Love Haiti Missions Project joins HORT (plus thoughts on giving wisely)

This morning Greg Shepherd was on his way to the Dominican Republic. The DR was just a stop on his the way to Haiti to lead a team for the Florida Baptist Convention. Greg is the President of the Love Haiti Missions Project, which he describes as a "small ministry that God uses to do big things."

Greg's team in Haiti oversees 130 churches, 60 schools, and multiple homes for orphans. Greg also works with a significant denomination in Haiti that has 790 churches throughout the country. That makes Greg just the type of guy to connect with the Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT), a multi-agency, long-term effort to mobilize Haiti's churches to be the immediate rescue and care mechanism for hundreds of thousands of orphaned and displaced children. As a result, the Love Haiti Missions Project is now a part of the HORT initiative.

According to the Love Haiti Missions Project website:

"The core of all we do . . . is for the children. Compelled by God's call we work to reach orphans and other children in dire need. At Love Haiti Missions Project, we follow the biblical directive to rescue, love and care for orphans. We believe that when we do, we are following Christ's commandment and are acting as His hands and feet. We believe it is not just the responsibility of those who are called to full-time ministry to be concerned for orphans, but that it is the responsibility of all believers and Christ-followers."

The Haiti Orphan Relief Team member organizations understand that Haiti needs a "hand up" not a "hand out." As such, the goal of the initiative is to partner U.S. churches with Haitian churches in responsible, monitored partnerships that are overseen by trusted organizations who are in Haiti 24/7 with well-defined due diligence and accountability systems. HORT also believes that these relationships should work towards the self-sustainability of Haitian churches, not a dependency on western funding.

Greg said it well in a recent comment he posted on his Website:

GIVING WISELY? Are we killing with Kindness or Empowering Lasting Transformation?

We see the needs. We hear the cries. We respond.

We are challenged, even commanded to respond, but with more than just our hearts and our cash. We must get smart. Wasting money is bad enough. But the fact is that so much of our giving actually does great harm.

Families are divided. Begging cultures are created. Churches are ruined. Good men are corrupted. How? All on the back of good intentions. Giving detached from wisdom.

How are you to gain wisdom regarding your investments? Prayer and information. How do we know if our giving is empowering a lasting transformation? Communication.

Communication indeed. In the context of partnership.

The Haiti Orphan Relief Team holds that wise giving occurs as part of a well-defined, accountable strategy that works with the only true "community-based" solution – churches. Churches know their communities better than any NGO or non-profit organization. Churches already know the culture. Churches already have relevant staff and volunteers and, even after catastrophe, possess infrastructure, ability and passion. Networks of churches offer a well-position, scalable solution.

Join us as we join churches together for the children of Haiti.