Many of our partnering churches and schools were damaged in the earthquake, some more seriously than others. Most of the churches and schools are in rural and semi-rural communities, but one of them, the Petionville Church and School, is in the heart of the Petionville tent cities.

Since the earthquake, church members have been reaching out to the displaced families, sharing the love of Christ. Soon, they will be able to invite them into a safe, welcoming building to worship together.

We have already started work on rebuilding the Petionville Church and School and are making good progress. The church will not need to be torn down, as originally anticipated, but can be repaired. The savings will go to help rebuild other damaged churches in the earthquake zone.

Because many of the approximately 200,000 deaths from the earthquake were due to poor construction and lack of building codes, the Haitian government has declared that all construction be overseen by an engineer. Sergo, a young adult member of the church, is a civil engineer and will oversee the reconstruction of the Petionville Church, ensuring that it is rebuilt safely. We are thankful he can be a part of rebuilding his church and use his skills to glorify God.

Until the reconstruction is complete, the 400 members of the Petionville Church and School are meeting in nearby homes. They join us in praising the Lord as we see His house rebuilt. Together, we give thanks to our supporters around the world for the generous donations given to our earthquake relief fund.

Be a part of rebuilding churches and schools

The great artists at Music City came together for this moving video to raise awareness about the relief efforts in Haiti. Many of the clips come from our mission hospital and relief team's work in the early days following the January 12 earthquake.

This song is available on iTunes for purchase. Included in the video are Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby Mac, Amy Grant, Vince Gil, Wynona Judd and others.

You can Come Together Now with these caring musicians and make a difference in the lives of Haiti's earthquake survivors.

Come Together Now - Music City Unites For Haiti from Provident Label Group on Vimeo.

Many people have asked us, "What can we do to help in addition to our personal donation?" That's a terrific question!

One way you can help make a big impact in Haiti is by hosting a special fundraiser for BHM. Here are some ideas:

Host a mini sponsorship drive with your youthgroup, Bible study or other small group. Turn it into a fun competition and award a small prize to the person who gets the most sponsors.

Host a music night in your home and ask a talented friend to perform. Invite all your friends and family to attend. Request that they contribute a donation to enjoy the show. Share about BHM's mission and the impact their gifts will make.

Host a movie marathon night for the price of admission to your local theatre. The popcorn will taste better and your friends can laugh as loudly as they want.

Have a bakesale. It's the age-old fundraiser because it's easy and it works!

Download some of the images below to create your own invitations and flyers:

BHM Board President, Ron Pierre, just returned from a visit to Haiti where he spent time in the rural communities, assessing long-term needs. He returned more convinced than ever that Haiti's future lies in Christian education for even the poorest of the poor. This is his story:

I write this immediately after my return from a week at Baptist Haiti Mission in the mountains surrounding Port-au-Prince. My heart and mind have been impacted forcefully by all that I heard and saw there as part of a team of volunteers. With varied fields of expertise, we made our way into the remote mountain villages where BHM has worked with local leaders to establish schools and churches.

You have seen pictures and video of the devastation and have an idea of the vast need among the millions of "in country" refugees in the Port-au-Prince area, but no one - not even relief workers - has been able to reach such remote areas as we saw last week. Far too many of the villages can only be reached by hours of hiking, past the point where even the sturdiest of four wheel drive vehicles are able to go.

In these isolated communities, far from the camera's eye, we saw countless families whose stone homes were collapsed by the earthquake, who had to resort to leaning structures, using sticks and salvaged roofing as shelter. In these mountains, though the struggle to survive is harder than ever, the families and churches are coming together to support one another. They share the meager harvests from mountainside gardens and reach out to those who are in even greater need.

Seeing the children is especially heart-wrenching for me. As a parent and grandparent, I picture my own precious little ones cast into the same circumstances, and I cannot help but yearn to reach out to help them!

For over 60 years, BHM has built up a way to do just that, to reach out to the most vulnerable children in a way that will outlast the current surge of relief efforts into this beleaguered country: Christian-based education. We believe this is a prerequisite not only for life, but also for the attainment of jobs and, ultimately, the achievement of an ordered society.

Many pastors and church leaders like you have asked us, "How can we as a church best help these little ones in a lasting, effective manner?" The answer is simple: Sponsor children! Your sponsorships will provide some of Haiti's poorest children not only a quality education, but also medical care, access to food, clean water and shelter, as the Lord makes such provision possible.

Learn more about our Child Sponsorship program and how you can make a lasting difference to One Child, One Village, One Nation.

More than 65,000 children attend a BHM-sponsored school in Haiti, and they consistently outperform the national average on state exams! Not only do children in our sponsorship program learn to read and write - they receive a quality education, giving them a future of hope and possibility.

I cannot forget the faces I saw, the immensity of the devastation, or the seeming hopelessness of meeting even the most basic physical needs in Haiti. Because of that, I am more convinced than ever before that Haiti's one hope is the strong foundation of Christian education for its children.

"And do not neglect doing good and sharing,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
(Hebrews 13:16)

I'm asking you today to take loving action, as He did, to help "the least of these." Become ambassadors of His love, sharing the good news of the Gospel through a nurturing Christian education.

I believe that if you saw what I saw this past week, if you held the children's hands, if you heard their cries for help, then you would be the one pleading on their behalf, just as I am pleading today. Thank you for your prayerful and compassionate response to Christ's call to care for the least of these.