Programs
Haitian Ministries International
Strengthening the work of the Gospel among the Haitians of Boston and Beyond
Overview • Pastors' Fellowship & the Boston Crusade • Bahamas Crusade • Global Vision of Protestantism in the Haitian Milieu • Dominican Republic • Focus on Haiti • Resources • Staff
EGC's Haitian Ministries International, established at the request of Haitian church leaders, provides a platform for Rev. Dr. Soliny Védrine to strengthen and support the work of Haitian churches in Greater Boston, the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, and Haiti.
Haitian Ministries is building fruitful partnerships between the Haitian community in Boston and other Haitian communities in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Haiti. Since 1985, Rev. Védrine, Director, has coordinated the work of Haitian churches in Boston, counseled and consulted with pastors and ministry leaders, assisted Haitians immigrating to Boston, and organized programs and crusades that serve the Haitian community in Boston and the Bahamas.
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There are 52 Haitian churches in Greater Boston, serving 70,000 Haitians. Rev. Védrine founded and is now the Program Director of the Fellowship of Evangelical Haitian Pastors of New England, which works to build relationships cross-denominationally among Boston's Haitian pastors and churches. The Fellowship sponsors the Interdenominational Haitian Crusade in Boston each July.
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A Haitian underclass makes up 25% of the population in The Bahamas. Each year, Haitian churches in the Baptist General Conference sponsor a crusade in Nassau. The crusade includes a medical team, economic development, college scholarships, youth training, and church visits. Rev. Védrine serves as the National Coordinator of this crusade.
There are 1 million Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Most work in the sugar fields. Haitian churches in the Dominican Republic want to begin their own annual Haitian crusade. So a Haitian delegation from the Dominican Republic attended the 2002 Bahamas crusade.
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In 1998, Rev. Védrine spearheaded a forum for key Haitian leaders to discuss and understand the progress of the Church in Haiti in the 20th century and to pray for vision for the future. They continue to meet periodically.
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Many Haitians crossed the mountains into the Dominican Republic, seeking a better life. Since 2005 Haitian Ministries International has been ministering to the Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Each August there is a week-long crusade in La Romana. More than 1,500 attended each night in 2005, and the crusade has grown since then. During the day, the international outreach team visit the bateys (primitive villages located among the sugarcane fields where Haitian field workers live) and minister at the Haitian churches on the outskirts of La Romana, where many very poor people live.
Haitian Ministries International is providing other support to Haitians in the Dominican Republic. In December 2006, Pastor Sol and others traveled to the Dominican Republic to encourage the beginning of a fellowship of Haitian pastors, offer advice on a program for Haitian students at a seminary in Santo Domingo, and meet with doctors and medical students who want to bring medical help to Haitians working in sugarcane plantations. [top of page]
Rev. Védrine has a vision to help Christians in Haiti complete church buildings they have started. He also wants to discover those parts of Haiti that are still unreached, find out why no one is serving there, and help to plant churches. To do this, he is challenging Haitian pastors in New England to be concerned about the future of the Church in Haiti and leads periodic visits to support various ministries there.
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- , Director, Haitian Ministries International
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