We helped our daughter, Katie, move from Dallas to Columbus last week and, along the way, met some very cool people. Can I be Dad for a moment? We’re super proud of Katie! While working in Ann Arbor, she engaged with young adults for Christ through her church, company and living situation. As she did that, she realized she needed more Bible training to effectively reach her generation for Christ. So, during COVID, Katie moved to Dallas to pursue a master’s degree in Evangelism and Apologetics at Dallas Theological Seminary (my alma mater). The Lord gave her favor with her company, which allowed her to work part-time remotely for the last three years. This was a huge blessing to her. And recently, the Lord opened up an amazing internship opportunity for her at Dwell Community Church in Columbus, Ohio. Hence the move. 🙂

Before the heavy lifting, I got to hang around the seminary for two days to work and engage with old and new friends. I engaged with a number of American students on everything from what DTS was like when I was a student (!) to the Rapture to the “big picture” of the Bible. I especially wanted to hear their thoughts on the church and their part in Jesus’ global mission.

Most students I talked with realize our churches need to get back to the basics of solid, contextual Bible preaching/teaching and personal, real-to-life discipleship. They see our temptation to over-emphasize Sunday morning worship services and under-emphasize equipping every believer to live effectively for Jesus in their homes and work places. They’re more aware of our need to engage in Jesus’ mission around the world, especially in poor and restricted-access countries. I came away from these conversations thanking the Lord for DTS and His good work in our next generation!

While working in the Student Center, I also met Sam Skaria, a pastor from India and, since January, a master’s student at DTS. I learned that Sam and his wife, Febe, lead a network of churches in Bangalore, India. After 20 years of church planting and pastoring, Sam believes the Lord is leading him to go deeper in the Scriptures, Christian theology and church leadership. He told me, “I’ve been good at planting and growing churches. We have worked hard at that. But now I must grow more in making disciples and training church leaders.” Amen! More and more, the government of India is passing laws to restrict even outlaw evangelical Christianity.

Sam invited me to have lunch with him and his family the following day. I enjoyed butter chicken and ghee rice with Sam, Febe and their two children. As experienced church leaders, we had good camaraderie and good humor about the ups and downs of pastoral ministry. Will you pray for these sweet servants of Christ as they settle into the United States and Dallas Seminary? Also, please pray specifically for Sam to land an on-campus job that will help with their living expenses.

After getting back home, I talked by phone with Pastor Isaiah and Pastor Jasmin, key members of the PPI training team in Haiti. I love these brothers! We caught up on our families then finalized details for our next training courses in Haiti. We also looked ahead to 2024. Both told me that many pastors thank the Lord for PPI training and that so many pastors are asking about our training!

All this fills me with gratitude to our God and gives me hope. The Lord Jesus is building His church here and around the world! Friends, let’s renew OUR commitment to:

• Knowing and loving our Savior
• Immersing in and obeying His Word
• Boldly, lovingly living for His mission in our families, neighborhood and community
• Praying for, encouraging and resourcing the next generation of Christian leaders

Everybody likes a good deal when they shop. We replaced a car in December to get an end-of-year price (it worked). A few nights ago, Rena and I combed through tons of pendant lights on Build.com to find the right one at the best price for our bathroom remodel (it didn’t work). We shop online, we shop local, we sign up for loyalty and frequent flyer programs. But it’s we who have been programmed. For over 100 years, companies, advertisers, even our government have influenced us to consume. And they – and we – have gotten darn good at it! Work. Buy. Repeat – this soul-numbing cycle defines life for too many Americans.

The truth is, we’re not consumers. God created us and saved us to be sharers with others, not consumers for ourselves. Sharers not consumers. Jesus told us that we experience the greatest joy and purpose in our lives when we give to others, not just get for ourselves. Paul quotes the Lord in Acts 20:35:

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Think about it: When have you experienced the greatest joy and purpose? Was it in buying something special for yourself, or was it in giving something special to someone else? What about times you’ve had opportunity to share what God has given you with a person who needed it? Talk about joy! Talk about a sense of purpose! Talk about blessed!

No question, buying for ourselves gives us a temporary rush. (Neuroscientists tell us it literally gets our mental juices (dopamine) flowing!) That’s why we talk about “retail therapy” and shopping or experience “addiction.” But consumer high lets us down. It doesn’t last so we go looking for the next shiny thing. This materialistic treadmill leaves so many Americans empty and unfulfilled – not to mention left with all the STUFF that clutters our houses, garages, sheds and storage units! We know instinctively that life isn’t meant to be lived this way – especially as followers of Christ.

God has a simple solution to this materialistic morass: Stewardship. Biblical stewardship begins with ownership and moves to wise management with a focus on sharing.

• Ownership – God owns it all, not us. Everything I am and own belongs to God.
• Management – We manage what God entrusts to us for His purposes, not for our own desires.

These two truths alone have the potential to change our lives! Another stewardship principle becomes clear especially when we open our windows on the world:

• Sharing – God intends for us to share what we have to help those in need.

The Lord burned a question on my heart some years ago while in Haiti: How should I live as an American Christian when the basic needs – basic needs! – of so many brothers and sisters in places like Haiti consistently go unmet? I’m convinced the Lord wants me to answer that question by sharing my time, encouragement, love, knowledge, experience and resources with church leaders in Haiti and other developing nations. So many lack access to good ministry training and resources. As part of the wealthiest generation in the history of the Church, we are uniquely placed to do something about that!

If you know Christ, God has called you to take part in His mission around the world, to share your time, encouragement, love, knowledge, experience and resources with others, especially the poor. The Lord places some of us on the “front lines” internationally and many of us on the “supply lines.” But He calls all of us to take part in Jesus’ global mission.

Getting involved in our SUMMER SHOP AND SHARE is a great way to do that! It’s a practical step of stewardship. It’s also easy and fun! You simply identify a need PPI or our Haitian ministry team has right now – you’ll see a number of different options – and give toward a need that resonates with you. You SHOP and then SHARE. You can CLICK BELOW to get started, or use the info you received in the mail. Happy shopping and sharing!

Welcome to our Summer Shop and Share store! If you haven’t already, watch Ken’s video on the “why” behind this special project. If you prefer to read rather than watch, CLICK HERE.

How It Works

Summer Shop and Share is easy and fun! Here’s how it works:

1. SHOP – Look below at the needs PPI or our Haitian ministry team have right now. Read more about and choose one or more needs that resonate with you.
2. SHARE – Give toward that need as the Lord enables you. Click on the need to give online. Or if you prefer to write a check, use the materials and envelope you receive in the mail.

Enjoy shopping and sharing!

30 Ministry Team T-Shirts

Our Haitian ministry team identified PPI T-shirts as one of our next steps. Logo shirts identify our ministry team members for church leaders in our courses and also build team unity. We’re planning an initial order of 30 colored T-shirts with our PPI logo on the front (in French) and, on the back, “EKIP MINISTÈ A” (MINISTRY TEAM) and “Mete spa pou levanjil Bondye a.” Women 1:1 (Set apart for the gospel of God. (Romans 1:1)). Estimated cost – $360 ($12 per shirt). Share SHIRTS here

1 Summer Support-Raising Trip

For two weeks in August, Ken and Pastor Isaiah will travel the U.S. East Coast to update PPI supporters. We also will connect with potential supporters. So far, we have meetings scheduled in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. We’ll drive a fuel-efficient car and, for the most part, will lodge with PPI friends and supporters. Estimated cost – $1500. Share SUPPORT TRIP here

30 Diploma Covers for Graduation

In December, we will participate in the first graduation of The Institute of Evangelical Theology for the Providence of Haiti (ITEPHA). Pastor Jasmin established this Bible college as a direct result of PPI training in Ouanaminthe, and it’s doing well! Ken and PPI Board members have given counsel to Pastor Jasmin and also teach classes for ITEPHA every time we’re in Ouanaminthe. (In 2024, we’ll order similar diploma covers for church leaders who complete ALL six PPI courses.) Estimated cost – $450 ($15 per diploma). Share DIPLOMA COVERS here

784 Thompson Bibles (French)

In 2024, as the Lord provides, we plan to offer 11 PPI courses in Haiti in eight key cities in four different Departments of the country. We award 112 Thompson Bibles every time we offer Course 1. The Thompson Chain Reference Bible is our foundational resource for training indigenous church leaders. We need a total of 784 Bibles for the rest of this year and for 2024! Estimated cost – $23,520 ($30 per Bible). Share THOMPSON BIBLES here 

1500 Course Workbooks

We use course workbooks, translated into Creole, in every PPI course. For the rest of this year and for 2024, we will print a total of 1500 course workbooks. Each course workbook includes instruction and assignments that deepen pastors’ Biblical/theological knowledge, addresses their hearts and character, and sharpens their practical ministry/leadership skills. Estimated cost – $6000 ($40 for 10 workbooks). Share COURSE WORKBOOKS here

1 Communion Serving Set

Pastor Isaiah serves as the second (associate) pastor of a growing church in Ouanaminthe. The congregation of La Boussole (The Compass) shares communion every Sunday and needs a set of communion trays to make serving the Lord’s Supper easier. The problem is, it’s nearly impossible to find these items in Haiti, and if you do, they’re very expensive. Isaiah asked me in April if I could find a communion set for his church and take the cost out of his PPI pay. I think we can do better than that! Let’s bless this congregation with a communion set to remember the Lord’s sacrifice for us. Estimated cost – $300. Share COMMUNION SERVING SET here

1000 Creole Bibles

We provide extra ministry resources to church leaders in each PPI course, Creole Bibles being the most needed. Increasingly, Creole Bibles are difficult to get in Haiti, and they’re expensive.  Estimated cost – $13,500 ($13.50 per Bible). Share CREOLE BIBLES here

460 God-Pleasing Worship books

We give this biblical study of church worship (in Creole translation) to church leaders who complete Course 3 – Leading Jesus’ Church (Mission and Strategy). Worship is a big deal in Haitian churches, as it is in American churches, and Haitian pastors appreciate this book. We’ll reprint copies of this resource this fall in preparation for 2024. Estimated cost – $1840 ($20 for 5 books). Share God-Pleasing Worship books here

300 Moving Missions Forward books

Ken is writing a missions resource for U.S. churches titled Moving Missions Forward in Your Church, which will be ready for publication soon. (More details to come!) This book is a Great Commission-centered and practical guide to assessing, re-focusing, and re-strategizing missions in the local church. All proceeds from the sale of this resource benefit PPI. Estimated cost of initial printing – $1500 ($25 for 5 books). Share in printing MMF books here

In His last hours on earth, Jesus didn’t waste words. In John 14-16 (called Jesus’ “farewell discourse”), the Lord tells His disciples about the special coming and work of the Holy Spirit, and He urges them to pray, specifically to ask. Ten times, the Lord encourages us to ask. Ask the Father. Ask in His name. Ask for anything with three purposes in mind:

1. That the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:12-14)
2. That we may bear much and lasting fruit (John 15:7-8, 16)
3. That our joy may be full (John 16:23-27)

Wait. What? Ask for our joy? Yep! Jesus urges us to ask that we may be filled with joy.

As we prepared to launch PPI in 2019, the Lord directed me to study John 14-17 and focus on asking Him in prayer. (This study later resulted in a sermon series at First Baptist – Bad Axe called ASK.) The Lord Jesus taught these three purposes to help us align our hearts then our requests with what matters for eternity.

“Father, I’m asking for [this specific request] so You will be glorified and so I can bear much fruit, proving to be your disciple. And I’m asking for this because it would fill me with joy! I believe this is what Jesus would ask for so I’m coming to You in His name.”

What are you asking God for right now? Ask Him with these three purposes in mind. Our Savior told us to pray that way – for His glory and our joy!

I often wish I somehow could capture the joy that pastors express on the last day of our training. It’s more than a sense of accomplishment – the dignity of earned success – though it includes that. It’s a Spirit-given joy of church leaders who have read and wrestled with God’s Truth in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. And it’s our joy as a ministry team as we gather pastors together to encourage them in Christ and point them to the life-giving, church-strengthening, community-changing Word of God.

I trust it’s your joy, too, as you send us to the front lines to encourage and train pastors in Haiti! A young Haitian pastor said it well in his note to me last week:

Good evening my dear friend Pastor Ken. Hopefully everything is very great for you and your beautiful family. This is one of your friends from the conference in Quartier Morin. Be blessed, and we still don’t have words to describe our joys concerning the Bible Thompson. Thank you for your courage, and may God keep blessing you and the Team PPI. (Pastor Noel Héralès PNH)

Trying to make a difference in people’s lives for Christ is an up and down road. At times people are eager to learn from and follow Jesus. At other times they’re distracted, even resistant. That’s why Paul urged his protégé, Timothy, to “proclaim the Word in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul knew Timothy – and we – would experience “in season” times of great response to the Lord and “out of season” times of resistance and little fruit. So enjoy and make the most of times of fruitfulness, and press on through dry times, knowing that God is still at work.

We are enjoying an amazing “in season” time of response to our training in Haiti right now! Courses fill up quickly with several people on a waiting list. Pre-registrations are higher than ever. Pastors constantly tell us that many other church leaders desire to take PPI courses. They ask, “Can you come to our city/town?” and “When will you come back to offer the next course?” Isaiah told me, “Everywhere in Haiti, pastors are running after PPI training!” This is the Holy Spirit’s work to the glory of God. We want to make the most of this season by training as many church leaders as possible in as many cities as possible. Thank you, friends, for helping us press forward in this exciting, fruitful season!

Training in Cap-Haitien and Limbé

I returned from Haiti on Tuesdauy morning, weary from the travels but so grateful for the opportunities the Lord is giving us to gather church leaders together for encouragement, training and resourcing. Our risen Lord is building His church in Haiti, and we’re humbled to have a part in what He is doing. Between Palm Sunday and Easter, we offered Course 1 in two cities in the the North Department, awarded Thompson Bibles, certificates of completion, and gospel tracts to 222 church leaders. Some highlights of this trip –

112 Bibles for 113 Pastors

Both courses were filled to capacity on this trip (112 church leaders each) with waiting lists of around 10 people. If pre-registered pastors don’t arrive by 11:00am on the first day of the course, our team gives their place to a person on the waiting list. Pastor Eliance Bastien was on the waiting list but, unfortunately, didn’t get a place in Course 1. In addition to serving his church, this young pastor also works as a lawyer. He is intelligent, articulate and, as it turned out, also filled with faith. The Lord rewarded his perseverance and confidence that God would make a way.

After all spots were assigned, Pastor Jasmin expressed regret to the church leaders who didn’t get a place in the course and encouraged them to register early for the next course in their area. All departed except one – Pastor Eliance. Jasmin repeated that all places were now taken, that he could go now, but Eliance didn’t move. He told Jasmin, “I’ll wait. You never know what the Lord may do for me.”

A half hour later, our team realized we had assigned two Thompson Bibles to a blind pastor and his wife. We talked with the couple, had a good chuckle about it, and left the couple with one Bible to use in the course. That left us with one extra Thompson Bible and one remaining person on our waiting list – Eliance. We had 112 Thompson Bibles for 113 church leaders! The team registered Pastor Eliance as student #113, and he happily joined the course. Two days later during our graduation time, he shook our hands warmly and held his Thompson Bible high. You never know what the Lord may do!

A Decoration Put to Use

We conclude each PPI course with a special time of recognition and celebration. Church leaders are filled with joy and accomplishment. Each one who successly completes the course receives an official PPI certificate, ministry resources, and in Course 1, a Thompson Bible. As part of this closing time, we invite a few pastors to share their thoughts on how the course will help them, their church and their community. They consistently thank our team for coming to their city during these difficult times in Haiti, and express joy in learning to use the Thompson Bible for all aspects of their ministry.

One young pastor shared that his church’s former pastor (now retired) had left a Thompson Bible with the church. Someone had given it to him years ago, but he didn’t know how to use it. The Bible sat on the communion table as a decoration, rarely opened and never used. The young pastor kept it there. He shared that he heard about PPI training and wanted to come. 

He was so excited to learn how to use the Thompson Bible! He told us that for Assignment 3 (for which pastors choose and study a Bible topic that would be helpful to their church), he thought of the topic “Christ’s sacrificial love.” He worked hard on this topic and wrote notes on a separate piece of paper as well as in his course workbook. His church met Monday evening (the first day of the course) as part of Passion Week, and this young pastor used his study notes from the Thompson Bible for that evening’s message. He smiled from ear to ear as he told his story, hardly containing his excitement. He said, “I’m going to take the Thompson Bible off the altar and teach our assistant pastor how to use it!”

Power Dominoes

Our team typically works 10-12 each day of our training,  from early morning to early evening. But we also enjoy eating together, conversations, laughter and, occasionally, a game. Our lodging in Limbé had a domino table on the patio so we decided to play. I think I learned dominoes from my mom and grandma. You sat quietly studying your pieces and placed them neatly on the table. In Haiti, dominoes is akin to dominos-meets-cage fighting, a raucus, fast-moving contest. Call it Haitian “power dominos.” Depending how the winner “fell” (went out), the loser had to stand from one to as many as eight games. (I stood for two games at one point to a lot of teasing and laughter.) The next night, Jasmin was chen an (“the dog”), standing for six games. Power dominoes was a fun way to relax with our Haitian team after full days of training church leaders.

Enjoy more pics from last week’s training below.