Latin America: Haiti

Mission History

World Missions entered Haiti in late 1986 to help church leaders become more effective agents in struggling with the physical and spiritual needs of many who are members of their churches and communities. Since then the focus has broadened to include training for teachers, development of Christian school curriculum and the preparation of Christian discipleship and Bible study materials. Today missionaries with World Missions and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) work together in Haiti as a united ministry team to provide a more holistic approach to ministry. Known locally as Sous Espwa (meaning “fountain or source of hope”), they seek to point Haiti’s people to their only Source of Hope, Jesus Christ.

Culture

Columbus landed on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1492 on his maiden voyage to the Americas. French buccaneers later used the island as a point from which to attack English and Spanish ships. Spain ceded the western third of the island to France in 1697. In 1804 slaves on the island fought against the French to gain their independence and named the country Haiti.

Today, Haiti has over seven million people and is one of the most densely populated and economically poor nations in the Western Hemisphere. About the size of Maryland, it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Two-thirds of the country is rough mountainous terrain. Most Haitians are of African descent. A majority live in rural areas, though recent years have seen increased urbanization.

The two official languages of Haiti are French and Creole, with only a small minority able to speak the former. The state religion, adhered to by the majority, is Roman Catholicism; 30 percent of the people consider themselves Protestant. Haitian voodoo is still widely practiced, even within “Christian” circles, since voodoo is as much a world view (a way to understand one’s circumstances) as a religion.

Haiti has been in the news frequently over the last 15 years because of it’s political instability and economic uncertainty. Despite this, ministries continue to make inroads into the lives of the Haitian people.

Mission & Vision

Missionaries with World Missions are reaching out to the broader evangelical community by facilitating needed training and training resources for church and other community leaders.

Three Primary Ministries of the Christian Training Center 

1. Providing practical pastoral training to church leaders from a variety of denominational backgrounds through 12 extention centers around the country.
2. Offering monthly seminars and follow-up visits to participating school teachers through two extension centers.
3. Producing and distributing simple Bible study materials through local churches and other missions to lead people into a closer walk with God.

The Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education in Haiti was inititated by World Missions to prepare Christian school curriculum to meet some of the educational needs of students in Christian schools being developed around Haiti. It is presently comprised of some 40 evangelical and protestant, national and international development organizations working in Haiti.

The Christian Reformed Church of Haiti is working to establish a denomination where members are rooted in God’s Word and able to provide an effective witness under trying circumstances. It also seeks to be an indigenous church that is not so dependent on foreign missions for leadership and financial resouces like many other churches in Haiti.

Besides these ministries, partner missionaries teach at Quisqueya Christian School, an English speaking school in Port-au-Prince with a mix of both missionary and Haitian children.

Results

Despite ongoing political and economic uncertainty, God continues to prove faithful. The Christian Training Center recently set up a board of directors and hired their first national director. Thirty-eight church leaders graduated after three years of training in two extension centers, with another 170 continuing their studies on a weekly basis. There were also 150 teacher participants representing 26 schools and 6,250 students that participated in monthly seminars in the teacher-training program. In addition, some 30,000 Bible correspondence course have been distributed to date.

The Consortium for the Reinforcement of Christian Education in Haiti recently attained legal recognition and set up an office, and through the particpation of half-a- dozen Haitian educations, preliminary outlines for Bible curriculum content have been laid out for grades 1 to 6. Fund raising efforts have begun in order to support the preparation of these much needed curricular materials.

The Christian Reformed Church of Haiti, which became formally organized after nearly 13 years of struggling to define itself, held their first national assembly in 2000. World Missions provides limited financial and consultative support, helping them in their desire to develp as a truly indigenous and Reformed denomination. The Haitian CRC currently reports 17 church groups with 1,007 baptized and another 1,431 attendees in 826 families.

The doors of opportunity are wide open for World Missions to work along side the Haitian people and help them reach new levels of Christian maturity. Missionaries seek the support and encouragement of the North American church to help make it happen.

Prayer & Support

The most important gift you can give missionaries is a daily prayer for their lives and work. At any given time Christian Reformed World Missions supports over 200 long-term and short-term missionaries located in over 20 countries around the world. Through partnerships, our work extends to over 30 countries. These people have been called, commissioned, and sent by Christian Reformed churches to represent our devotion to Jesus Christ, and to urge others to accept His offer of salvation.

Here’s a partial list of items to pray for on behalf of missionaries:

• emotional needs
• physical needs
• relationships with other missionaries
• relationships with nationals
• relationship with God
• effective ministry
• family life

Financial support is also crucial for the ongoing work of bringing the Good News around the world. Support can be given for specific missionaries, or specific projects can be found in the “Project Giving Guide” at your church or available from the World Missions offices in either the United States or Canada.

The Christian Reformed World Missions Team in Haiti

Tony and Mary DeKoter, Partner Teacher, Quisqueya
Jenny LeMahieu, Associate missionary
Lesley Millar, Associate missionary
Zachary and Sharon Segaar-King (Hannah, Vivian and Isaac), Leadership Training
Howard and Ruth Van Dam (Taressa, Natasha, Micah & Mallieke), Leadership Training

More Resources

Videos
Video-2001 Beyond the Mountains: Hope for Haiti (15 min./4 min.)
Video-2003 The Great Adventure
Video-2000 From Haiti: A Tribute (12 min.)
Video-1994 Treasure Island (14 min.)

Proclaim: May-June 2001
• Download the Word Document (14pg, 56k)
• Download the PDF (18pg, 236k)

Proclaim: February-March 2001
• Download the Word Document (13pg, 52k)
• Download the PDF (17pg, 224k)