The organization now known as Hope for Hispaniola began with just one man, a story, and a backpack full of Bibles. Going from door to door on the streets of Higuey in the Dominican Republic, founder Matt Henderson shared the Gospel with everyone he met. Since then, Hope for Hispaniola has grown to include hundreds of members, churches both here and abroad, and even a full time missionary. All of this growth is due to Matt and his team’s willingness to listen to God’s calling, wait for His timing, and pounce on opportunities when they arrive.
This idea of short term missions with long term change is really the driving force behind Hope for Hispaniola. Initially, Matt and his growing group of participants joined other short term mission teams, such as Meeting God in Missions. However, they eventually split off to form Hope for Hispaniola so they could lean into the ministries and areas they felt God was guiding them toward. Though they started with construction-based missions on their week-long annual trips, they expanded to include medical clinics, VBS, women’s ministries, prison ministry, evangelism, and even eyeglass clinics as the organization grew larger and larger.
Inspired by the book When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, Hope for Hispaniola seeks to partner with local churches and ministries and meet their needs. By doing so, these long-term ministries are able to thrive and create lasting change for Christ. An example of this is the Children’s Center is La Higuera – a school that provides Christ-centered learning for that Haitian community. Hope for Hispaniola not only built this school at the behest of a local pastor, but continues to fully fund it and those running it.
Hope for Hispaniola is not afraid of change, willing to move full speed ahead in the direction God has for them. Recently, God has opened the door for them to build a permanent mission’s center near Higuey. This will serve as a base of operations for the short-term missions teams, but it will also provide a retreat space for surrounding churches at little to no cost. It will also house a permanent Medical Clinic funded by the Hartman Initiative. Ultimately, this center will further solidify Hope for Hispaniola’s ministries and open new doors for further advancements of the Gospel.
As the organization continues to grow and thrive, their focus is still very focus on the message of the Gospel. I’ve gone on four of their short-term trips and witnessed their work firsthand, and I can say with complete certainty that the Lord has blessed this organization. And as someone close to this organization, I can’t wait to see what God uses them to do in the future. While they don’t consider themselves innovators, they display the attitude of true entrepreneurs and God has used them as such.
Wow what an inspirational story! I love the way you wrote this post firstly and I love how hopeful this story is. Matt was so brave to go on the streets of Higuey in the Dominican Republic and share the gospel which not many of us would ever dare to do. Nowadays people are so comfortable and don’t want to go to the lengths of going out into the world, but this guy Matt really showed that he will go anywhere to get the word out to our brothers and sister in Christ. Another aspect of this company that I like is how much they expanded. It is pretty crazy to think that him and his organization really went big and didn’t slow down at all. Finally, the other component of this blog post/ story that I really enjoyed was how you said they were not afraid of change. This organization, specifically, didn’t attempt to back down when sharing the gospel or God’s name but instead took on the challenges head on. Many organizations like this would have stayed stagnant and been grateful that they reached a few people, but they didn’t. Great writing and blog post!
This is truly inspiring. What started out as a door-to-door bible drop now has turned into a massive gospel focus of health and wellness, and all for the glory to God. Matt is a force to behold, for he has the drive to hear AND do. When most of us hear the call and then sit, he gets up and does it. We should all learn from Matts actions and listen to where God is calling us and DO it.
It is so amazing what happens when one person listens to the call of God and sprints after it with all of their heart let alone multiple people. Hope for Hispanola sounds like a wonderful ministry that does everything they can to share the Truth of God with these people. I love the idea that they started as a construction-based ministry. I think that is such an amazing way to share the Word because building something takes time and intentionality. When you bring the people of Hispanola along side of you to help build, it can create so many wonderful conversations. Also, the fact that you are building something for others for nothing in return. It is a selfless act that reflects the love of God.
I love the gradual scaling and focusing they went through to find their mission. I think this is a helpful approach for them to minister to places that God has put on their hearts – sometimes missions through another organization or church can seem stretched out and pulling in too many directions. This also sounds like contextualization as we discussed in class, since they are fully immersing themselves in the culture and are also providing housing for a medical clinic. They are ministering to both the spiritual and physical needs of the culture. I’ve not heard of this ministry before, but I’m impressed by their devotion and innovation!