (Maniche)

“I have learned that I must be engaged in the tent city ministry… (Cayes)

“Good to learn about group counseling vs individual counseling… secular vs biblical counseling… Want to learn more. Plan to have more of this type of conference.” (Petit Goave)

“I appreciate the way the American brothers in Christ cared for us… (Ville des Coteaux)

“I always like new ideas… better understanding of the word of God… Thank you God. Thank you CHC.” (Port-au-Prince)

To be continued …

“Mesi” is Creole for “thank you,” a derivative of “merci” in French.

“There are a lot of youth who were affected by this event who want a future. Right now, they’re pained to look to the future, because they’ve had everything taken away. I feel really troubled when I talk about Haiti’s situation because there are so many problems at every level: economic, political, cultural, sometimes spiritual.

Our schools hardly function anymore. The youth hope to go school, go to college, to have something to survive, buy food, find housing. They’re living on the margins. They feel alone because they’ve lost people close to them, their parents, their schools.

Now, some schools are reorganizing. But these schools are starting to reopen, they’re asking that the children pay tuition each month and no one has any money. It costs $50 for one month of school for a 15-year-old. Public schools are almost non-existent and the ones that exist are all facing terrible problems and are all about to close anyway.

So I tell the youth to have hope in God and in prayer. And it’s in prayer that they can take hope in a greater soul.

What I would like to share with other youth from other countries, is to come visit our youth, to give them a new sense of hope, to encourage them in their suffering. Because the way of hope in Haiti has obstacles and darkness.

After January 12, we had so many countries that came to help us, so we really saw that we can really count on our friends from the exterior. When we see Haiti in the news–on CNN, BBC, and all the big press agencies from all over the world–it will open the youth’s eyes to see that Haiti counts in the eyes of the international community. That pluri-cultural exchange would renew a lot of hope among our youth.

Hope isn’t something you can see, but if youth come from the outside and encourage us, the Haitian youth will think, There is hope. We can rebuild. It’s those words that those youth from the exterior are going to tell us. Haiti has a second chance, it can rise from the ashes, it can have hope. So, let’s do it!

The best thing for foreigners to do is to integrate themselves in the daily life of the Haitians, help them and counsel them. Integration means sleeping, living, eating with the Haitians, helping us in our daily lives. The foreigners can share with us their story and their way of life, the Bible, how they see the gospel, how they see the church of today. It’s important to have people who speak French (and we try to have people who speak English) so that there are good translators.

We have such similar praise and worship styles, too. Sometimes we sing American-style worship songs in English.

Our brothers should think of coming to see us and really see how we live. And, I’d like to send a really big thank you for participation from this mission [CHC].

I think of Matthew. “I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” That’s that Jesus visiting, Jesus is the living example. And he encourages us to do it, too.”

• That the shipping container will make it off the boat and clear customs in time for Monday.
• That political unrest and protests would not deter pastors from traveling to Port-au-Prince for the retreat.
• For the hearts of the pastors who will attend and those who will be ministering to them.