Our History

In 2008, Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge was invited to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They visited with the Haitian President and prisons and orphanages. They walked the streets and were moved by the tremendous poverty and the daily struggles of the people. They observed the “fatherlessness” and lack of positive role models for the young Haitian men and women who had little hope for their future.

The team reported back to the MNTC Board, and Pastor Rich Scherber, MNTC Executive Director, spoke of how God had been prompting him since his return with Esther 4:14, “For such a time as this, you have been called.” He asked for a task force, and one of the hands that went up was Craig Sulentic, MNTC Treasurer, who knew the rest of Esther 4:14, said, “If you do not obey, God’s work will still be done, but you will be destroyed.”

In obedience, the task force spent two years praying and assessing “what God’s call was.” They developed four Decision Gates, hoping that at each gate, God would free them from the charge. Each gate opened onto the next, and a focused time was set aside to pray. As prayers were raised, the Holy Spirit came like the wind and blew upon them. God had said, “GO!”

The Holy Spirit revealed God’s mission and vision from Isaiah 61:1-9. “The Lord has anointed you to bring good news and set the captives free. To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called Oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the place long devastated.”
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Haiti Teen Challenge was officially opened in February 2011 and is built upon the gospel-powered Teen Challenge Program and the principles from When Helping Hurts. Poverty is rooted in broken relationships with God, oneself, others, and one’s environment, and the biblical truth that the people of a nation must take responsibility for THEIR nation. This ministry is led by Haitians whose mission and vision are to “Build Godly Leaders of Integrity so that Haitians are empowered to rebuild THEIR nation for God’s Glory.” 
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The HTC Center officially opened in February 2011, with twenty-three young men between the ages of 16 and 24. In the fall of 2015 a women’s program was added. 

So much poverty! The shanty towns where people make lean-tos with corrugated tin or cardboard or whatever materials they can find.  Vendors are everywhere selling everything from fruits and vegetables to toiletries and cell phones, sitting on the sidewalk with their wares.  Candles are used on the street because of the lack of electricity.  The density of people is overwhelming.
People pack themselves in the brightly painted and decorated "tap taps"  (people "tap" the side of the vehicle to signal they want to get out.) There is so much garbage everywhere! It looks like years of accumulation.  There are dogs and people scrounging through the garbage for food or whatever....
The roads! Potholes and stones/boulders everywhere. They take a real beating on our backs and the car's shock system! One funny observation....after a very long bumpy road back, there was a short section of pavement, but within a few feet, a set of speed bumps!!! There is no sense of order to traffic flow with lots of honking, near misses, and side swipes! 
 What are we supposed to do with this?"

​-C. McCarthy, Driving through Port-au-Prince, January 2008