BGEA brings the hope of Christ to Haiti through its various ministries

Contact: Brent Rinehart, BGEA, 704-401-2119, brinehart@bgea.org 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 4, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- As the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti approaches, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association continues to offer desperately needed support to the country and has plans to expand those efforts in 2011.

"This country is still struggling, even though there have been some great things that have happened this past year," said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of BGEA and international relief agency Samaritan's Purse. "We want to do everything we can to not only help the people of Haiti, but to reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Graham has been invited by more than 500 Haitian churches to hold a Festival of Hope this weekend.

While recovering from the earthquake last January that killed more than 230,000 people, the country has been further crippled by the recent cholera outbreak, which has claimed the lives of more than 2,000. BGEA is reaching out to the people of Haiti to share the hope of Christ in a real, tangible way through various ministries:

• Rapid Response Team: Within 24 hours of the tragic earthquake, BGEA deployed its Rapid Response Team (RRT) to Haiti, alongside Samaritan's Purse, and it has maintained its presence in the country since. RRT's crisis-trained chaplains, have prayed with more than 17,000 people to date. Together, the two groups are meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the families who have been affected by the earthquake.
   
• Franklin Graham Festival: More than 500 Haitian churches have invited Franklin Graham to hold a Festival in the country this weekend. The event will also stream live on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1:30 p.m. EST on www.billygraham.org/HaitiLive.
   
• "The Greatest Journey": This Christmas season, Haitian children had the opportunity to experience "The Greatest Journey," a discipleship Bible study program from BGEA and Samaritan's Purse. The program teaches children all over the world who have received shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child more about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ.
   
• My Hope -- Haiti: BGEA is currently making preparations for its My Hope evangelism project to take place in 2011. My Hope is an innovative, nationwide movement for relationship evangelism, through which churches and Christian families are encouraged and equipped to open their homes to friends, family, and neighbors to share the Gospel using television broadcasts produced by BGEA in the local language. Since the program was launched in 2002, more than 9.7 million people in 48 countries have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ.

Get Involved
The BGEA is inviting others to get involved as well, through prayer and financial support.

"I call on the churches of America to pray for the people of Haiti, our neighbors just a few hundred miles from our own shore, who have suffered so much this year," said Graham. "Out of the abundance that we have been given, we should share with those who have so very little."

Those interested in following the progress in Haiti can visit www.billygraham.org/Haiti2011. On the site, visitors will find photos, videos, a daily prayer calendar detailing specific needs and more.

About BGEA
BGEA proclaims the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available. From its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., BGEA directs a wide range of domestic and international evangelism ministries, including: large-scale Festivals led by evangelists Franklin Graham and Will Graham; Dare to Be a Daniel, a youth evangelism training project; My Hope World Evangelism Through Television; the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, offering the hope of Jesus Christ in the midst of tragedy; and many others through print, television, telephone, radio and the Internet. For more information, please visit www.billygraham.org.