Being the Worship Leader God Wants You to Be

We had about 120 participants in our fourth annual Worship and Music Conference held at the Bellvue Salem Baptist Church

The worship team from Quisqueya Chapel lead several of the worship services during the Conference.

Most of the presenters in the Conference were Haitian, but a small team from RJB Ministries assisted in presenting several sessions and singing/playing during the worship services.

Have you ever taken a few moments to talk to the worship leaders at your church about the joys and challenges that they face?  While it is a great privilege to lead worship, it also can be very tiring to manage all the details that have to come together for a worship service.  This year we set aside funds and time to put on the fourth annual Music and Worship Conference in partnership with Perspectives Reformees in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  The Conference’s theme was “Being the Worship Leader God Wants You to Be.”  The first day we spent reflecting on the spiritual care and encouragement worship leaders need and often do not get.  We could tell by the faces of the participants that this was a timely subject.  During the second day, we discussed some practical issues of worship leadership like song selection, teaching a congregation to sing new songs, organization of the service, and other important topics.  We could tell that even in Haiti, there is a lot of conflict between worship leaders, church boards, and pastors with regard to worship service planning and execution.  Next time you have a chance, take a moment to thank and listen to your worship leaders.  It is a rewarding but very difficult task.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 2016

Segaar-King December Update

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti.  God has been good to us in 2015, protecting and providing for our life and work in Haiti.  One of the biggest answers to prayer has been renewal after a painful conflict within the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti, a Haitian denomination with which we have worked since 2005.  It is great to be able to work with the churches and Haitian leaders of this denomination again.  A second answer to prayer is the recruitment of new missionaries to serve in Haiti.  Finally, we are thankful for your continued prayer and financial support of our ministry, two things which we will continue to need in 2016.

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.   Our new missionaries, Cory and Lynn Grimm and family.  They will officially be starting with Christian Reformed World Missions in January, 2016.  It will take at least six months for support-raising before they can arrive on the field.

2.   A successful Worship and Music Conference in December.  Our theme was “Be the worship leader God has called you to be.”  We trained over 120 Haitian church leaders in practical and theological principles to help them become better worship leaders.

3.   A great visit from Larry and Faith Segaar, who spent about 10 days with us.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.   Visiting teams in January from Second CRC of Allendale and Lakeside CRC.  For the service component, the teams this winter will be helping us put an addition on our mission office to house Perspectives Reformees, the CRC media ministry.

2.   Stability in Haiti.  The Dec. 27 presidential election was cancelled.  The new date will most likely be in January.

3.   Zach’s final push to finish his Ph.d.  The final draft is due on February 15.

4.   That we would receive the metal trusses for a church we want to build.  The vendor is over three months late after receiving full payment and construction is delayed.

Please see the attached New Year’s greeting.

FOR MORE PICTURES, STORIES, AND INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MINISTRY AND FAMILY, PLEASE SEE OUR BLOG AT segaarking.blogspot.com

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

Segaar-King November Ministry Report

Dear Friends and Family:

Greetings from Haiti.  Now that the Advent or Christmas season has begun, we can reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ birth from the Haitian perspective.  First, Advent reminds us that God loves poor, working people.  Jesus, the Son of God, was born not to royalty, but to a carpenter and his peasant fiancé.  Like Mary and Joseph, the vast majority of Haitians work hard with their hands to survive.  Second, Advent reminds us that God keeps his promises, especially his promise to provide for his people.  North Americans, for whom food, security, and medical care are but a phone call or credit card swipe away, struggle to understand what it means to trust God for “daily bread.”  But Haitians, many of whom wake up without a crumb in the cupboard, know about radical dependence on God’s promises.  

Please join us in giving thanks for:

1.   God’s provision for a new missionary family to come to Haiti.  We will be sharing the name of the new family with you in coming months.

2.   A safe trip for Zach to Guatemala.  He had a great time getting acquainted with several models of urban ministry.

3.   Progress made on a new material in November for Christian worldview training in the Timothy Leadership Training style.

Please join us in prayer for:

1.   Increased stability for Port-au-Prince in December and January.  Though the 25 October vote was a success, many candidates are accusing the ruling party of tampering with the vote counts.  As a result, there are nearly daily anti-government demonstrations in Port-au-Prince.

2.   The Worship and Music Conference on 11-12 December.  We will be reflecting on how to become a more God-honoring worship leader with nearly 100 participants in a local church.

3.   Our winter Service and Learning teams.  The first team, Second CRC of Allendale, arrives in Haiti in January.

4.   A safe trip to Haiti for Sharon’s parents in December.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Zachary, Sharon, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah and Esther Segaar-King

Missionaries to Haiti through Christian Reformed World Missions 

Off the Beaten Path

During a three-day training event in October (pictured above), several of the participants gave reports about what they are doing with Timothy Leadership Training (TLT).  The most interesting was a young man who, after taking the training module on Christian Stewardship, organized a pledge-drive to purchase a set of drums for his church.  If this doesn’t sound like a big deal, note that the average weekly offering in a Haitian church is not more than $20 USD while a set of drums in Haiti cost over $1,200 USD.  Because of the Spirit’s blessing, faithful promotion, and good planning, the church raised the full amount for the drums in only a few months.  Hope and trust in God’s provision radiated out of this young man’s report.  Because of this success, the church is now motivated to tackle some tough problems in its neighborhood it felt formerly powerless to touch.

Surprisingly, one of the greatest struggles we have in ministry in Haiti is finding out what is going on.  Haitian culture generally does not place a lot of emphasis on reporting and we don’t have a lot of money to hire staff to track information down.  Often, we find out about the greatest results of our work coincidently.  Recently, we made a proposal to Timothy Leadership Training (TLT) International to fund a small scholarship that will pay for the travel expenses of trainers who covenant to go “off the beaten path” and train in isolated communities.  The condition of this scholarship is that the trainers have to give a full report of the results of their seminars.  Six pastor/trainers (pictured below with certificates) have agreed to be part of the program.  One pastor, Obed Laventure, has already broken ribs trying to get to his training station on a motorcycle as there are no roads and bridges to the community.  Pray  that God will use these six trainers for his glory.

Election Update

Political slogans are not often well-formulated expressions of leadership vision.  Taking his cue from President Martelly (whose slogan is “shaved head”), the slogan of the leading candidate from the Martelly’s party is “The Plantain Guy” or “Nég Banann nan.” A plantain is basically a large starchy banana that is boiled or deep fried, a very popular food.  This slogan really captures the surreal political developments in Haiti since the second round of elections on October 25.  While many acknowledged that the voting itself was a success, the situation degenerated during the processing and publication of the results as different political parties hurled accusations of fraud at each other.  Specifically, the “Banana Guy” got many more votes than anticipated.  Please pray that the final election on December 27 will be successful in all aspects.  Pray also that political demonstrations would be peaceful and that school and ministry events can take place as planned.

Called to love...Cities?

Zach spent a week in Guatemala City learning about urban ministry initiatives in November.  This picture, taken from the municipal cemetery overlooking the city dump where thousands of people make their living picking through garbage, encapsulates the enigma of poverty afflicting both Port-au-Prince and Guatemala City.

Guatemala City has many talented graffiti artists just like Port-au-Prince.

Quite often those who live in cities wish that they don't.  First, cities are expensive.  Food, housing and transportation are many times more what they would be in a small town or countryside.  Second, cities are congested.  Traffic is horrible and it is hard to find living space.  Finally, cities often suffer higher rates of violence and crime because of both high population density and their attraction to those struggling to survive.  It is true that cities can sometimes offer more opportunities for economic advancement.  However, more and more people compete for the same opportunities in cities.  Our city, Port-au-Prince, is a good example.  With nearly ten times the population of Haiti's second largest urban area, Port-au-Prince is overwhelmed by the nearly constant inflow of new residents.  Port-au-Prince's roads and infrastructure were designed for a city one-quarter of its size.  In Haiti's countryside hedgerows of cactus keep goats and pigs out of gardens.  In Port-au-Prince fifteen-foot-tall block walls topped with razor wire keep thieves at bay.  Billowing waves of dust, diesel exhaust, the smells of 2.5 million people living without a sewage system daily greet inhabitants.  Why even live in the big city?  The answer?  2.5 million.  Jonah learned the same lesson at the end of chapter four when God said, "And should I not have concern for the great city Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?"  God cares about the city because the city is where his children are being born, living, rejoicing, suffering, and dying.  As we are reminded in the story of Jesus' birth, God (or Emmanuel--'God with us') wants to be where his people are.  Over the next year, we plan to put more focus on urban ministry in Haiti.  Please pray for us as we seek to be God's witness in Haiti's largest city.