The “Bread and Bread of Life” movement
With the support of its partners Food for the Poor and OneHope, the Social Mission of Haitian Churches (MISSEH) is launching the “Bread and Bread of Life” movement. It is a catalytic movement that aims to sensitize, motivate and increase the commitment of pastors and leaders of Haitian churches to feed the Haitian people according to the instructions the Lord Jesus Christ gave to those who love him. According to the Gospel of John, chapter 21 verse 15 to 25, Jesus, the sovereign shepherd, asked Peter if he loved Him three times. Three times, the disciple affirmed his love for his master. Then Jesus asked him to prove this love by the care he would bring to His lambs. The ways to care for the sheep is described in Psalm 23, which makes it clear that care begins with providing food and water. Leading the people near still waters and making them rest in green pastures are the first two components of the pastoral ministry the Bread and Bread of Life movement is launched to sustain. The third component is to provide them with the bread of eternal life. This is added to the bread of temporal life to ensure a worthy life in present times and in eternity. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Today, nearly 5,000,000 Haitians out of a population of 11,000,000 live in severe food insecurity. Among the causes of this are corruption and mismanagement of the country's resources. The country has many corrupt leaders who help drive the people further down the poverty hole because their sense of love and justice is sorely lacking. The bread of eternal life, constituted by a body of knowledge and values drawn from the Bible, the word of God, aims to raise Haiti morally, ethically and spiritually. He leads me in the paths of righteousness because of his name. Psalm 23 verse 3. Justice uplifts a nation. But sin is the shame of the people. Proverbs 14 verse 34. Therefore, the need to mobilize churches to help quench the hunger and thirst of the people both at the material level and at the spiritual and moral level is becoming more and more inescapable. The Bread and Bread of Life movement is launched to respond to this need. Operational approach For more than four years, the Social Mission of Haitian Churches (MISSEH) has been engaged in a partnership with Food for the Poor to operationalize a Regional Distribution Center (CRD) of food for the poorest of Haiti. This successful partnership is helping MISSEH facilitate access to food rations for a considerable number of vulnerable people through churches and Christian schools. It is a living testimony to the Christian faith. It satisfies the calling for good deeds described in the Gospel of Matthew 25 verse 40, in the epistle of James chapter 2 verse 16 to 18 and in Galatians chapter 5 verse 6. Many children, teens and adults are very grateful for receiving the help they need to survive. However, as Jesus said, men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Luke 4: 4. MISSEH, being a social association of evangelical churches, cannot fulfill this social ministry without it being based on the teaching of the word of God. This is why the issue of Bible teaching has always been at the heart of MISSEH's social work since its founding. As part of its partnership with OneHope established for more than ten years, MISSEH has already distributed more than 4,000,000 Bibles to children, teens and young adults in Haiti. If the relationship with Food for the Poor brings the bread of life for present times, it is the relationship with OneHope that brings the bread of eternal life. MISSEH works with Food for the Poor to provide physical nourishment and with OneHope to provide spiritual nourishment. Now, the Bread and Bread of Life movement aims to integrate these two partnerships to respond more effectively to the need to feed the people physically, morally and spiritually. To make this movement operational, MISSEH intends to mobilize its members and in particular the beneficiaries of food rations and biblical materials. Churches, schools and other Christian institutions that receive these benefits will be motivated and trained to present messages relating to the body of Bible-based values and knowledge. A list of these institutions will be established to constitute the specific network of the Bread and Bread of Life movement. With the creation of the list of Christian institutions engaged in the Bread and Bread of Life movement, the first phase of this movement is finalized. The following steps will be developed in interactions with the leaders of the participating institutions.