Covenant News

Covenant Reaching Out to Bahamas, Haiti

BAHAMAS-HAITI (June 5, 2000) - BAHAMAS-HAITI (June 5) – The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is making inroads for ministries in both the Bahamas and in Haiti, using its Covenant connections to minister to one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world.

Joshua Sands, a former pastor at Christian Evangelical Fellowship Covenant Church in Atlanta, Georgia, is establishing relationships with evangelical churches in the Bahamas, having grown up in Nassau and having pastored a church there. Because of existing Haitian ties with ECC churches in Miami, Florida, ministry in Haiti may become a reality in a work supported both by the ECC's Southeast Conference and the ECC's Department of World Mission.

Southeast Conference Supt. Kurt Miericke admits that the Bahamas vision seems like one of those stereotypical "it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it" situations. People often associate the Bahamas with expensive vacations and the good life. But, says Miericke, most of those living in the Bahamas are poor. "Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere - politically unstable, poverty-stricken and illiterate," Miericke says. "Daily, Haitians show up at the shores of the Bahamas and South Florida."

Sands, who works as a mission associate under the Department of World Mission, has already communicated his three-fold mission for work in the Bahamas to the denomination, said Miericke. Groundwork has already been laid on two fronts:

• A bible school has been established with land for a permanent site having been procured.
• A bible study has been started in Sands' home as a precursor to starting a Covenant church in the Bahamas.

A retreat center for pastors, is also being discussed. Sands hopes to make other connections with Haiti, St. Vincent Island and Jamaica, among others.

The Haitian ministry vision is a natural for the ECC, given that a handful of Haitian churches have sprouted in the Southeast Conference. Miericke credits the work of Martinez Jovin as integral in connecting the denomination with ministries in Haiti. The vision has proven a natural tie for Miericke's own passion for urban and ethnic ministries (one quarter of his conference's churches have urban or ethnic roots).

"Jim Gustafson has a vision for the West Indies and this is part of a new (ministry) thrust for the Caribbean," said Miericke. "The Haitian mission started as a commitment to urban ministry in Miami," he continued, "and the Department of World Mission has helped us support Martinez Jovin as our Haitian ministry coordinator for the Southeast Conference. God led us to Haitian churches there and it has grown to five Haitian ministries."

Gustafson , executive director of the Department of World Mission, recently met in Haiti with Jovin, Southeast Conference mission facilitator Rose Cornelious and World Mission's U.S. facilitator David Stockamp. Gustafson said he came away excited about the possibilities throughout the Caribbean. Jovin, who originally came to the denomination through Bethesda Covenant Church in Miami, has links to numerous churches throughout the country. With 700 islands in the Bahamas, there are a lot of places to make an impact for Christ.

"It's a massive undertaking," Gustafson said. "But, the people involved are gifted and committed and they have vision and passion for what they are doing. With that, you can move within any cultural context."

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