Family and Friends,
Day 102 of our Haiti Adventure!
This truly is the half-way point of our first stint here in Haiti. 102 day from now (May 31) we plan to return to the states to visit family and supporting churches. We are enjoying a relaxing week with a small team visiting to take photos for the school programs. Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support! It means a lot to us. Please keep reading to learn more about the future Bible School project...
This post will share a little bit more of the vision for the Bible School, a future project of Mission Haiti. All of the ideas are intentionally broad and undefined at this point as we continue to study Haitian culture and wait on God to give us wisdom and direction how to best serve the people. If you want to read part one of this series, please check the post from February 8, "The Bible School: PART ONE." Please consider adding Mission Haiti's Bible School to your personal prayer list, and if a project like this is something you would be interested in partnering with in some way, please do not hesitate to contact us with your ideas and suggestions.
Let's back up and review a bit. The first distinctive we shared last time was to describe a program that values both academic learning and also practical application in the same educational setting. Not only will these be values, but they will be requirements of the students. In fact, all efforts will be made to equally balance the time each student spends in study and active ministry. This first distinctive flows naturally into the second and third distinctives, which are interrelated:
#2- The students will be immersed in the community and the culture of Haiti
#3- Our dependence on large facilities and budgets will be kept at a minimum
One of my favorite seminary professors used to point out how churches and ministries often fall into the trap of measuring their success by “buildings, butts, and budgets.” We want to avoid thinking that way. All of these measurements can definitely parallel growth, but they can also quickly become a yolk around your neck forcing you down a path you never intended to go.
It might surprise you to hear this, but Christians in Haiti share the lust of American Christians for expensive facilities and the hype of the big crowds. For example, Pam has often talked about how churches change dramatically in character when they can finally buy a big (and often nasty sounding) sound system with cheap microphones which painfully distort the voices and instruments. We have also written before about the problems here with the requirements of many churches that people wear nice, expensive clothes to get into worship and how the Pastor is seen as the big man in town with all the money, etc...
We want to do something very different with our ministry training. Probably the best model for these distinctives can be found in Luke 10, where Jesus sends out the disciples-in-training in pairs with no money or food and tells them simply to share the gospel message with the people, look for a “man of peace” to stay with, and trust God that everything will be taken care of.
In keeping with that strategy for raising up leaders, we won't separate the students from the community by hiding them away in big dormitories and secluded classroom facilities. Instead, we plan to send out the students to stay two-by-two in host-homes right here in the local community, and classes will be held in church buildings and other existing facilities. Students will quickly learn the local language and customs as they serve their host families and share meals and everyday life with them day by day. The people of the community and the churches will have a sense of partnership and ownership in everything we are doing and will be able to benefit from the work of the students who will seek to build up existing churches through evangelism, Bible instruction, prayer, and service of every kind.
It is pretty obvious to see how this will keep our dependence on facilities and large budgets at a minimum. Of course there still may be a need for some kind of modest facility at some point. One thing that comes to mind is a high-tech classroom where various teachers can offer classes here from anywhere in the world. But the basic value and principle will remain the same, to do everything we can to keep the students immersed in the lives of the people, and to keep our dependence on finances to a minimum.
Keep praying and dreaming with us on this project, and we'll see God do something special!
God Bless!
-The Grimms
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