Orlando church rallies to send one of their own home to Haiti to begin rebuilding faith, lives

When Josh Atilus first walked into the doors of College Park Baptist Church in Orlando less than a year ago, he likely never imagined the relationships that would develop in a matter of months.

Josh is the pastor of a small church in rural Haiti, and leads a ministry called “International Christian Baptist Church Ministries.” Because of the crumbling economy in Haiti, he traveled to Orlando in 2009 to work part-time as a taxi driver to raise money for his ministry efforts.

His need for financial support was great. Not only did Josh continuously attend to the needs of his own congregation and encourage support for international missions, he had also initiated efforts to build a health clinic for his rural community. The closest hospital remains 8+ hours away by car, so even the most basic health needs were commonly ignored.

Once Josh arrived in Orlando, he found College Park Baptist Church.

When Pastor Shaun King first met Josh, he recognized a kindred spirit who was passionate about mission work and building relationships. “We really think the same way about missions,” King said. “If you actually go and immerse yourself in a culture, you come to understand what needs a community really has and why.” The two set out to begin an organic, mutual relationship with dreams of one day partnering to build upon Josh’s dreams for his Haitian congregation.

When devastation hit the Caribbean country last week, both Josh and his brothers and sisters at College Park Baptist were heartbroken.

I spoke with Shaun King today, who shared with me what the congregation is doing to surround Haiti and Josh with love, support and encouragement.

After the earthquake hit, the church recommended two ways for its congregation to respond immediately. They linked to the National CBF Disaster Fund via their Web site, and they set up a Haitian Disaster Fund in their own budget, set aside to help Josh take care of the larger Haitian “family” in which College Park Baptist is now a part.

“We are unique because of our direct relationship to Haiti through Josh and his family,” King said. “We wanted to do something tangible to help.”

This Friday, Josh, along with his wife and brother, will fly home to Haiti to begin recovery efforts in their own community. Along with funding the trip, College Park Baptist members will provide financial support for much-needed supplies, food and water.

King’s long-term hope is that the relationship between these two cultures and these two congregations will continue to grow and prosper. He sees potential for some church members to visit Haiti soon and assist in rebuilding efforts.

In addition to his continuing partnership with College Park Baptist, Josh has also been working directly with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida coordinators Ray Johnson and Tommy Deal to develop a plan for future relationships with his congregation and missions in Haiti.

Pastor King encourages anyone involved with CBF to continue giving to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Haiti relief efforts by visiting http://www.thefellowship.info/home.

For more information, please visit http://www.mycpbc.org/.