Dear ministry partners,

A couple days ago I returned from southern Malawi conducting a Pathways training for our network of pastors where we focused on the first four chapters of Genesis to practice healthy Bible study principles. This is workshop #4 in our cycle of trainings, and I was joined by my good friend and ministry partner, retired pastor Randy Widbin. I’ll share a few thoughts and “musings” from that experience.

Participation – The network is made up of select “master trainers” from the central and southern regions of Malawi who come together in Blantyre to receive training we offer. Then they return to their home contexts and pass the training on to other ministry leaders in their regions. We received reports that 113 others are being trained in Pathways through the master trainers, however probably there are more receiving the training because a few were absent from our workshop. It was encouraging to see growth in the participants during our time together, however I must admit I was also confused because the group struggled with some of our fundamental principles we have taught and reinforced over the past year and a half. One of the tools we use throughout Pathways is called “Presentation Sessions.” The participants study and put together brief “sermons,” about 15 minutes long in this workshop, and then we analyze them as a class and discuss if they aligned with the passage, where they did well and how they can be improved. It is always a lively discussion and the pastors grow much through the experience.

Partnership – One of the greatest blessings this time was having my partner Randy with me. Randy is a team member on Pathways, was a pastor for many years in the midwest and retired from pastoring to help with Pathways training globally. He helps me primarily in Africa, overseeing our network in Liberia and occasionally other locations. He is a very positive guy, and since I oftentimes train by myself, I particularly appreciated his extra set of eyes and ears and impressions of the group. There are also two Malawi coordinators, Edwin and Rabson, who oversee the work in the central and southern region. Together we strategize and strive to offer the best training we can for these pastors. Bishop Edwin mentioned how desperately Pathways is needed throughout Malawi as many in churches just preach “junk.” (his words)

Poverty – I was able to gather some extra funds (and some smartphones) this time to offer the network of pastors who would then disseminate the assistance through their churches and communities to those most in need. They were very grateful since Malawi is experiencing a crisis level of famine, and many in the network struggle profoundly with poverty. Helping physically as well as spiritually seems to follow Christ’s example that we see in the Gospels.

Thank you for your prayers for this training and these ministry leaders. I’ll be back for a few weeks before heading off to Egypt to launch a new network in Cairo.