Members of Multi Nation Christian Church sing during worship
Multi Nation Christian Church (MNCC) of Kansas City, Missouri, a Haitian-American congregation, was started back in February, 2017 by three pastors looking to make a difference.
Later that same year, after Hurricane Maria ravaged the Caribbean, clergy and church members collected donations and sent them to Haiti in support of the churches there – the start of an on-going partnership with 15 congregations on the island’s east side.
“We’re not big at about 55 members, but that still ranks us as the Midwest’s largest Haitian congregation,” says co-founder Pastor Jose Martinez. “And, we have an international reach.” (Fellow pastors, Antoine Jean Baptiste and Sauveur Joseph, are also co-founders.)
MNCC is the city’s fourth Haitian-American congregation but the only one affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the only one north of the Missouri River. Its leaders want the church to be organized through its local neighborhoods. Members believe the work of the church should go beyond Sunday gatherings to be invested daily in developing deeper relationships throughout the community.
For this reason, MNCC partners with Haitian organizations and the other local Haitian congregations to better serve the more than 3,000 Haitians who live in the area. Proof of this missional partnership includes English As a Second Language classes and life skill integration groups.
“Our purpose can be summed up with the words ‘Kanpe Ansanm!’ which mean ‘stand together’ in Haitian,” explains Pastor Martinez. “We are a movement of immigrants and refugees who follow Jesus and work for the common good of Kansas City. We try to show the love of God to our neighborhood and to help people live out the mission of Christ by standing together with those who are most vulnerable.”
As its founding vision, Multi Nation Christian Church strives to be inclusive of all races, cultural backgrounds, financial circumstances, and lifestyles. As such, it is a clear expression of Disciples’ history and cultural diversity which uniquely positions the new church movement to embrace the ministry alternatives God is creating today.
Through the 2020 Vision, the new church movement has already helped the Disciples family grow by nearly 1,000 new and affiliated faith communities. New church planters, like Pastors Martinez, Baptiste and Joseph, remain committed to answering God’s call to serve their neighbors, spread the gospel, and make Disciples. They are supported in these efforts by New Church Ministry and by people like you who support the annual Pentecost Offering.
Each year, half of this offering stays in the local Region or Area where it was collected to start and uphold new churches. The other half is used across the United States and Canada to support the recruiting, assessing, training and coaching of new church leaders at events like Leadership Academy.
The 2019 Pentecost Offering will take place Sunday, June 2 and 9. Please consider a contribution to support the new church movement, New Church Ministry and more new congregations like Multi Nation Christian Church.
