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zm in Malawi

In the past zm had a sizeable team of expatriate staff engaged in a range of ministries in Malawi. But since the earliest days of the mission, God has been building His Church using mature and capable national Christians.  They have taken over all the roles in Malawi that were previously undertaken by expatriate missionaries, including church leaders, Bible college lecturers, churchplanters, nurses…

zm’s office in Malawi is run by three national staff, supported by a housekeeper and five guards, who maintain and protect the mission compound.

zm is an evangelical, non-denominational mission that exists to support and encourage our partners in Malawi and northern Mozambique.

One of these partners is the Zambezi Evangelical Church (ZEC).  This church denomination came into being in 1894 as a result of the work of the original Zambesi Industrial Mission in what was then Nyasaland. For most of its first century ZEC was a rural Church; but since the 1980s/90s it has established a very significant presence in Blantyre, Lilongwe and other towns and cities.

ZEC is governed by its own Synod which convenes bi-annually. There are now over 600 congregations and over 100,000 members spread across Malawi. It is served by about 150 trained pastors and a growing numbers of evangelists engaged in churchplanting work.  One pastor may be responsible for as many as five or six congregations.

From time to time expatriate workers may still be needed for temporary specialist roles.  But zm’s primary aim is to train and equip national Christians for the work of the church in Malawi and northern Mozambique.

Facts about Malawi

  • Size:
    45,747 sq.miles (a little smaller than England)

  • Population:

    18,220,780 (UN 2017)

  • Capital city:

    Lilongwe

    Government:

    Democratic

    Head of State:

    President Peter Mutharika

  • Languages:

    Chichewa and English

  • Borders:

    Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia

  • Coastline: 

    Landlocked, although Lake Malawi covers about 20% of the country. It is the third largest lake in Africa and the eleventh in the world.

  • Life expectancy: 

    52 years (men); 54 years (women)

  • Literacy: 

    73 % (men); 43% (women)

  • Economy:

    Mainly agricultural; nearly 90% live in rural areas and are engaged in subsistence farming. Most homes have no power, running water or sewage facilities. Very dependent on tobacco, tea, sugar and coffee. 55% live below the poverty line, and average income is well under £80 per person annually.

  • Religion:

    Other Protestant: 40%;

    Roman Catholic: 20%;

    Muslim: 20%;

    Evangelical Christian: 15%;

    Traditional: 5%

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