Grace Ministries International is approaching a decade of planting and cultivating in Malawi, and now they're seeing the harvest. GMI's Sam Vinton says their partner has been establishing preaching points which would eventually become church plants.
Their work in the country began in 2000 when two Zambian Bible School graduates were sent as short-term missionaries. It became obvious that hearts were open, and people were ready for the Gospel.
In January 2005, Rev. and Mrs. Kennedy Simtowe, GMI missionaries to Zambia, moved to Malawi and helped establish a training center to expand the evangelistic outreach and church planting ministries.
The team began offering module programs for the leadership of the churches. Since then, several churches have been planted in Lilongwe, along with several elsewhere plus preaching points which will eventually become church plants.
However, "Since he had no pastors to place there, he began a program of training elders, regionally bringing them in for a week. In the last two years, he's up to about 75 preaching points where we actually have elders working in the churches, and he continues this training project of these elders. Many people have come to the Lord."
The discipleship circle between the preaching points has been expanding and demanding more resources. Vinton says that's their challenge. "Pray that these men and women will be trained, will be faithful to the Word, will be solid, so that these Christians will grow. Too many Christians are maybe knowledgeable about the basic issues, but they never go deep enough into the Scriptures."
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