Why am I in Haiti on Christmas Day? The short answer is, I’m here for the reason we celebrate this day: The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). The longer answer is: Praying and working with our Haitian team, we identified four good times each year to train church leaders here. The last two weeks of December are one of those times. Carnival (Mardi Gras) week, Easter holidays and July are the other three times. As in the U.S., schools are closed here and most people take time away from work so these are good time for many church leaders to attend our PPI courses. Also, most Haitians don’t celebrate the holidays the way we do in the United States (more on that below) so they’re available – and eager! – to take part in our training.

We had a good first week of training in Cap Haitien. Thank you for praying for us! A total of 44 pastors studied and discussed the mission and strategy of Jesus’ church in Course 3, and 112 church leaders learned to use the Thompson Bible as a foundational tool for their ministries in Course 1. A group of six church leaders (pictured) came together from Hinche (pronounced like Ensh), the chief city of the Centre Department and a several hours’ ride to Cap Haitien over rough and sometimes dangerous roads. During our ceremony/recognition time yesterday, one pastor from the group stood up to thank us for coming. He said, “We heard about PPI training and came when another pastor invited us. Many pastors in Hinch need this training. We are praying that the Lord will bring you to Hinch soon.”

We’re now in Ouanaminthe, where we’ll lead Course 3 with 130 church leaders before I head back to the U.S. on Thursday to celebrate New Year’s with my family.

This Christmas morning, I’ll speak at Pastor Isaiah’s church on Poukisa Jezi te Vini (“Why Jesus Came”). Afterward we’ll enjoy Christmas lunch together. Haitians do Christmas differently. For starters, Haitian church leaders point out that Christmas has become more about greed than about God. Besides we’re not sure when Jesus was born, but probably not on December 25. Add to that the economic realities of Haiti and you understand why you won’t see Christmas trees, gifts, lavish decorations and big Christmas dinners in homes here.

Christians in Haiti have a simpler focus. They enjoy a simple dinner with their families, talk, possibly sing  and pray together. Then before the new year, they rearrange a room or buy something new for a room in their house. That’s probably closer to the way believers through history have celebrated the coming of our Savior. But I did see a neon Joyeaux Noelle (Merry Christmas!) sign in a store in Cap Haitien and also heard “Jingle Bells” (in Creole) on the radio.

All the best to you and your family today as you worship the Son of God and remember that He came to give us forgiveness, joy and purpose in our lives. Enjoy the pictures below.

Because God so loved the world,

Ken

I’m in Turkey this week – not the bird but the country – and my heart is so full I don’t know where to start! First, some explanation: I’m at the ICETE conference in Izmir, Turkey (Izmir is modern day Smyrna – Rev 1:11 and 2:8). PPI joined the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) last year. Formed in 1980, ICETE is the main development and accrediting organization for evangelical Bible colleges, seminaries and increasingly nonformal training programs like PPI in all regions of the world. Over 500 leaders from 90 nations gathered this week to work on mainly 1) quality guidelines for nonformal pastors training and 2) effective ways for leaders of Bible colleges/seminaries (formal theological education) and nonformal training to partner together. It’s been an amazing week on so many levels.

For starters, I took part in a working track called Relevant Quality Assurance by and for Nonformal Theological Education. For three days, we hammered out how best to assess our training programs and improve their effectiveness in instilling Biblical truth, growing godly character and developing leadership skills. You’ve heard me talk about PPI’s commitment to “whole person training” not just head knowledge, so you can imagine how affirming and challenging this track was for me!

Another highlight of this week was meeting, talking, praying and worshipping with ministry leaders from around the world. My roommate, Dr. Emiola Nihinlola, is the president of Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary. Emiola and I talked at length about how Western believers like us can best help African seminaries and Bible colleges. Indian church leaders, Babu and Nigel, told me their regional government (strongly influenced by Hinduism) recently made it illegal for Christians to meet in homes – where they’re growing in Christ and sharing the gospel with others. They’re still allowed to meet in church buildings. Nigel said, “The government knows where the real energy of the church is!”

The Lord put me together with Tim Muthyala, another Indian ministry leader and a Dallas Seminary grad, who is putting Bible and ministry courses online for anyone to access. This is the first online ministry training in the Telugu language, which has over 80 million speakers. Tim also recently published the first ministry training book in Telugu, a sharply written and illustrated Bible atlas. He plans to publish 11 more key resources for Telugu-speaking Christians and church leaders.

You could hear a pin drop on Wednesday morning when ministry leaders from Ukraine told about the impact of the Russian invasion on their families, churches, colleges, and communities. Despite their hardship, they are trusting in God and continue to encourage and train Ukrainian church leaders. They also made an emotional and pointed appeal to Russian evangelical church leaders (some at the conference) to break their silence and speak out against the Russian government’s unjust invasion of Ukraine and their soldier’s brutal treatment of Ukrainian citizens. We took several minutes to pray for Ukraine and Russia, especially those Christians at our conference.

I made good connections with leaders of the Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association, ICETE’s regional agency in Caribbean nations as well as leaders of STEP seminary in Port au Prince Haiti. I’m returning home with a full heart, so thankful for conversations to follow up on and good steps forward to ensure the excellence and effectiveness of PPI pastors training. What a week!