Description:
Our Mission:
We support community transformation by providing a Christ centered education and positive spiritual development through our school and church located in Fontaine, Haiti
Our Story:
Jude Augusma is a Haitian born pastor and educator with over 20 years of experience in International ministry. Pastor Jude has devoted his life to the calling God has placed in his heart to spread the Gospel to the world, starting in his community of Fontaine, Haiti.
Growing up on the small island nation was extremely difficult. Enduring the hardship of poverty, political upheaval, and disease made him question why God made this his home. But God is good and He is good all the time. God answered Jude's doubts and prayers through blessings beyond his comprehension. In 1996, through God's divine intervention, Pastor Jude was led to the small fellowship of Philadelphia Church in the neighboring community of Fontaine. A single room shed was being used as an all-purpose educational space. Here, God gave Pastor Jude the opportunity to use his passions of preaching, teaching and discipleship within the church community. In 1997, a group of short term Missionaries from Iowa asked Jude if there were any areas of need in the sourrounding communities. Jude introduced them to the small struggling fellowship in Fontaine where God used them to provide the resources needed to build a new building that would accomodate additional students. This was the beginning of God's plan to develop a Christian school, plant a church, and plan community developemnt initiatives, now known as Philadelphia Christian Mission of Pignon. In 1997, under Pastor Jude's leadership, the first Christian school was started in the Fontaine commnity now known as "Eccole Philadelphie de Fontaine" In May 2005, due to circumstances beyond his control, Jude and his wife Rosiana moved their young family to the United States. Jude was been blessed to be able to find work, provide for his family, and seek educational opportunities for himself, his wife, and their 3 boys.
While living in United States, Jude has used his vacation time and any available resources to return to Haiti whenever possible. On these return trips, Pastor Jude has continued to provide discipleship and spiritual guidance to the Philadelphia Church, (known as Eglise Philadelphie de Fontaine), continued to act as the school administrator of Ecole Philadelphie de Fontaine and has remained an active leader in the community. Under his leadership, the school has grown from 47 students to 300 students in grades pre-school to the 12th grade and employs 48 teachers,7 administrative staff, 4 kitchen staff and 3 guards. Jude continues to actively lead mission trip to Fontaine/Pignon.
With each blessing, God has reminded him of the importance of never forgetting where he came from. Through all these circumstances, the yearning of his heart has always been to return to full time ministry in Haiti.
When in the U.S., Pastor Jude resides in Waukee, Iowa. Pastor Jude and his wife are in the process of transtioning to full time minsitry in Haiti. Their desire is to be able to focus all their efforts on fulfilling the mission of their ministry known as Philadelphia Christian Mission of Pignon.
Recent Updates:
In April 2022, Philadelphia Christian Ministry of Pignon, became a 501(3)c non-profit organization. Currently there are 350 students, grades pre-k to High School attend the Philadelphia Christian School in Fontaine. The school employs 48 teachers and 7 administrative staff. The Philadelphia Church continues to grow.
Current Projects and Initiatives:
Our new Kindergarten building is 95% complete! We are thankful we were able to welcome the Kindergarten students into the new builidng at the start of the school year even though some flooring, plumbing and electrical work still needs to be completed. We are also adding an addition to the church building to accomodate the growing church. One of our goals this year is to be able to increase teachers salaries as funds become available, in order to remain competive with the salaries the teachers are receiving in other schools in the area. We have received some donations that have helped us to replace teacher vacancies, however, due to the high cost of living in Haiti we are still in need of additional funds to be able to provide competitive salaries and excellent teachers for our students. We have recently started an outdoor garden on the school grounds that will provide educational opportunites for the students as well as help to supplement student lunches at the school. A huge focus this year, and into 2023, is our newly started Student Scholarship program. This program is intended to help famililies pay for their childrens education and will allow their children to be able to attend school at PCMP. Child Sponsorships will cover partial tuition costs and provide competiive salaries for our teachers. Our current goal is to have all 350 students receive assistance. Elementary students can be sponsored for only $120/year or $10/month. Secondary students can be sponsored for $300/year or $25/month. If you are interested in sponsoring a child and impacting a childs life forever, please contact us at [email protected]
Future Plans and Initiatives:
We are currently researching the feasability of starting a Chicken project that will provide an educational opportunity for the students as well as food for the school. Future plans also include construction of an indoor vegetable garden, establishing a vocational school for young adults and building a medical clinic in the community.
Basic Information
Phone: | 515-943-2208 |
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Email: | [email protected] |
Website: | none |
Country: | United States |
Region: | Iowa |
Location
Iowa, United States | Map It |
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