“Today I heard someone speak about the love of God. When the evangelicals come here, they curse witch doctors out and insult them and we run them out with rocks, but today I listened.”

 

It all started in a tent made of coconut leaves. In 1977, the HCM “campus” was nothing but a tent set up in a flea market, where witch doctors listened and patrolled. They threw rocks at street preachers who told them they were going to hell. But Pastor Etienne Prophete, in his coconut leaf tent, preached a different message. Through a sermon titled “A God of Love,” several Voodoo priests dropped their rocks and embraced the message that there was a God who loved them. Many gave their lives to Christ. From that day, HCM’s Kingdom work at Fonds-Parisien was born. 

 

The vision for the mission was cast a few years earlier. In 1974, Etienne Prophete was finishing his Christian education at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri. He and his wife, Betty, presented their vision to a group of supporters. They desired to return to Haiti and establish a work that would address the physical, educational and spiritual needs of their fellow Haitians. They were just dreaming, but God was serious!

 

The young couple started their ministry in the front part of a two-and-a-half-room rented house in Port-au-Prince. They held prayer meetings, Bible studies, and clinics. Eventually, due to political disturbance, they sought to move their ministry to a larger, safer area in Fonds Parisien. But first, they had to win over the voodoo priests. The rest is history!

 

Fifty years later, the ministry has grown to serve thousands of Haitians throughout Haiti. The work has expanded to include more than 22 church plants and 10 schools in the areas of  Simonette, La Croix Perisse, Thoman, Chapotin, Bois Galette, Maingrette, Bertrand, Fonds-Verrettes, Fonds-Cheval, Drouillard, Mais-Gaté, Primitive, L’Artibonite, Peredo, Nan Plaisir, Pays-Pourri, Nan Boulay, Beudet, Rue Tiremasse, and La Tremblay.

 

At the Fonds-Parisien campus, there is a thriving church, school, and medical facilities. Daily, hundreds of Haitians come to the campus with physical and spiritual needs. Hundreds of Haitians are employed by the various campus outreach efforts. All of them hear about Jesus’s love. The mission serves in other areas including adult job training and community outreach projects.

 

In 2010, Etienne’s health began to impose limitations on his travel. His son, Edwens, began to oversee the daily operations of the mission. Edwens, along with his mother Betty and involved siblings, continue to manage the mission after Etienne’s passing in 2021. Haitian Christian Mission is governed by a board of directors, based in the United States. The true work of the mission is only possible thanks to a team of dedicated financial partners who volunteer their time and financially fund the work. The financial gifts and volunteer hours given to this mission have impacted the Kingdom in significant ways.