Haiti (MNN) — Haiti has experienced significant spiritual revival since the January 2010 earthquake. And with a growing church, the country is in even more desperate need of trained leaders to disciple and guide it.
Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach was in Haiti recently conducting a conference to help train church leaders.
Typically, this conference is limited to elders, pastors, and high-up leadership in churches. This year, Christian World Outreach wanted even more leaders to benefit from the training. They opened it up to leaders in multiple areas of the church, including children's ministry and worship.
As 160 church leaders gathered, the focus of the conference came clearly into view.
"The focus itself kind of came around to working together as churches to present the Gospel and to help each other," says Yoder.
Leaders caught the vision. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, yet by the end of the conference, these leaders had gathered all they could in an offering to support a church that's in need of a new building. Most of those leaders haven't been to the collapsing church, but they began to recognize the importance of surrounding other believers with aid and love.
CWO's Yoder says in Haiti, this sort of unity is especially vital. "What's going to really make a difference in Haiti is when the churches come together and work together and show that to the rest of the country."
Some of the young Haitian pastors even helped preach this message, excited to rev up the leaders to reach their communities by example.
Now that the conference is over, the key is to put the principles learned into practice. "Pray that they see some fruit of their ministry. That's always encouraging," says Yoder. "And [pray] that they apply some of the things they learned."
Christian World Outreach has multiple programs running in Haiti, including a ministry providing safety and job security for women living in tent cities. To learn more about their work in Haiti and around the world, click here.
