After a decade of prayer, the Lord provided Pastor Chikumbu and fellow pastors in Malawi, Africa, with Bibles and training through FMI.
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Twenty years ago, Chikumbu responded to God’s call on his life by becoming a pastor who would go on to plant 18 churches. As he worked, the Lord gave him a heart for fellow pastors. Many were without Bibles. Many had little to no Bible training. So, Chikumbu started praying. Eventually, he heard a story through Mission Network News about an FMI conference for pastors in Bangladesh. He was inspired and contacted FMI to see if the same could be done in Malawi.
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In partnership with Chikumbu, FMI conducted its first pastors conference in Malawi earlier this year with 86 ministry leaders in attendance. The overwhelming majority of these leaders did not have their own Bibles, so FMI provided Bibles in the weeks prior the conference. While the Bible is available in Malawi’s national language of Chichewa, most people cannot afford to buy one. Malawi ranks among the ten poorest countries in the world. When material poverty prevents access to the Scriptures, communities remain spiritually impoverished.
For example, some pastors in pursuit of money have turned to heretical practices that prey on biblically illiterate Christians. Conference attendees told about other pastors who hawk “blessing sticks.” The sellers claim that a person who buys a stick can slam it on the ground and God will rain down showers of blessings on the purchaser.
The conference was a wonderful opportunity for ministry leaders to open the Word of God together to see what Scripture actually says about the Lord’s blessings. The theme of the conference was Firm Foundations. With their new Bibles in hand, attendees learned about biblical inspiration, reading and studying strategies, discernment of false teaching, and disciple-making, among other topics. Pray that pastors and churches in Malawi will build a foundation on the truth of God’s word, so that they will grow in their faith and understanding. Chikumbu has requested a second conference from FMI in 2025.
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