Charma: Strengthing Families

Charma is on a mission to strengthen families in Haiti.

Charma is a ministry of one of Lifeline’s churches in Haiti. Started in 2001, today Charma consists of 20 women and 1 man who share a belief that strong families are the foundation of a strong church and a strong society. They believe that when the Holy Spirit is actively moving among members of the church and families, there is a positive ripple effect into the community and even the next generation. The group is led by Madame M.* 

Originally, Charma focused on performing worship music and praying for individuals. But since then, Charma has expanded its activities to reach people more holistically.

Charma now not only performs worship music and prays for individuals, but also on a weekly basis they visit people in their homes, minister to them, and help them with family issues, all with the goal of strengthening families through the Lord’s power.

The families they visit and minister to are vulnerable in some way. Perhaps they are struggling financially or the marriage is unstable. Charma ministers to the family to help them through the difficulty.

It’s a group effort. Charma members put their heads and hearts together to determine how to best help the family. This could mean prayer, counseling, marriage counseling, emergency financial assistance, long term follow-up, and more. 

Through this ministry, unmarried couples living together have decided to get married. And unstable marriages have been restored and are now healthy and loving again. Madame M., the leader of Charma, said, “What brings me joy is helping families understand the Word of God and seeing them in harmony!” 

Every year, Charma holds an event for couples to renew their marriage vows to each other. The event simulates a real wedding, with all of the decorations. All couples wanting to renew their vows can participate, no matter how long they’ve been married. There is a wedding message, singing, dancing, and then a group renewal of the vows. Then, the couples all head to the beach for a few hours to celebrate! 

At the church, the fourth Sunday of each month is Family Sunday. Families sit together in church to listen to a guest speaker talk about how God views families and the role God has given families to further his kingdom.

The group would like to spread the concept of Charma to all of Lifeline’s churches in Haiti. It has begun to take off already, with two Lifeline churches already having their own version of Charma. 

(*Due to socio-political instability in Haiti, names and locations are omitted from this story.)

Find out more about Lifeline's churches! And see how through the churches, people are mobilized, developed and empowered to live their fullest lives for God.