Mission
The mission of New Life for Haiti is to minister to the needs of families and children in the Grand Anse River valley, sharing our love for Christ and His message, promoting self-sufficiency and hope for a sustainable future.
Values
New Life for Haiti is a nondenominational Christian organization, unified by Christian principles articulated in the Nicene Creed. Our core values are based on these biblical principles:
Empowering
To address economic, physical, and spiritual needs, whether through immediate relief efforts, education, or training and supporting Haitian leaders in community programs
“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Equipping
To provide opportunities to break the cycle of poverty and create self-sufficiency in the community by developing legacy-leaving leaders
“For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12
Encouraging
To share the truth, hope, and grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ
“Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Caring
To respect the rights, abilities, and uniqueness of those we serve
“Bear one another’s burdens . . .” Galatians 6:2
History
It began with a series of mission trips. Our founder, Fran Leeman, had spent many years traveling to Haiti to serve in various ways. He saw the immense challenges Haitians face—from abject poverty and a lack of infrastructure to the lingering effects of colonialism and imperialism.
During one of these trips, God placed one community on Fran’s heart—a rural village called Marfranc, found along the Grand Anse River. Instead of traveling around the country to meet immediate needs, he felt led to pick one place and make it better. This is where New Life for Haiti began.
Before any programs launched, the New Life for Haiti team spent three years building relationships with the communities we now serve. Taking the time to meet local leaders and learn the needs of the people ensured we could empower the community with exactly what they need to thrive.
So far, our generous supporters have enabled us to
• build seven schools
• educate and train families and individuals in sustainable agriculture
• provide critical disaster resilience aid after natural disasters
• train teachers and pastors
• develop a robust child sponsorship program, serving more than 340 children annually
• open an orphanage for vulnerable children
• provide clean water solutions to rural mountain villages
Individuals in the area where we work face countless challenges, but we can send a valuable message with your partnership—they are seen, known, and deeply loved.
Though this work is never a quick fix, it builds a more sustainable future.
Ministry Approach & Beliefs
-
Our Approach to Ministryan explanation of New Life for Haiti's status as a nonprofit charitable organization and how we approach issues surrounding our work to address physical needs in a faith-based context.
Our Approach to Ministry
New Life for Haiti (NLH) is an independent, faith-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization. NLH is not organizationally affiliated with any church or denomination. NLH’s Board of Directors provides oversight for all the organization’s activities in the U.S. and Haiti. The NLH Board is made up of twelve members (as of June 2023) from various backgrounds and personal church affiliations. NLH is supported by an even wider network of individual donors and church partners.
The mission of New Life for Haiti is to minister to the needs of families and children in the Grand Anse River valley, sharing our love for Christ and His message, promoting self-sufficiency and hope for a sustainable future. In alignment with that mission, NLH is engaged in a variety of programs in rural Haiti that can loosely be categorized as community development. As an important part of that work, NLH partners with local churches in Haiti, helping to strengthen local leadership and equipping them with resources and training to carry out our shared mission among the poor. Additionally, NLH’s commitment is to strengthen local churches in Haiti so that they are thriving, engaged, and equipped to support sustained spiritual and physical transformation of their respective communities. To that end, NLH has provided Pastor Training sessions in Haiti in the past and is currently developing a training program called Leading with Jesus that will be taught to an initial cohort of 12 students in Haiti.
NLH established an Editorial Review Team to review the program’s curriculum and instruction. The Editorial Review Team is comprised of individuals from a variety of churches and includes a Board member who is a native of Haiti. The purpose of the Leading with Jesus program is to provide an opportunity for participant engagement through reflection and conversation while supporting spiritual formation in faithful young leaders in Haiti. The purpose of the program is neither to establish a church nor dictate theological perspective to program participants.
For NLH child education programs, such as the School of Hope and the Village of Hope School, faith-based programming and curriculum is developed by Haitian staff and is appropriate to the community’s general Christian religious context and culture. For questions from students to staff and faculty which address topics outside of established curriculum, the policy of NLH is to refer the student to the student’s family’s church for answers or clarification. For NLH community engagement programs such as our cistern construction projects, the recipient community’s existing local church is supported and affirmed by NLH staff.
NLH Board members and NLH staff are expected to represent the organization and its mission faithfully and accurately in support-seeking communications. NLH is a nondenominational Christian organization which seeks to work with others who are aligned with our mission and unified by Christian principles articulated in the Nicene Creed and in Our Core Values & Unifying Principles available on the NLH website. If an individual donor or NLH church partner wishes to engage in a conversation about New Life for Haiti’s biblical, cultural, or political stance on an issue, it will be important for them to understand that NLH intentionally does not champion specific views on issues of a political or cultural nature, or on biblical or theological issues beyond the core Christian views expressed in the Nicene Creed and NLH’s mission statement. NLH does not require donors or partners to subscribe to particular views on these things in order to share in our mission. This allows NLH to partner with people from a wide range of Christian traditions and to further the important work we are doing in Haiti.
-
Nicene CreedAlso referred to as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 A.D. This ancient Christian creed serves as a unifying statement of orthodox beliefs (i.e., those basic beliefs that are commonly accepted as traditional Christian beliefs.)
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
