Young people make a 'Great Discovery' in Haiti

Haiti (MNN) ― Christian World Outreach has held their Great Discovery Youth Camps in Haiti since 1979.

The camps are held annually in Lavictoire and one in Ouanaminthe and target young adults. Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach first explains what's meant by youth. "Sometimes in Haiti when they say youth, it's anyone who's single, and it can be up to age 35."
Then, Yoder says that the area Christians invite non-Christian friends of theirs to join them for a week. They share the Gospel and give them opportunity to change their lives spiritually, he say. It's the culmination of what may have been months of building relationships with people.

It's a popular invitation. This year, over 400 guests visited between the two venues, Yoder notes. "At those two events this year, 76 people came to Christ. We don't stop there. We don't just leave them. We try to plug them into a church. The pastors from our churches follow up with these people."

Each day begins and ends with a chapel service sharing the Gospel message. Throughout the day, there are seminars on topics such as how to choose a mate, biblical sexuality, marriage, and raising children.

There are also fun activities such as soccer and other games that appeal to youth. Part of CWO's relationship with partner churches is to educate and train the pastors and leaders. The training helps these partners ask and answer the following: "How do we help people grow in their new faith? How do we disciple them so that they can grow spiritually and become a witness for Christ in their community?"

Once the camps are completed, the church leaders and pastors can then disciple and mentor the youth so that they are not sent back to their home environments without the support of a local church. Yoder says they take a hands-off approach to the discipleship aspect. It means the local church has local flavor. "We've left it up the pastor and his leadership in the church. It kind of ties into the leadership training we do at the beginning of the year. "

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