ATLANTA – In the aftermath of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has launched its response, which will be largely coordinated through CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James, who serve in the country.
The Jameses, CBF field personnel co-appointed with American Baptist Churches USA, are safe. They were in the U.S. attending a conference and have returned to Haiti, where they will be gathering a team and traveling to Port-au-Prince to assess how to respond. Both medical professionals, the Jameses are bringing emergency medical supplies with them and plan to establish a staging area from which the Fellowship’s response supplies and efforts will be channeled.
“We need your prayers for all the suffering ones and for us to know how God might want to use us,” Steve wrote in an e-mail update.
While not a first responder in such disasters, the Fellowship will focus its efforts on making a long-term impact in the affected region, working significantly with ministry partners.
“It’s going to take coordination [with partners]. No one can do this alone,” said David Harding, the Fellowship’s coordinator for international disaster response.
The Fellowship has already connected with partners such as Conscience International, which is sending a medical team to Haiti by early next week; Crosslink International, which has already received donations of medical equipment to accompany the first teams to go in to the affected region; and Virginia Baptist Mission Board, which will help connect Fellowship Baptists with volunteer opportunities in the coming weeks and months. The Fellowship is continuing to connect with other partners.
“As CBF field personnel and partners are listening on the field for needs and resources, CBF churches and individuals will be called on to share their resources, skills sets, and specialized training,” said Chris Boltin, short term assignments and partnerships manager. “We need to hear from you so that when specific projects are identified, we will be able to quickly match the need with the resource.”
Those interested in and available to travel to Haiti should visit www.thefellowship.info/Disaster-Response-Application to list their skills and experience. The first teams will be deploying as early as next week.
To give to the relief effort, visit the Fellowship’s donate page, https://www.thefellowship.info/Give/Donate.aspx?fund=17015 or send your check to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, P.O. Box 101699, Atlanta, GA 30392, indicating fund No. 17015 “Haiti Response.”
Updates about the Fellowship’s response and recovery efforts will be posted at its blog, www.thefellowship.info/blog. Those with a desire for a deeper level involvement are invited to join the Haiti Network at http://fellowshipportal.ning.com/group/haitipartnersforchrist.
CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.
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