“What are you currently doing to effect the transformation of Haiti?”

We understand that we are simply one of a number of individuals and organizations that the Holy Spirit is leading at this time to serve Him in spiritual revival for Haiti. So far, our own calling from the Lord seems to come under the following ministries:

1)      Find the spiritual “Rahabs” of the Church in Haiti. These are seemingly unlikely people who are carrying a burden in their hearts for renewal and revival. Perhaps individuals who are interceding night and day, not for money or food or material things, but for the Lord’s presence to descend upon His people, and then upon the nation. Perhaps unknown pastors of small churches who teach and lead their people in seeking the presence of the Lord in a depth of reality beyond what we find in most churches.

2)      Share the renewal/revival messages that the Lord has placed on my heart. I preach these messages in every place and at every opportunity I am given in Haiti. Now I pray for the strength to be able to record them, a whole series of messages for the Church and Nation, that will find favor with the major radio stations.

3)      Do whatever is possible to influence the worship life of congregations, to lead them “to the Throne” in a depth of “spirit and truth” in stead of performance or ritualistic worship. The praise and worship music that I have translated into Haitian Creole (songbook plus 8 demonstration CDs) are now available at the two main Christian radio stations that cover the nation, the Christian bookstore in Port-au-Prince, and the airport gift shops.

4)      The dream (so far only a dream) of a 24-hour-a-day House of Prayer and Renewal for the Nation, which would also be a training and inspiration center for pastors, intercessors, worship leaders and musicians.

5)      The raising up of a team of Dominicans and Haitians (now assembling in Santo Domingo), training and preparing them for a “spiritual invasion” of Haiti. This began as a number of Dominican pastors were burdened for the revival not only of their nation, but for the deliverance of Haiti as the necessary beginning. This work is now being done by Pastor Esdras Jean-Pierre (HGM Associate, Haitian pastor living in Santo Domingo).

“What spiritual warfare techniques do you employ?”

We are not so concerned about techniques. In fact, it seems that many if not most “techniques” are practiced in Haiti by people who have no spiritual authority to do what they are doing. The spiritual warfare ministry is one which must follow renewal and unity in the Church of Jesus Christ. Some Haitian pastors, misguided by zealous foreign mission teams, go to various places to “cry out against the powers and principalities.” They have good hearts in doing this, but do little to dislodge long-ruling spirits, because those authorized to effectively do such ministries (as we understand God’s order) are the pastors and leaders of His Church IN UNITY with one another, of which there is still very little at the current time. I do not engage in solo spiritual warfare ministries, but rather seek to draw people to move into the place of UNITY where those kinds of ministries will be effective. But in the right places, under the right conditions, when the time is right, there is definitely a place for prophetic acts, spiritual warfare engagements, identificational repentance, and the like.

 “What do the Haitian people need most from mission groups at this present time?”

First, I’ll tell you what the Haitian people do not need most from mission groups. They do not need money. Don’t get me wrong; Haiti needs money, and lots of it, but at this time it would be so good for mission groups to develop and demonstrate spiritual authority unattached to money. Haitian Christians have come to believe, and rightly, that the only reason mission groups come is to bring them money. Over and over again I have seen the power of US money destroy the spirituality of a Haitian church.

I sat with a group of pastors in a Haitian city many years ago, who were all attached to one denomination. They were extremely poor, mostly lay preachers who gathered small congregations in rural areas. They were filled with joy ion telling me how the Lord was working miracles among them in response to faith and prayer. A US denomination “adopted” them, and started pouring massive amounts of money into them, building church buildings, giving the pastors vehicles, fronting various money-making businesses, paying monthly schoolteacher and pastor salaries and bringing numbers of them to the US for further education. It wasn’t too long until the only “miracles” spoken about were financial “miracles,” and then began the constant search and requests for more and more money, for more and more projects. A little bit of money, giving the pastors bicycles, and deepening ministries of prayer and intercession, could have led to a massive transformation in that area, but instead the Holy Spirit appears to have left that denomination to revel only in its big buildings and cars…that is until recent floods came and washed it all away. Now they are raising more money from US sources to rebuild all that the floods washed away.

In 2004, I was introduced to a Haitian pastor named Amèl Lafleur. It was another pastor, a close friend of his, who had agreed to bring me to preach at an evening service at Pastor Amèl’s church. When we arrived, the church was packed with people already worshiping even before the service was scheduled to start. I was taken into a large room where Pastor Amèl had gathered all the elders and leaders of his church. After meeting me, he began to explain to me that he never allowed American preachers to speak in his church. Why? Because he had seen American money destroy the spiritual life of too many other Haitian churches, and he didn’t want any of the false gospel messages that circulate around the US to enter his congregation.

We sat down in a big circle in that room while right next door about five hundred people had jammed the church, the hallways, and even the stairways, singing with all their might with hands and hearts lifted before the Throne. They rent the building they use for worship, and the owner does not allow them to use any instruments for worship, so the sound of the unaccompanied voices was even more amazing to my ears. Pastor Amèl said to me, “Please take about thirty minutes and speak to me and the leaders of this church about your calling in Haiti. Why are you here? What are the major themes of your message to the church in Haiti? Speak to us whatever the Lord puts on your heart.”

I had only spoken for about one minute when suddenly the Holy Spirit seemed to deeply touch everyone in the room. The pastors and all the leaders began to weep and even wail from the deep impact upon them of the words I was speaking. I had never before experienced anything like it. When I was finished, Pastor Amèl walked up to me and said, “Pastor Jim, please come and speak to our congregation. Speak anything at all that the Holy Spirit puts on your heart. You are welcome here any time.” Since that time, I have asked Pastor Amèl to serve as counsel and “cover” over my ministry in Haiti. He represents to me one of God’s “Rahabs” for the nation, and we have developed a mutual trust and respect, in which I am free to report everything I am doing in Haiti with him, to seek his counsel and prayers. In return, I am given apostolic freedom and authority to speak whatever words the Lord gives me to his congregation. Please realize, this is a very unusual situation for me to find anywhere in Haiti.

My words are probably too difficult for most people to comprehend, but I’ve grown weary watching mission team after mission team come to Haiti to build something on earth that has little or no impact on the everlasting Kingdom of Heaven, while almost never seeing a team that is dedicated to things of the Spirit that will last forever. I am interested in taking teams to Haiti who would be delighted to dedicate themselves to prayer, fasting worship, and the Road that leads to renewal and revival, the road that begins with repentance, humility, and unity. Unfortunately, most US churches aren’t too interested in ministries of the Spirit…they want to take gifts, give money, build buildings, hand out clothes, and feed children. These are all good things, but the other is more important and so rarely done.