The former pastor of a Suffolk church is back in Suffolk at a new church following a year of ministry in Haiti.

Chris Surber is the new pastor at Liberty Spring Christian Church as of this week. He follows behind the Rev. Allen Lancaster, who retired after serving since 2004.

“I love this church,” Surber said. “When I found out Allen was retiring, I said, ‘If we’re going to come back to the United States, it always made sense to come back to Suffolk.’”

Surber and his wife, Christina, moved to Suffolk in 2011 to lead Cypress Chapel Christian Church. But after several mission trips to Haiti, they felt led to move there.

“We felt a pull to establish our own ministry in Haiti,” he said.

They spent most of 2015 in Haiti working on the various programs of their Supply and Multiply ministry.

“God showed such incredible favor that we were able to establish an elderly care home,” Surber said.

The home, known as the Matthew 25 House, provides residential and medical care for elderly Haitians. The name comes from the part of the chapter that reads, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me … Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Other parts of the ministry included other building projects, economic support such as buying boats and nets for fishermen who promised to contribute a portion of the fish they caught to the Matthew 25 ministry, and more.

“When we moved to Haiti, I really thought it was possible we could live there for the rest of our lives,” Surber said. “In one year, we were able to establish a ministry that I thought would take much longer to establish.”

When the couple saw the chance to serve Liberty Spring Christian Church, they were excited, Surber said, as they now consider Suffolk home. They also have a new addition to their family: daughter Carmelie, whom they adopted from Haiti.

“Haiti hasn’t changed me, but it has really sharpened my vision for being a part of the community,” Surber said. “My deep vision for Liberty Spring is to see the church become a hub to really invest in community building.”

The Surbers will continue to lead the Supply and Multiply ministry from afar and lead mission trips there.

Liberty Spring is located at 4213 Whaleyville Blvd.