All articles in category Malawi
By Paul Chinchen
Article
November 2003
Malawi
Missionary Spotlight – Cash, cows and Kwacha Fund-raising Malawian style
It was a lethal combination! A small church, a large congregation, and the hottest month of the year in Malawi — October — odiously referred to by a former British colonialist as ‘suicide month’. I watched from my seat on the platform, sitting next to the well-dressed pastor (in a neatly pressed avocado-green suit), as the crowd enthusiastically worked through one animated song after another. This was all fairly typical. The only thing that seemed a bit unusual was the brand new porcelain toilet sitting proudly on the stage a few feet in front of me! Pelekani It wasn’t long before the...
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By Paul Chinchen
Article
November 2003
Malawi
Missionary Spotlight – Malawi’s heritage
Malawi has a rich Christian heritage, beginning with its famous pioneer missionary, David Livingstone. During the twentieth century, the Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland and Dutch Reformed Church, co-operated to form the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). This new denomination became so influential in Malawi that by the late 1960s it was considered the unofficial state church. Malawi’s first president, Hastings Banda, was an elder in it. His popularity resulted in masses of people seeking CCAP membership to demonstrate their loyalty to the new president. By the time he retired from office in 1994, membership stood at over two million....
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By Colin Cresswell
Article
November 2003
Malawi
Missionary Spotlight – Books for Malawi
AMalawian pastor recently remarked: ‘The problem here, as in much of Africa, is that the body often does not get the balanced, nourishing diet it needs to grow properly’. He was not referring to their physical needs but to the development of the church. He continued: ‘Although the Evangelical church is growing rapidly in both urban and rural areas in Malawi, the majority of believers can never hope to afford a Bible and most pastors have to manage with few, if any, study resources’. Conference He was one of nearly 100 pastors and evangelists meeting together just before Easter with this need...
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By Errol Salvesen
Article
November 2003
Malawi
Missionary Spotlight – Malawi today
It has been some years since we lived in Malawi working with the Zambesi Mission, so it was with a sense of uncertainty that I revisited recently. Would Malawi have changed under its new president? Would my old friends still remember me? Would the church have made progress? The answers were all positive, and the past memories — even the language — came flooding back. In the excitement of a brief two-week visit four matters stood out. Growth First, there had been numerical growth in the churches. There are new and larger congregations and churches in areas previously untouched — it was...
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