During December 2018, two churches were established in Ndembe and Phililongwe, Malawi. Both churches originated as listener clubs that experienced exponential growth, both numerically and spiritually. After several years of listening to the radio and receiving training from the director of FEBA Malawi, Rev. Amos Siyabu Phiri, the members began to express a great desire to establish their own church.
Bashiri, a former Muslim Sheikh and leader of one of these listeners clubs, will now be pastoring the church in Ndembe. He says; “We have been listening to the ‘Way of Life’-programs for a long time and understand the message of salvation very well. We now believe that it’s time to establish a church. We have grown into mature believers because of all that we have been taught over the radio. We would like to thank FEBA for giving us all the necessary resources, like radios and audio-Bibles. This is something which you deserve honour for.”
Rev. Phiri ensures that both listener clubs are mature enough to successfully run their own churches. He says; “I am delighted as to what has happened. We have managed to launch two churches. Many people attended the first worship service and we were also pleasantly welcomed by the chieftain of the village in Ndembe.”
This is a great accomplishment for the Yao people. Previously, there were no churches in this area and it is a sure sign that the radio broadcasts have stirred up a deep hunger for God in the hearts of the people. Members will now come together on Sundays under make-shift thatch roofs to worship God.
Rev. Phiri was also accompanied by Pastor Chirwa and his team from the Baptist Church in Blantyre, for the official inauguration of the two churches. During the inauguration they carried out a number of activities. For instance, they performed a role-play to demonstrate the birth of Jesus, they also provided leadership training on how to run a church and handed out booklets containing teaching material and other useful information.
In the future, FEBA Malawi will not be responsible for the operational management of these churches, but will continue to provide the leaders with information, training and other practical guidance for further growth. We give God all the praise for using FEBA Radio to build His Church.
