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a1169: Re: Evangelicals in Haiti (fwd)
From: riwilson <RIWILSON@maf.org>
I do not write often on the list, but I read it daily. And I want to
point out the fallacy of generalizations I read being used by many who
claim that all evangelicals (I suppose meaning all non-Catholic
foreign Christian workers) in Haiti are using food and medicine to win
converts. This is not so.
I am director of a four year Bible Institute in Port-au-Prince. It's
patterned after any four or five year school you would find in the
States. Our sole objective is to train preachers for local churches
and to start new ones.
We do not offer any incentives for students to come. We offer no
scholarships, food, medicine or employment (with the exceptions of two
student-guards and 3-5 translators who are paid by the week to
translate for our teachers in classes). Each class runs for five days
for two hours per day for a period of eight weeks three times per
year. Our tuition is 25 Gourds per trimester.
This last fall we had seventy students enrolled. Of these about
twenty-five received scholarship help from sources other than the
school at a rate of $50 U.S. while they are enrolled in school. If
they drop out or fail or graduate that money stops.
So far we have graduated 62. Of those, all but three that we know of
are preaching in Haiti.
We often have students and graduates come and ask us to put them to
work in a "mission". We continually emphasize to them that we do not
do that. We expect them to go out and start their own congregations.
We also expect the Haitian's to support their own churches and
preachers, without missionary or foreign support. Any preacher can
support himself with outside employment as well as with the
congregation's help. We do this to avoid creating or supporting "Rice
Christians" and continuing to support or helping to foster a national
dependency on foreign support (which is already endemic to the
Christian community in Haiti, as well as around the world).
To say that all evangelicals are guilty of using food and medical care
to attract and make converts is patently wrong.
Generalizations are drawn from specific instances. But one specific
instance which does not support the generalization or thesis can
invalidate the generalization.
Richard Wilson