I feel like I am riding a wave with untold power beneath me. I am a ministry partner with pastors in Malawi and Bible donors in the U.S. One key pastor in Malawi oversees the ministry there.
Interestingly, in Malawi, 59 percent of the people are rarely or never at peace, making it the third most peace-starved country in the world.1 God is using our team to bring peace instead of turmoil.
Few people in Malawi can afford a Bible because of their poverty. Most never expect to own one in their lifetime. The heart language of the people is Chichewa.
A Bible costs more than $12.00 U.S. equivalent, more than a week’s salary for many who live a hand-to-mouth existence. Some churches have only one Bible.
About three years ago, the key pastor used a digital version of my book, “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength” to follow up with 18 new believers who recently received Jesus as their Savior and Lord. About 22 others joined the class.
He developed how to teach the book with no input from me. He requested some Chichewa Bibles for those without one, and I provided them. The class was taught in both English and Chichewa, mostly the latter.
The class lasted 132 hours, 33 hours weekly for four consecutive weeks. That format would not work in the U.S. but it does in Malawi. He continued to teach classes one after another.
Some of the pastors who were students in his initial classes also began to teach. They also taught one class after another.
The key pastor said it was the first they had experienced 2 Timothy 2:2. “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others” (NLT). The number of teachers multiplied.
By the end of 2024, three years later, at least 75 different pastors have taught classes using my book. The wave is rising higher with more momentum and power.
Come and see what God has done! We have had 8,521 students in the last three years and have distributed 6,126 copies of the Nyanja Version Chichewa Bible; Revised Edition.
We order the Bibles through the American Bible Society which works with the Bible Society of Malawi. Donors get tax credits that way they couldn’t if they worked through the Bible Society of Malawi directly.
Twenty classes started between November 4th and December 30th in 2024. There were 1,680 students in those classes with 83 percent of them (1,399) receiving a Chichewa Bible and 701 of them receiving Christ as their Savior and Lord. More than 3,100 people have received Christ since the first class started.
Lord willing, we will provide at least 6,000 Bibles in 2025, and probably more. At the 2024 rates of 83 percent of students receiving Bibles and 41.7 percent receiving Christ, we project about 7,200 students and 3,000 of them receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior in 2025. The total number of students in the last four years would be 15,700 and the total conversions more than 6,100.
If God leads you to join our team and purchase Chichewa Bibles, email me at johnselcher@gmail.com to get a form to purchase them through the American Bible Society. See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com.
God has empowered me to write “His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength.” It’s a free evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship eBook. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 3,100 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 8,521 people. I invite you to check it out.
Comentarios