Keeping Haitian families together will boost God’s kingdom there

Good and Godly works can oftentimes have consequences far beyond our ability to predict. Such is the case in Haiti. For years, Baptists have funded and staffed missionary schools and orphanages to help the most vulnerable segment of the Haitian population. Children in general, and orphans in particular, continue to benefit from God’s grace extended through Baptist believers, but this success has had side effects.

The reputation for exemplary care at Baptist missionary schools and orphanages has led some parents to abandon their children into the care of these facilities, as evidenced by the recent and well-publicized case of the ten Baptist volunteers incarcerated in Haiti. So much has been said about the needs of orphans and other children in Haiti, and so much money has been donated to their cause, that one wonders where all the parents have gone. One also wonders if we aren’t, with the very best of intentions, unwittingly contributing to the breakup of the neediest Haitian families.

The Bible clearly indentifies the nuclear family as the optimal environment for providing for children. The family is the institution ordained by God to accomplish nurturing and growth, both physical and spiritual. While I’m certain that Baptist missionaries are working diligently in Haiti this very moment to support and edify needy families, their efforts aren’t being publicized. Instead, I see the obviously false impression that we Baptists believe we are more capable of raising Haitian children than their Haitian parents.

I would love to see more evidence of efforts aimed at keeping families together through this crisis, and into Haiti’s very uncertain future. I would love to see more evidence of family ministries, and perhaps even adoption of Haitian orphans by Haitian families. I would love to see more evidence that we’re helping them to help one another. Ultimately, I believe building stronger families will be a step forward in our efforts toward building God’s Kingdom in Haiti.

Rex Green, pastor

Edmonson Baptist Church, Lincoln