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Dear PHC Family,
As you know, our church is affiliated with the North American Baptist Conference…an agency that helped us get started back in 2000. Over the years, on several occasions, NAB has sponsored $$ our Response Team relief efforts as we sought to touch the lives of those impacted by Hurricanes in the Gulfport States.
In November 2009, you will remember that Dr. Rob McCleland, the Executive Director of NAB, spoke at PHC. Below is an email I received from Rob, explaining how TOGETHER we are bringing Jesus’ love to the people of Haiti.
Together we are making a difference!
Pastor Mike
_____________________________________
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 1:05 PM
Subject: Haiti updates
Importance: High
Greetings friends,
Thanks to many of you for your response to the Haiti earthquake. In my earlier email I noted that the NAB has a two part response - immediate and then long-term. In the immediate, we are a founding member of the North American Baptist Disaster Relief Network. The day before the quake I met with the director, receiving updates on our preparedness. The next day the theory was put into practice. The team assembled on a conference call and we began to immediately forward funds through Baptist World Aid, and an immediate response team was in the air. The Network sent a team from the North Carolina Baptist Men to respond on our behalf. Your funds helped send them. Here see a short news broadcast regarding their life-saving work. Our immediate response continues.
One of our NAB Haitian pastors from Florida is in Haiti now. Lord willing we will soon have better updates on the destroyed churches and homeless families. Pastor Jacqueson Pierre is assessing the immediate needs within the church family. He has some funds to meet emergency needs, but his primary duty is helping ensure that our funds are well-spent as we plan to help churches and ministries rebuild. Simply throwing money at these challenges does not help! (I personally witnessed agencies wasting millions of dollars post-war Bosnia and Kosovo. We will not make those mistakes. I also witnessed the multiplied impact of thoughtful Christian strategies in the Balkans, those responses continue to reap eternal rewards, and God is glorified).
There is a short but excellent article about this perspective as it applies to Haiti at this link. We are coordinating efforts to best serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is certainly Biblical precedence (2Cor. 8:13-15) for the outpouring of love; I’m very thankful for our many churches who have given through many responsible agencies. Pray for wisdom for all of us who must give an account for the funds received.
We are planning to keep you updated on our NAB response. Thank you for your leadership in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are loved and cared for.
Rob McCleland
Executive Director
The NAB Conference of Churches
 November 2009
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