With Haiti qualifying to compete in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974, First Baptist Church Nederland, Texas, partnered with First Baptist Church Damien in Haiti, to sponsor watch parties for three Haitian matches for local fans.
Alison Howell, president of Promised Ministries, women’s ministry leader at FBC Nederland and executive board member, said she learned about the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ “Sharing Christ at the Cup” initiative through BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri’s weekly newsletter. She also discovered Haiti’s World Cup qualification and reached out to BGCT about how FBC Nederland could partner with FBC Damien to make the watch parties possible.
Overcoming challenges
“I reached out to [the student pastor] at First Baptist [Damien], and he said, ‘We’re not going to be able to watch the World Cup because we don’t have electricity.’ The electricity is provided by the government in Haiti, but it’s unreliable. … It’s on a rolling blackout. You never know when it’s not going to be available,” Howell explained. “Then, I saw Dr. Guarneri’s newsletter and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I wonder if we could partner to make it where they could watch it?’”
Howell said Noe Treviño, BGCT’s Mission Strong team lead, was able to provide a matching grant for FBC Nederland’s donation of $1,000, which allowed FBC Damien to purchase supplies, such as streaming equipment and refreshments, for the watch parties.
Haiti was officially eliminated from advancing to the next round of the tournament following a 3-0 defeat to Brazil on June 19 in Philadelphia.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Jessica King and originally published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
