whole gospel

A friend and I are teaching through a series written by World Vision and based on Richard Stearn's book The Hole in our Gospel. The video segment in our first week of class showed Stearns talking about how the Gospel is to be lived out in proclamation and compassion and justice. This whole Gospel shows evidence of caring about the whole person...body, mind, spirit, soul.

JeanJean and Kristie Mompremier were with us from Haiti in class on Sunday, and they gave such concrete examples of this truth. When they started in ministry, they knew their call was to go preach the Gospel. But as they walked along through their neighborhood and saw children eating ashes to try to fill their bellies, they unmistakenly heard from God. "Feed them". Now, five years and seven nutrition centers later, three hundred fifty children come four times a week for a meal, to hear Bible stories, to sing songs about Jesus, and to experience loving community. Many parents have been brought into this Christian community through their children, and the Gospel is spreading and bearing fruit as people are realizing their salvation and identity in Christ.

God's work through JeanJean and Kristie and United Christians International (www.unitedchristiansinternational.org)is a great example of wholistic Christian Community Development as they have taught people agricultural techniques, trained pastors, fed children, built a school, two churches, fifteen houses, and poured 151 cement floors for homes...all in the last year. In a land of desperate poverty and spiritual oppression due to voodoo, Christ's light is breaking through and transforming this community. We have much to learn through their simple yet profound strategy. When interviewed in class on Sunday, JeanJean said, "We pray, we care, and we share."