Haiti Field encourages pastors to lead like Christ
The Church of the Nazarene in Haiti hosted a pastors’ conference 5-8 November. The event took place at the Nazarene Seminary campus with participation from nearly 150 pastors across the country. Field Strategy Coordinator Pierre Antoine Jacques and Haiti Nazarene Theological Seminary President Jean Robert Maitre organized the event.
Participating speakers included USA/Canada Multicultural Ministries Coordinator Roberto Hodgson, South Florida District Superintendent Brian Wilson, South Florida District Board of Ministry Chair Dan Cupp, and USA/Canada Haitian Ministries Coordinator Pascal Permis.
The event centered around the leadership model of Jesus and his principles. All the participants were encouraged to adopt this strategy in a way that allows them to reach new areas and people.
"The conference was a great blessing as the Lord's presence was evident in every worship service and during the preaching of holiness,” Wilson said. “The workshops that addressed the principles of leadership had excellent content and were very well received. Field Strategy Coordinator Jacques and the president of the seminary Maitre were very gracious hosts and created an excellent program and an atmosphere of optimism regarding the future of the Church of the Nazarene in Haiti. We are anticipating that the next few years will continue to see a great harvest of souls and a large number of new churches planted and many new leaders developed for the service of the kingdom of God.”
The pastors said the event was a blessing and that Nazarenes around the world are invited to continue praying for Haiti, especially for the areas and churches affected by natural disasters in recent years.
"I was grateful to see the pastors' enthusiasm and the way they worshiped the Lord and how they expressed gratitude for the content of the conference,” Permis said. “Many of them made great sacrifices to come, some traveled more than 12 hours to participate, and some crossed entire mountains on foot to get to the place where they could access the public transportation. For many, it was the first conference they attended in several years."