Category: 2016

December 2016. You will probably have heard of zm‘s Gift Scheme whereby if you can’t think of a gift for someone in your family or wider circle who ‘has everything’ you can send a gift to someone who has virtually nothing. Over recent years many people in Malawi and northern Mozambique have benefited and our hope is that this year there will be others receiving a Bible, a goat, a beehive or a roof for their Church through the generosity of zm friends here in the UK and elsewhere. This is an immensely worthwhile way of celebrating Christmas by bringing help and hope to those less favoured than ourselves.

However it wasn’t zm or any other organisation that first thought of a Christmas Gift Scheme; God started it at Bethlehem 2000 years ago! And He had it planned before ever He put the world into space (1 Peter 1:18-21). When everything was ready God sent Jesus, His ‘indescribable Gift’ (2 Cor. 9:15) into the world to bring forgiveness and eternal life to all who repent of their sins and look to Him for salvation (Romans 6:23).

Lots of presents received at Christmas are not really needed and some are set aside without being used, but how terribly tragic it would be to neglect or discard a gift of great value simply because we didn’t realise its worth! Jesus when speaking to a woman beside a well in the Samaritan city of Sychar said, ‘If only you knew the Gift of God and Who it is.’ (John 4:10).

That lady soon found what we also need to discover, that

JESUS CARES: He cared enough to take the awkward journey through Samaria to meet and talk with a woman of doubtful reputation, something that even astonished His own disciples (John 4:27). In fact He cared enough to lay aside all the glories of heaven to come into this sinful world and die on a Roman cross so that we could have life and one day enjoy the glories of Heaven (Romans 5:6).

JESUS COMES: He didn’t wait for the unlikely event of this lady thinking she was good enough and then finding her way to Him. He came exactly where she was. And He first did that in Bethlehem. Jesus is Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23).

JESUS KNOWS: This lady found she couldn’t hide anything from Jesus. He knew her past life and her present need (John 4:17-18). He knows our situations too and is ready and completely able to meet our greatest need.

JESUS SAVES: He brought a massive change in this lady’s life as the Bible account shows (John 4:39-42) and He has been changing lives ever since. That is why His parents were told to call Him Jesus (Matthew 1:21), ‘because He will save His people from their sins’. That is also why He went to the Cross to bear the sins of all who will accept His gift of forgiveness and eternal life.

How tragic to be offered the greatest, richest, longest lasting Gift this world will ever know and not accept Him because we did not realise His value. Many failed to see Who Jesus was when He first came; Herod, the religious leaders and, it seems, the innkeeper (Luke 2:7) even though they were so close to where He was.

‘If only you know the Gift of God and Who it is..’ and respond to His love, coming to Him in repentance and receiving His salvation, you – like this Samaritan lady – will have a Gift which, far from being just for Christmas, will last for all eternity (John 4:14).

August 2016.

zm Director , Mike Beresford writes about the forthcoming visit of Malawian Church leaders to the UK.

zm seeks to foster “partnerships in the gospel” between Christians and churches in the UK and their counterparts in Malawi and northern Mozambique. Our aim is for these relationships to be inter-dependent: centred on Jesus Christ, founded on prayer and worked through ordinary people. zm regards our African partners as equally valuable parts of the body of Christ and we recognise that our partnership in the Gospel is not just a one-way relationship. Our inter-dependent relationship means that here in the UK we need the church in Malawi and northern Mozambique, just as much as they need us. Some people might ask, “Why do we need the church in Malawi or northern Mozambique? What can they give us?” There are many ways in which the church in this wealthy (and often materialistic) country can learn from and receive spiritually from the church in Africa. Perhaps you might like to consider this for a few moments, and ask God to guide you in your thoughts .

As part of zm’s ministry to churches in the UK, we have arranged for three visitors from Malawi to come to the UK in September 2016. zm’s Malawian Field Director Simon Chikwana will be visiting together with two leaders of the Zambezi Evangelical Church (ZEC) – the Chair, Pastor Joe Tsokalida, and the General Secretary, Pastor Luckwell Mtima. The two ZEC leaders initially had their visas rejected, but after an intervention from the Scotland Malawi Partnership they have now been granted.

The visitors will be joining zm’s Executive committee meeting in York on Tuesday 13 th September. On the following day they will be spending time with the mission staff. They will also be visiting churches from as far north as Banchory in Scotland to Bridport in Devon. The main aim of the visit is to strengthen the “partnership in the gospel” that churches in the UK have with their counterparts in Malawi.

Please remember them in your prayers ~

• for their preparations for the visit. Neither Pastor Joe Tsokalida nor Pastor Luckwell Mtima has visited the UK before.
• for safety as they travel to and around the UK.
• for strength and energy for all three visitors as they adapt to a different environment.
• that God would speak through our Malawian brothers in Christ as they visit churches in the UK and share God’s word.

July 2016.

Myles and Ruth MacBean (zambesi mission’s Church Development Partners) embarked on a five-week tour of the more remote north of Malawi between 3rd May and 6th June 2016. During this period they travelled 3,821km from their base in Blantyre! Their journey took them to five different centres in the north – Mzimba, Mzuzu, Rumphi, Karonga and Dwangwa.

Their objectives were to:

• Understand the different culture, geography and circumstances of the Zambezi Evangelical Church (ZEC) in the north of Malawi;
• Encourage ZEC in the north and demonstrate the commitment of ZEC and zm to the church in the north;
• Take the opportunity to directly train people as a back up regulary training and supporting trainers;
• Allow Myles the opportunity to trial the concept of a Preach the Word training programme, with a view to expanding it more widely within ZEC. Preach the Word is a two-day seminar designed for pastors and elders who want to refresh their understanding of the biblical principles of preaching.

Myles and Ruth felt that they achieved their planned objectives during their ministry tour. They found that the Sunday school training carried out by the accompanying Children For Christ Ministry (CFCM)team was very well received, as was the Preach the Word training. The turnout and commitment of ZEC women leaders to the training sessions was particularly positive.

 Myles and Ruth wrote: “It was heart-warming for us to meet with such a committed ‘remnant’ of faithful disciples within ZEC who appeared dedicated to being trained to better partner with the Holy Spirit to transform their communities and their church for God’s glory. The tour reminded us that God is in control, He will work in His own way to bring about His own plans, and that so often he chooses to work through that which from a worldly perspective is a weak remnant to advance His Kingdom. It was also truly humbling to experience the love, hospitality, care and gratitude of the people for the little that we were doing in service to them “.

Myles and Ruth noted a number of economic, cultural, geographical and in particular spiritual challenges that face ZEC churches in the north. But there were also a number of wonderfully encouraging highlights from their visit.

• In one location they met a ZEC student on placement from the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi (EBCoM). He had received CFCM training whilst at EBCoM. Myles and Ruth observed that “he had clearly done excellent work as a Sunday school teacher and modelled high quality teaching for the resident Sunday school teacher to learn from “. 
• Myles was particularly impressed by the potential of the women who attended his Preach the Word seminars. He said that “many of them were primary or middle school teachers by profession. They generally turned out in greater numbers than the men, appeared very committed, and often appeared better equipped to learn – even continuing to take notes while breast feeding a hungry toddler “. 
• The churches were also very encouraged by the fact that ZEC and zm were making the effort to help the north. Myles explained how similar the north of Malawi is to Scotland. One young elder thought that the Preach the Word programme would really help ZEC to maintain its unique position as a major African-led church that is still grounded in the Word. There were, he said, many churches in Malawi but most had drifted well away from the Word.

Please join with us in praising God for all He achieved during this tour and pray for the fruit He desires in all the lives involved.

June 2016

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens”
(Psalm 119:89).

zambesi mission’s Word for Word scheme was launched in July 2015. It was prompted by concern about the widespread lack of access to Scripture in our partner’s churches. Field Director Simon Chikwana discovered that, of the 35 believers who were being baptised at Namulu Zambezi Evangelical Church, not one had their own Bible. In countries like the UK we have such free access to Scripture – on our computers, on our phones, in our bookshops. We take it for granted and very few Christians in the UK struggle to get a Bible so that they can read God’s word. But in Malawi and Mozambique there are two issues: firstly, the cost of a Bible (about £4.50) is unaffordable for many believers; secondly, many Christians live in rural areas and struggle to get to a place where they can buy a Bible.

This concern led to the Word for Word scheme. Through this initiative zambesi mission (zm) provides subsidised Bibles at MK1,000 (about £1). We don’t think Bibles should be given away without some contribution from the recipient as we have seen situations where such Bibles have not been valued and treated properly. But we do try to provide them at a cost which can be afforded.

Thanks to the generosity of zambesi mission’s supporters we received over £16,500 to provide subsidised Bibles since the Word for Word scheme started. This enabled us to provide over 2,650 Bibles to believers last year, and we aim to increase the number distributed this year. zm’s Mission Director Mike Beresford has just returned from a visit to Malawi. He travelled to the remote north of Malawi with the General Secretary of the Zambezi Evangelical Church (Luckwell Mtima) and zm’sMalawian Field Director Simon Chikwana. Amongst other things they took a large supply of Bibles in the native languages Chichewa and Tumbuka.

He writes, “One of the highlights for me was visiting Kasungu ZEC on Sunday 1 st May. We arrived just about in time for the 9.00am service. The service was blessed by a range of excellent choirs. The message was very challenging: from Mark 12:28-34: the greatest commandment – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength. After the four hour service we had an opportunity to distribute subsidised Bibles and hymn books. We were able to distribute an amazing 148 Bibles after the service! Each believer paid MK1,000 (about £1) for their Bible. It was a wonderful sight to see church members young and old crowding round to receive their own Bibles in Chichewa”. During their eight day visit the team distributed 24 boxes of Bibles, 576 altogether! When you realise that even the subsidised MK1,000 (or £1) cost is still a big challenge for many impoverished Malawians, this is a wonderful achievement”.

Mike Beresford goes on to observe that Malawians “Have a real thirst for the Word of God. From young school children to elderly men and ladies the desire to have access to your own Bible is very powerful and so encouraging to see .”

Let us give thanks to God for the generous donations from zm’s supporters which allow believers in Malawi and northern Mozambique to be able to afford their own Bible. Let us give thanks for the desire of the Christians there to own their own Bible and to read and understand God’s word in all its fullness. Let us pray for Christians within our partners’ churches, asking that God would fill them “with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light ” (Colossians 1:9-12).

If you are interested in reading the Word for Word leaflet, or helping provide Bibles for believers in Malawi and northern Mozambique, you can download the Word for Word leaflet here. Or contact the office at [email protected] (Tel:01904 674748) to find out more.