Brad Powell Online

I am sure by now you have heard about the Earthquake that recently hit Haiti. An estimated 3 million people have been impacted, tens of thousands have been killed or injured, and many remain trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Traumatized and grief-stricken, people wander the streets in a daze. On Tuesday night, many slept out in the debris-filled streets.

Even before this earthquake Haiti was said to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Most of Haiti’s population lives on less than $2 a day.  In the United States, a cup of coffee typically costs more than $2 a day.  In many ways we are a world apart.

So what is our response?  At NorthRidge Church there are seven values that guide our vision and our actions.  The sixth value states our belief that “The Church most visibly evidences the love of Christ by ministering with compassion and care to the poor, sick, hurting, lonely, rejected and forgotten people of the world.”  Haiti’s poverty has merged with this natural disaster and a catastrophe is in process. These people matter to God and must matter to us.

As the first response teams wade into the rubble, there are some critical action steps that we can begin to take.

Each of us can begin to pray for the people of Haiti and their immediate needs for medical help, shelter, clean water, and supplies.  We can also pray for the relief and emergency response organizations as they send in their teams. Travel and communication are proving difficult, and the earthquake has destroyed or damaged much of the critical infrastructure where the population is greatest. We need to pray, over the next day and weeks, for God’s hand to provide help, resources, access, wisdom, and protection.

We can act. Crisis deserves and requires a response. This weekend I am going to share the initial response of the NorthRidge family. I would encourage every pastor and church to respond in some way. The church is the hope of the world when it’s working right. Right now, the people of Haiti and the world need hope. The church needs to be working right.

Though we hate the suffering that exists in our world, we unshakably believe in and remain thankful for a sovereign God who is in control and can work good even in the midst of this world’s chaos.  We believe His love, light, and goodness is being seen and shared by all those who are praying, giving, and going to help the Haitian people in this time of incalculable loss, pain, and crisis.

As we have in the past with the devastation of Katrina and other world disasters, we at NorthRidge will join in this effort to bring light, love, and hope into the darkness by reaching out to Haiti with care and compassion in any way we can. This will involve combining any way we’re able to provide for their physical needs along with seeking to open their eyes to their spiritual needs…their need for God’s love and hope through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you’re interested in responding individually, I would encourage you to do so through an organization that is capable and committed to genuinely helping the people of Haiti in the name and love of Christ.

If you’re part of the NorthRidge family, we are extending our “Make It Yours” Christmas offering, which was dedicated to compassion outreach, in order to expand our capacity as a church to help in Haiti and around the world. So, you can give above and beyond towards this effort by designating to the “Make It Yours” fund any time for the foreseeable future. The easiest way to do this is at northridgechurch.com via online giving.

If you’re not a part of NorthRidge or would just prefer giving individually to a specific Haiti relief project, I would encourage you to give through an organization such as Samaritan’s Purse.