Malawi
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Ministry Description
The vision of Word of Life in Malawi started when two Malawians who had attended the Word of Life Bible Institute in upstate New York, returned to their home country. They began teaching others from their class notes that they had kept from their Bible Institute experience. Soon after, the Word of Life South Africa Director, John Page, met two local pastors in Johannesburg who were from Malawi. God was setting up connections for the work of Word of Life to begin in Malawi.
In April 2023, Deogracious Muwanguzi, a missionary with Word of Life Uganda, was invited to teach at a pastor’s conference. After sharing the Gospel and six pastors received Christ, his heart was burdened for this country. He realized the impact that a ministry like Word of Life could offer to the local churches in aspects of evangelism and discipleship and began praying for God to establish a Word of Life presence in Malawi.
God answered with various “connect” activities, such as a short-term Bible-training program for pastors and focused efforts in evangelism and discipleship. As of February 2024, the ministry has engaged with 22 churches across Malawi, establishing connections with 10 churches in the capital, Lilongwe, another 10 in Mangochi, and 2 in Blantyre. Additionally, two students have been identified and enrolled at the Word of Life Africa Bible Institute in Uganda, marking significant strides in preparing them to return to Malawi and begin Word of Life Malawi as an official ministry location. Currently, this ministry operates as a subsidiary of Word of Life Uganda.
Country Description
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. Endowed with spectacular highlands and extensive lakes, it occupies a narrow, curving strip of land along the East African Rift Valley. Lake Nyasa, known in Malawi as Lake Malawi, accounts for more than one-fifth of the country’s total area.
Most of Malawi’s population engages in cash-crop and subsistence agriculture. The country’s exports consist of the produce of both small landholdings and large tea and tobacco estates. Malawi has received a significant amount of foreign capital in the form of development aid, which has contributed greatly toward the exploitation of its natural resources and has allowed Malawi to at times produce a food surplus. Nevertheless, its population has suffered from chronic malnutrition, high rates of infant mortality, and grinding poverty—a paradox often attributed to an agricultural system that has favoured large estate owners.
Most Malawians reside in rural locations. The country’s few large urban centers include Lilongwe, the capital, and Blantyre, the seat of the country’s judiciary.