The last few days have been a whirlwind. On Thursday morning we met with Pastor James. He had a heavy heart for all that had happened in Haiti. By the end of the day plans were in place to begin a new ministry called "Churches Helping Churches". Much has happened over the last 72 hours.
Pastor James preached this weekend on the last days. There are some incredible things to consider when asking whether we are in the last days. From 1900-2000 there were roughly 20 earthquakes over 6.0 per decade. In other words every decade there were around 20 earthquakes. This last decade there were...over 130! We're talking over 5 times more!!! I was blown away by that stat. Christ told us one of the signs of the coming of the son of man and the end of the age was that there would be earthquakes in various places. (Matthew 24:3-8)This last century there were also more martyrs than the previous 1900 years combined. (Matthew 24:9)There is no doubt that Christ could return at anytime. Christ after telling us what the signs of His coming will be warned us to be ready for He will return at a time when we will not expect (Matthew 24:44). Are you ready for His return?
We were tasked with finding contacts in Haiti from the churches there. In the last 72 hours I have learned a lot about Port au Prince and the work that the church is doing there during this great time of trial for the people of Haiti. As many of you have seen, the situation there is terrible. One contact directed me to a pastor and this was his situation..."he has a group of churches in ruins and most of their pastors are dead or disappeared." Many church buildings have been destroyed. We heard of a large evangelical church seating 1500 that had just been finished, and it was completely destroyed. Everyone is still sleeping outside, because of the after tremors and the disrepair of the buildings that are still standing.
Here is what a President of a Seminary there wrote on Friday. "As of today, we know of two pastors homes in New Life Mission (our mission) that have been destroyed and their church buildings. Also, many of their member homes have been destroyed. We know that one of our Bible school teachers lost his home, mother and nephew. Also, we have two other people who work in our mission who have lost homes, and one has lost family members. Those that have been saved from certain disaster have great testimonies of God's deliverance. All who are alive don't care a great deal about what they lost at this time, but are only thankful that they are still alive. One of our pastors was in the church when it fell down on his head. What saved him was the wooden pulpit that he crouched near. The wooden beam fell against it keeping him from the blows and providing a small space for him. He said the destruction took less than five seconds. The mountain the church was on split wide open. I could tell you many stories of devastation, and I can tell you many stories of God's grace and mercy."
We heard many stories such as these.
Lastly, Pastor James, Pastor Mark Driscoll and a team are now en route to Port-Au-Prince. Lord willing they will land tomorrow. Their goal is to help the church in Haiti and to bring back footage of the plight of the church there. PLEASE BE IN PRAYER for them as they go. If you want more information on what is happening there is a now a website: www.churcheshelpingchurches.com.
Check it out, there is an amazing song on there that has images of Haiti. A LOT has happened in the last 72 hours, but Lord willing this will only be the beginning of churches in North America helping churches who are in need around the world. This time it will be for Haiti and it is our prayer that God will use this to build His church before He comes to take her to be with Him.
If you believe that God is prompting you to be a part of the relief effort you can give via www.churcheshelpingchurches.com. Be in prayer for the people of Haiti.
Harvest Bible Chapels Helping Haiti from HBF Church Plants on Vimeo.
Pastor Mark's Prayer for Haiti from harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.