Rena and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your family and friends! Since Christmas and 2023 are just around the corner, we put together a short video to update you on Partnership of Pastors and us personally. This has been a full and fruitful year! We hope the update is informative and encouraging. Thank you again for your fervent prayers and faithful support. We’re honored to partner with you in encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries. By God’s grace, let’s continue to pursue this vision together in 2023!

Can we get real about missions for a minute? Most Americans I know and meet have a heart to help people in countries like Haiti. And as the wealthiest generation in human history, we should give willingly, regularly and generously to those whose basic needs – basic needs! – consistently go unmet. Too often, however, we’re not sure of the best way to help or which ministries/organizations we can trust to serve effectively. Our giving can go wrong. These “giving guidelines” may help you on this Giving Tuesday:

1. Make your giving gospel-centered. The heart of every problem in our world is the problem of the heart. That’s why individuals being rescued and discipled in the good news of Jesus provides the foundation for improved nutrition, healthcare, economy, infrastructure and government. We have to be crystal clear on the essential truths of the gospel (hence, PPI’s Course 2) and passionately committed to making disciples (hence, PPI Courses 3-5). Good deeds without the good news don’t last and, worse, too quickly go wrong. People need rescue by Christ, not just relief.

2. Give to provide a hand up, not just a handout. Let me say what we all know: Providing handouts may make the giver (us) feel good, but too often does the receiver little good. God created each of us in His own image to create, work and live with purpose. That’s why all of us need “the dignity of earned success,” as Wayne Grudem said in The Poverty of Nations. “Free” meals, clothes, houses, church buildings, books, etc. cost the receiver in dignity, initiative and opportunity. In nations like Haiti, handouts from the United States often undermine small businesses in the communities they’re meant to help. That’s why PPI doesn’t just give out Bibles. Church leaders earn Bibles as they complete our courses. Give to ministries/organizations that empower people to solve their own problems biblically, creatively and persistently.

3. Give to those who are learning and partnering, rather than telling and doing.

A few years ago in Haiti, a group of young Americans interrupted our pastors training to recruit help in setting up their evangelistic event in the city park. Their pastor – also American – would be the key speaker. The Haitian pastor of our host church in the city is an amazing man of God. He is gifted, proven and widely respected in the city. He jumped up to help. I couldn’t help but think that we Americans should be serving behind the scenes to set up this evangelistic event for HIM to speak not an American! Our American god complex is real. Colonialism is real. We have so much to learn from brothers and sisters in Christ in nations like Haiti. The more we realize and practice humility and partnership, the more effective we will be in producing fruit that lasts.

4. Give to ministries/organizations with clear accountability and low administrative costs.

Vision is good, but ministries/organizations must be organized well and demonstrate clear financial accountability. Too often this goes wrong in mission ministries and NGOs that, on the surface, are doing good work. Dig deeper and ask questions before giving. Administrative costs should be no more than 10% of the organization’s total budget. Annual budgets and financial statements should be available for review, preferably 2-3 years of financial information. Checks and balances should be in place. We say at PPI that anyone is welcome to review all financial information with the exception of our supporters’ names and contact information. Be wise and be careful.

As Americans, we should give regularly and generously, but also wisely and strategically, to the Lord’s mission in the world. I hope these “giving guidelines” help you do that on this Giving Tuesday! GIVE TO PPI

We recently purchased 336 Thompson Chain Reference Bibles in French. With the 270 Thompson Bibles we have already, this purchase gives us enough Bibles for our Course 1 training this December and all of 2023. Yay! This week, we finalized a purchase of 600 Creole Bibles for our December courses. Early in January, the Lord helping us, we will buy another 700 Creole Bibles for our training in February.

We thank the Lord that we are able to get both Bibles! That’s not a given right now. Everyone is having a harder time getting these Bibles – especially Creole Bibles – because of shipping logistics, increased costs and unrest in Haiti. Contribute toward Bibles HERE

What do these purchases of Bibles allow us to do? As the Lord wills, from now through 2023, we plan to:

• Train over 1450 church leaders in 4 key cities in 3 Departments of Haiti
• Award Thompson Bibles to 450 pastors who complete PPI Course 1
• Distribute up to 3100 Creole Bibles to church leaders who successfully complete any PPI course
• Through trained pastors, touch the lives of 15,000 or more people in Haiti with the life-changing truth of God’s Word!

As the Lord provides funds, we would also like to begin offering training in a second country where we have connections with respected ministry leaders and solid invitations. Pray for us about that!

PPI is a Bible-saturated mission ministry. We’re committed to training church leaders through the Scriptures to shepherd their congregations, live out and proclaim the gospel in their neighborhoods, and address needs in their community on the foundation of gospel truth and disciple-making churches.

The Thompson Bible is our bread and butter in this work. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible is used all over the world to train church leaders, and it is the foundational tool we use in all PPI courses. Why? The Thompson Bible gets church leaders face to face with God’s Word, where they’re led to consider context and allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. (Many of you experienced that in our recent Intro to the Thompson Bible workshops.)

Since we have one swing at raising up godly, Bible-centered pastors, let’s do it right. Let’s help them secure their anchor in the bedrock Truth of God’s Word in all aspects of their personal lives and church leadership.

We’re seeing the fruit of this bread-and-butter commitment in pastors and churches in Haiti, and we praise God for it! A young pastor, Alfraél St-Armand, came up to me on the last day of our Course 1 training in July. He was bubbling over with joy. He shook my hand and thanked me again and again for our training and the Thompson Bible – which he had just earned. He then handed me a note he had written. One sentence really gripped me. Pastor Alfraél wrote, “So, I don’t know how I can [tell] you thanks for this training [in] the Word of God.”

This is why we push through shipping problems, increased costs and logistical issues to buy Thompson Bibles and Creole Bibles for pastors and churches in Haiti. Thanks so much for helping us do it!

We believe God uses local churches led by godly, well-trained leaders to change lives, communities and nations for Christ. That’s why PPI focuses on encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries. That’s why we’re committed to offering six foundational courses to international pastors.

We pray and prepare each PPI course to:

• Ground church leaders in key Biblical truths such as the inspiration of Scripture and the gospel
• Move their hearts to live out these truths in their personal lives and their churches for God’s glory
• Further develop pastors’ study skills using the Thompson Chain Reference Bible
• Reinforce Christ-like character and godly habits of life
• Refine ministry and leadership skills and wisdom

Our courses are foundational. We intend for pastors to build on what they’re learning through further study, ministry experience and fellowship with other church leaders. Our training doesn’t replace or compete with Bible college or seminary education, rather we work to complement and encourage more formal ministry training. But the hard truth is, MOST front-line church leaders in poor countries lack access to formal ministry training. That’s why we take foundational ministry training to them!

All that guides us as we put together our PPI courses.

I just finished writing Course 3 – Leading Jesus’ Church (Mission and Strategy). We’ll offer this twice in December in Haiti. What foundational Biblical truths about the church and its mission do pastors need to understand well, believe to their toes, and practice with excellence? What practical wisdom and skills do pastors need to live out and lead their congregations based on those truths? I asked myself these two questions repeatedly in writing this course, and I prayed fervently that the Lord would guide me in answering them. I’m excited about the result!

A Few Highlights

Here are a few highlights to give you a taste of the content of this course.

• From the introduction:

In 30 years’ time, the early church carried the good news about Jesus to the known world. They won thousands of people to Christ, discipled them, raised up leaders and planted churches. These new churches carried on this same mission. They accomplished all this despite problems, poverty and persecution!

How did they do it? What made the early church so effective? How can our churches make that kind of impact today? In this course, we will learn from Scripture the principles and practices of Jesus’ church so that each of our churches can be a New Testament church in our generation to the glory of God.

• Scriptures we study in-depth:
  • Matthew 16:13-18
  • Acts 1-2
  • Matthew 28:16-20
  • Ephesians 4:7-13

• Some of the “topic chains” we study in Thompson Bible:
  • The mission of Jesus
  • The church established by God
  • Christ, the Head of the church
  • The church’s mission
  • Spiritual maturity and Spiritual immaturity

• Key assignments: 

• • ASSIGNMENT 8 (with your group) – Maturity or Immaturity. Study the topics Spiritual maturity [997] and Spiritual immaturity [998] (Fr. Maturité spirituelle [1051] and Immaturité spirituelle [1052]). Based on your study, write your definition of a true disciple of Jesus.

• • ASSIGNMENT 9 (with your group) – Church programs and making disciples? Everything your church does should fulfill Jesus’ mission of making disciples. Everything! Which of your church programs best 1) help people understand and respond to the gospel or 2) help people grow to maturity in Christ or 3) both? Which programs could you improve to make disciples better? Write your answers below.

  • ASSIGNMENT 11 (with others from your church or alone) – My Church’s Strategy. Write a strategy for your church. Make it biblical and practical. Feel free to use your notes from other assignments in this course.

Translation and Printing

Pastor Isaiah and his team just finished their initial translation of Course 3 into the Creole language. This week and next, we will collaborate on the final translation, then I will format the Creole workbook, double-check everything then send it to the printer. It’s a labor of love – and we pray has great impact on the pastors, churches and communities of Haiti!