Renewal's Response to Haiti

Posted Sun, 01/24/2010 - 4:01pm by Matt

Below is a letter that the elders of Renewal Church sent to our covenant partners this week describing the ways in which we would encourage our people to prayerfully respond to the destruction over the past weeks in Haiti.  

 Renewal Covenant Partners,   

            The events of this past week have been gripping in both their scope and effects.  It is with great sadness and sympathy that many of us watch has our brothers and sisters in Haiti struggle with one of the great natural disasters our world has seen.  It seems that with each passing day, the stories of personal tragedy and loss are multiplied a hundred times over.  And, for those of us who love Jesus, our hearts convicted that we should do something - even something seemingly small.  During times of crisis it is vital that the church takes the lead in loving our world well.  
            To that end the elders and staff of Renewal Church have prayerfully been considering how to best encourage those that we love and serve at Renewal Church to pray, give, and serve those in Haiti.  Our desire is not simply to give, but to give and partner with gospel-centered churches and ministries that have the indigenous leaders and organizational structure in place to best facilitate effective stewardship of the resources that we might to able to provide.  To that end, here are the suggestions we have as to how you might meaningfully invest in those that are suffering. 
·     
         Pray - pray daily, intentionally, and fervently that the God of all grace and mercy would shower those that are grieving with the love found only in Jesus and that you would heighten the awareness of Haitians and others around the world of the reality of death for all of mankind and the need for the truth and hope of the gospel.
·      Go - Over the days ahead we are going to be connecting with other churches in the Greenville area and around the world to asses the needs that may arise and how we might serve the local churches in Haiti that have been destroyed.  One such team (www.churcheshelpingchurches.com) is on the ground in Haiti now assessing the needs of the country and they plan to report back to churches across the United States on what we can do to serve.  We are currently canvassing our contacts to discern ongoing opportunities for partnership long after the first response teams are gone. 
·      Give - Because of the nature of our church planting efforts at this point, our best option to give is to funnel money to ministries that have a much more developed infrastructure to serve those in need.  Should your heart be prompted to give toward the relief effort, we have provided the links of several organizations that we feel have the ability to effectively minister to the people of this country.  Each of these organizations has the potential for online donations.  
As we all continue to process with this tragedy may your heart be turned to Jesus - who is more valuable than anything - even life itself. 
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea."  Psalm 46:1-2