Our Mission
Who We Are
We are regular folks just like you. We are shop keepers, accountants, doctors, and students. We are believers in the redeeming power of the gospel of Jesus. We’re head over heels in love with Haiti, and in particular, the community of Leogane. Hope Rising is an organization based in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area with supporters near and far. Through the generosity of our supporters, we are enabling community missions.
How We Got Here
Hope Rising Children’s Home was born from a place of deep brokenness for the Haitian people following a mission trip in the wake of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. While in Leogane, a team from First Baptist Church Lavaca, Arkansas was burdened for the people of Haiti and the children they encountered at an orphanage that could not meet their needs. Recognizing God’s command to care for orphans, the idea for Hope Rising was born.
This calling has grown from idea to action, and it continues to move forward. We firmly believe God has placed the community of Leogane, Haiti directly in our path. Local missions are a doorway through which the entire nation of Haiti can be reached with the redeeming gospel of Jesus Christ.
What We Have
We bought 14 acres of fenced off farmland in Leogane in 2011. We have 2 wells on the property for both Hope Rising and general community use. We also have 2 missionary homes, the team house, 2 children's pods, and a cafeteria. Hope Rising Fellowship was built in 2014 and we opened the doors to Hope Rising Christian Academy in 2016. The construction of Hope Rising Christian Clinic was completed and it's doors opened in July of 2019. In addition we also have 2 playgrounds, a community pavilion, 2 basketball courts, and a full size soccer field all used for community outreach!
Our Mission
Our mission statement comes in three parts. It is designed to address the current physical and spiritual needs of the people of Leogane. It also focuses on the future and is committed to the rapid advancement of the gospel across Haiti. This is what what it looks like:
Develop
Develop a safe and loving environment where physical, spiritual, educational, and emotional needs are met.
Declare
Declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to both the children and the community.
Disciple
Disciple others to live like Jesus Christ and reproduce that life in others.
What We Do
We build relationships
We’ve worked hard — and will continue — to create relationships with leaders and existing organizations in and around Leogane, Haiti. Through these personal and organizational contacts, we have been able to plug into existing local missions, care for needy children, and pave the way for future Hope Rising involvement.
We send missionaries
We love getting our hands dirty. Hope Rising currently has American missionaries on the ground in Haiti. Overseeing Hope Teams and the construction of the facilities, these missionaries are leading the charge there in the community. We are continually sending mission groups to Haiti to help support Hope Rising and their missionaries. If you want to join the team contact us for an application.
We serve the community
Hope Rising has been able to develop relationships within the community through many of our outreach programs. Hope Rising Christian Academy provides education to over 100 community children. Our sports program and feeding program serve around 200 kids weekly. Hope Rising Fellowships Haitian leadership is working with us to help meet the communities needs for housing, food, and healthcare. We are also actively involved in helping orphaned and vulnerable children through family reunification and foster care.
We meet physical needs
We’re working to provide for the vast array of physical needs in Haiti. We’re doing this by providing medical, dental, vision, and therapy clinics. We’re supplying Haitians with clothing, toiletry needs, and access to clean drinking water. Because Haiti is a country with such intense need for basic care, we plan to increase these efforts tenfold as your support continues to grow.
We meet financial needs
Work is difficult to find where job opportunities are few. We want to meet financial needs in the community by offering job opportunities for the Haitian people like translating, driving, laundry, and construction. Charity is important. Enabling financial independence is more so. The number of our Haitian employees has steadily increased over the past several years. We look forward to continuing to expand our reach and offer jobs to more individuals and families.
We meet spiritual needs
The gospel is a message of hope: life-giving, eternally focused, disciple producing hope. Hope Rising will continue to work incredibly hard to serve the people of Haiti physically, but most importantly, we want to be a part of God’s redeeming story for this nation. The gospel is bigger than the poverty we are trying to reduce, bigger than the sickness we are trying to heal, and bigger than the despair blanketing this spiritually dark land. The Lord is moving in Haiti. By His grace, we want to be a part.