Yesterday, Sunday the 10th, we had a great day here at the Mission House in Zomba, Malawi. The first generation of students, their pastors and the new generation of students met together with my team and our visitors for an amazing time of fellowship and thanksgiving to our Lord. All in all, more than 70 people were present and celebrated all that God is doing.
After the church service and the lunch, we had the graduation ceremony for our first generation of students as well as the welcoming ceremony for the new generation. 16 students are ready to go out and share the Word throughout Malawi, planting churches, leading people to Christ and serving God in any way He calls them.
Malawi is a nation that needs Jesus. Every way you turn, you can find helpless people and a nation harassed by the demonic influences which are so active in their communities. There is a need for more followers of Jesus to share the Gospel and to tell people about the only hope for the future: Jesus Christ.
Pray for these 16 men who were just sent out; pray for the new 16 students who have just begun. Pray the Lord of the harvest will send out more laborers into His harvest.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’
Burnet comes from the village of Makandanje, where pastor Katerere is leading the church. As you know, pastor Katerere was born in Nasedegu and he is the one who first introduced me to this village but he also knows many of the other villages surrounding Nasedegu. One of these villages is called “Salim” and pastor Katerere had a family walking from Salim all the way to his church, a distance “crossing 6 villages and 6 chiefs” (according to the way this family described it). This was a long distance and the husband and the wife of the family are not young anymore.
Because of the training Burnet received at our Tom Gentry Bible Training Centre, pastor Katerere decided that now is the right time to plant a church in this village of Salim, where no other churches or missionaries exist at this time. Just like in Nasedegu, in Salim there is only a mosque.
Salim is several villages away from Nasedegu and a perfect place where we could plant a church. Pray for Burnet and for the hard task he has ahead of him, to plant a new church in a village where the Gospel has not really penetrated yet.
Be in prayer for pastor Katerere, a dedicated man of God, always looking for villages and places where there is a need to plant a church. Pastor Katerere is a result of the Pastors Conferences and Pastors Meetings we’ve organized since 2013. At these important meetings he has learned many good things, including about the need to expand the reach of the Gospel in this nation of Malawi.
To all of you who are praying for the work with the pastors and students: thank you! The ministry is growing like never before and more and more nationals are getting involved in this important goal of reaching Malawi for Jesus!
Sunday in SalimSunday in SalimPastor Katerere, Burnet and myself
In the previous article I wrote about our very first student who will take over the church in Nasedegu. Today, I am happy and grateful to tell you that a second student, Rafael, will soon take over a church in the village of Nkotima.
With Rafael and his wife
Just like Jonah from yesterday’s article, Rafael is part of the 1st generation of students at our Tom Gentry Bible Training Centre and has been prepared and trained for this ministry.
His pastor, Brother Chabwera, is waiting for him to graduate this Sunday and then Rafael will be ordained at the church!
Rafael is the second student to be a pastor! As you know, our vision is to train 100 pastors so, at this point, we have 98 more to go!!!
Sunday, Nov. 3, we had the ordination ceremony for Jonah Kaipa, our outgoing student who has been chosen to serve as a pastor at our church in Nasedegu.
Jonah came to our “Tom Gentry Bible Training Centre” since November 2018 and he received all the necessary training he needed to serve his people in this capacity. Of course, no amount of training has any value if the man of God does not have a call from God, and I am happy to say that Jonah expressed his desire to serve as a pastor, desire which comes from God’s calling upon his life.
Jonah & Elina Kaipa
His appointment as a pastor took place the previous Sunday, on the 27th of October, almost 2 full years after the work in Nasedegu first started.
Sep. 24, 2017 marked my very first Sunday in the village of Nasedegu, day when I introduced myself to a handful of people and told them who I am, what I want, what I preach and what I want to do in the village. Back then I told them this: I want to preach the Gospel, proclaim the truth, make disciples of Christ and edify the believers. I told them about the Great Comission on my life and how it is the main reason I arrived in a village like this one.
Oct. 13, 2018 was the day when we first started to dig the foundation for our church. The work in Nasedegu has been going well, of course not without its challenges. We’ve had the Jesus movie shown, we’ve had Evangelistic Camps and we’ve done several door-to-door visits. Every Sunday we would meet under a tree with all those interested to come and the church of God in Nasedegu slowly, but surely, grew.
July 2, 2019 was the day when we’ve finished building the church building in Nasedegu, again, not without many challenges.
July 21, 2019 is when we had the Official Opening and Dedication of Hope Baptist Church in Nasedegu. It was a great day of celebration for the entire village.
August 2019 is when I first started a series of studies about the office of a pastor. Every Sunday we went through 1 Tim. 3:1-7, verse by verse and qualification by qualification. I knew some men wanted to be pastors already but I wanted the church to know what to look for in a pastor and also those men to judge themselves (1 Cor. 11:31). You see, many want to be pastors here because of the position, power and pennies. On their end, the people in the churches usually choose pastors based on pretty much the same things: How successful they are, how powerful they are, how important they are, etc. I’ve seen many churches destroyed by these worldly principles of choosing their leadership and I wanted our church in Nasedegu to be different, to be Biblical.
Oct. 27, 2019 – or two Sundays ago – Jonah Kaipa was officially announced as a pastor before the whole church. Following the example of missionary Paul, who preached the Gospel, planted churches and left local leaders in every place (Acts 14:21-23), I, as the founding missionary of this church, left Jonah Kaipa as an elder-pastor. Soon several other men will be appointed in different other roles and they will help Jonah to reach more people for Christ.
Nov. 3, 2019 was the day when Jonah was ordained as a pastor. Several pastors we work with were invited, as well as some choirs from other churches. It was a day of celebration which marked a new beginning for Hope Baptist Church in Nasedegu.
Last Sunday also marked a new chapter in my life, as a missionary to Nasedegu. It was a great day but filled with mixed emotions. I was happy beyond measure for the progress of the work in Nasedegu but, at the same time, I realized my work here is going to be different from now on. I love, love, love what I do and I love planting churches in villages like Nasedegu but there comes a time when those churches have to be turned over to the nationals. It’s the normal way and the Biblical way but it is still very hard. I personally went through emotions like these ones several times in our last 11 years of ministry and it never gets easier. In many ways, I feel like one of my precious children has grown and left the home. Even though, experience has taught me that God, who is Sovereign, has another plan for me and that plan is always better than I could’ve ever dreamed.
Jonah is the first student from our Bible School to be appointed a pastor and serve the Lord in this capacity. 99 more to go!!! As you know, our vision is to train 100 pastors and I am happy to tell you that 2 more students will be pastors soon after graduation but I will write about them in a separate article.
Most of you have never met my team here in Malawi and are probably wondering what is going to happen with the ministry while my family will go on sabbatical. You may just want to know who are the ones who help us every single day, what are their names, roles and responsibilities.
In this article I want to introduce to you Tendai Kilowe.
Tendai (32) joined our team in March 2016, working as a translator for the ladies work as well as with the children. She is married to Dalitso (35) and, together, they have 3 children: Vivien (14), Eugene (8) and Laura (2).
Tendai’s main responsibilities have to do with the work with orphans in Kachere and Mpyupyu. On a weekly basis, she visits the 2 Feeding Centres and makes sure the work is going smoothly. At the office, she helps with the translation work, both on a computer as well as for our ladies visitors. Tendai is our only translator for the Pastors’ Wives Conferences.
At our Feeding Centres in Kachere and Mpyupyu, Tendai also visits the 173 orphans and learns about their current challenges. When a child moves away from the village, she makes sure a replacement is found ASAP.
Every Wednesday, both Tendai and Misozi work with close to 300 children in the villages of Bwanali and Nasedegu, teaching them the Word of God.
As the school year at our Tom Gentry Bible Training Centre is coming to an end, we are preparing things for the next generation of students who will start next month.
Between Nov. 4 – 8, Pastor Keith will teach the last – the 10th – session of intensive courses for the current generation of students. Starting with Nov. 11 and until November next year, 16 new students will go through the same courses, for the purpose of preparing them for a life of ministry, serving and pastoring a church.
100 young men sent to 100 villages to plant 100 churches.
Our goal
Today, 24 young men sent and recommended by their pastors/churches, came to the Mission House and took a simple test which will help us with the selection process. We only have a few requirements: students should know how to read/write and should have a calling or at least a strong desire to follow Jesus. Their pastors, on their hand, have carefully selected them from among all those interested to come. As their spiritual leaders, their responsibility was to find and send to us young men who love the Lord and want to learn more about Him so they can serve Him for the rest of their lives.
As a matter of praise report, at least one of our current students (from the 1st generation) is already serving the Lord as a pastor. Looking at our goal above, we still have a ways to go but we are very excited about this beginning.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
Matthew 28:19
September, October and beginning of November represents a time of the year when most churches choose to schedule their baptisms. The reason behind this has to do with water availability, safety and the rainy season, as most churches do not have their own baptistery but, rather, they use local rivers/ponds.
A total of 10 people publicly expressed their union with Christ in His death and resurrection, after giving a convincing testimony of their existing faith in Jesus Christ. Before all the witnesses seen and unseen, these Brothers and Sisters in Christ confessed Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and expressed their decision to follow Him for the rest of their lives. Based on the profession of their faith, I proceeded to baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?
Acts 10:47
These are the names of those baptized, please lift them up in your prayers as they continue on this path of obedience and service to our Lord Jesus Christ: Hawa, Akupuza, Ivy, Gift, Sidreck, Beston, Aron, Lackson, Handson and Madalo.
Most of you have never met my team here in Malawi and are probably wondering what is going to happen with the ministry while my family will go on sabbatical. You may just want to know who are the ones who help us every single day, what are their names, roles and responsibilities.
In this article I want to introduce to you Samuel and Linesi Mandala.
Samuel and Linesi are the latest additions to our team here in Africa. Together, Samuel (40) and Linesi (39) have 3 children: Florence (19), Martha (16) and Kevin (13).
Samuel joined the team because we needed someone to oversee the implementation of Farming God’s Way courses in the villages. Soon after he came on board, we realized he has even more talents than we thought, and right now his main responsibility revolves around the work with the Bible School. He assists Stanley in the translation work and is the main interpreter for all our foreign teachers. Samuel is also an excellent driver, with a vast experience and knowledge when it comes to the roads of Malawi, what are the best and safest routes, etc.
Linesi is working part-time with Hope for the Future in Malawi and she assists Doreen (Stanley’s wife) in the kitchen when we provide food for the students or pastors who attend the School or any other meetings.
In our absence, Samuel will pick up and drop off to the airport all our visitors. He will also take them around to the different aspects of the ministry. Samuel will also translate all our teachers and ensure the students are taken care of.
Linesi will continue to do the important job in ensuring everyone gets to eat at the end of a busy day.
Sunday, Oct. 13, we had a day of celebration in Kachere, 2 believers asked to be baptized, as a public testimony of their inner regeneration. Both Mrs. Lipepe and Miriam professed their faith in Jesus Christ and share their testimonies with our church in Kachere.
“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
Acts 10:47
We take baptisms in Malawi very seriously, as we should. The implications here are very serious. Given the Roman Catholic influence in Malawi, we want to make sure no one thinks baptism saves or prepares them for heaven.
In short, we want to avoid deceiving someone who is not a genuine believer and, through the act of baptism, catapulting them straight into hell by giving them a false hope.
Mrs. Lipepe is the blind man’s – Clever’s – wife. Miriam is a young girl who was saved during our last Evangelistic Camp in Kachere. Both of them are faithful to God and in our church in the village.
Most of you have never met my team here in Malawi and are probably wondering what is going to happen with the ministry while my family will go on sabbatical. You may just want to know who are the ones who help us every single day, what are their names, roles and responsibilities.
In this article I want to introduce to you Misozi Sitolo.
Misozi (in translation “tears“) has been working with Hope for the Future for a very long time, even before our family came here 11 years ago. Today she is 27 years old, married with Stefano and expecting a baby.
Misozi’s responsibilities revolve around the children’s ministry. She has been trained to work with children and she has extensive experience with them. Misozi leads the Bible clubs we have in different villages around Zomba. Every week she meets with these children and, in the 1-1.5 hours she spends with them, they learn new songs, games and hear the Gospel taught through different Bible lessons for children.
Due to her current situation – expecting a baby – we have reduced her other responsibilities, but in the future she will learn how to type on a computer so she can help the rest of the team in the translation work.
Although her main part of the ministry is “only” the work with the Bible clubs, I want to emphasize that she plays a very important role in the entire work here in Malawi. Some of these Bible clubs can number more than 200 children every single day and these children are our open doors to reach the adults. In every village where we plant new churches, we work with the children first and then, and through them, we can reach the adults and plant and grow a church. Misozi not only leads children to Christ but also helps the rest of us start and build a church.
