Faith in Action

Working in Partnership with the Church in Africa

Christian Resources

June 2013

Many churches in Africa are growing very fast but they often lack the spiritual resources needed to nurture their congregations.

Church Meeting at Nyamdhekha Village

M any churches in Africa are

growing very fast. This

growth is a demonstration of God’s

wonderful grace. It is also due to fact

that African Christians are very

committed evangelists and most

Africans believe in the reality of the

spiritual world. The Faith in Action

Church in Malawi has grown from

about 50 churches in Malawi in 1987

to a total of about 1,000 churches in

Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and

Zimbabwe to date.

However, although many African

churches are growing very fast, they

often lack the resources needed to

nurture the many believers who are

attending their churches. Even the

cost of a Bible would be more than

most rural farmers can afford and

there is very little Christian literature

available in Chichewa, the language

spoken in Malawi.

African Christians not only lack

Christian literature but training

facilities for pastors are also limited.

There would be little or no training

facilities available for church leaders

in many independent churches.

Page 2 Christian Resources

The need to provide Christian

resources in a locally spoken

language is made even more

important because few people in the

villages of southern Malawi can

speak English, there is also a high

illiteracy rate in rural areas and the

majority of new believers in the

Lower Shire come into the church

directly out of the practice of animist

religions and witchcraft

Current exchange rate: £1 = MK450

(Sterling prices have been calculated to

the nearest pound.).

Burning Witchcraft Charms at a church Meeting at Kadzumba Village

W e have been providing £110

each month for Bibles since

February 1988. We send this money

through the Bible Society and

church leaders in Blantyre collect

Bibles in whichever local language is

appropriate for their distribution.

The Bible Society have recently

produced a study Bible

in Chichewa with

teaching notes and a

concordance which

would be very helpful

for pastors.

Despite the fact that we

have provided many

Bibles over recent years,

the need for more still

remains. In one area

where Bibles were

d i s t r i b u t e d , e i g h t

churches were sharing

two Bibles.

The cost of a standard

Chichewa Bible is

MK2,800, or £6, and the

study Bible is MK5,000

or £11. Pastor Golasi with a Bible

Bibles

Page 3 Christian Resources

T he Bible Society have produced

a machine which they have

called a Proclaimer. This machine has

a computer inside which has a chip

holding the text of the whole Bible in

a variety of languages, including

Chichewa. It can be operated using

solar-power or by hand-winding.

These Proclaimers have been re-

ceived well by rural congregations

and will provide significant help for

those who cannot read. They will

also help rural congregations. When

people return from their fields, they

are tired. It also gets dark at 6pm and

so it is difficult to read. However, a

whole group, including non-

Christians, can listen to tapes.

A Proclaimer costs MK5,000, or £11.

Proclaimers

We have produced some Bible stud-

ies which have now been translated

and printed in Chichewa and

Kirundi. They are also being trans-

lated into Portuguese, Chibemba,

and Shona. These studies have been

received well by those who have

read them. Each study costs approxi-

mately MK515 or £1 to print on shiny

paper in Malawi. (We are given a

quote before each printing.)

These studies include a section on

having a correct attitude towards

money together with teaching on

principles such as sowing and reap-

ing, and giving and receiving. It is

our belief that communities will

benefit far more from development

projects if they are applying biblical

principles to their lives.

Bible Studies

Bible Studies being distributed in Nyamdheka Village

Christian Resources Page 4

The Financial Basis of Faith in Action

W e support Paul’s teaching given

in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that we

should give as we have decided in our

own heart and not under pressure. Con-

sequently, we do not include any re-

quests for funds in our literature. How-

ever, we do want to provide some infor-

mation about how we operate financially.

All our work is done on a voluntary ba-

sis. We are therefore able to use 100% of

any gift according to the donor’s chosen

designation. We would be grateful if you

would indicate clearly if you want a do-

nation to be used for a specific project.

We would be grateful if you could let us

know if you would like to receive a Gift

Aid Declaration form. We use a small

percentage of the money that we receive

back from gift-aided donations to cover

the cost of producing newssheets and

leaflets, and also for other administra-

tion costs which relate directly to pro-

jects. If you are not receiving a news-

sheet and would like to be added to our

mailing list, please could you contact us

at either the postal or the email address

given below. These newssheets give on-

going feed-back about our projects.

Faith in Action exists to support the

ministry of local churches in Africa by:

• Developing personal links and

church to church contacts

• Strengthening the work of local

pastors

• Supplying Christian resources in

local languages

• Sending relief consignments and

funding development projects in

villages

• Encouraging diversification of crops

for food security

• Making small interest-free loans for

family businesses

• Providing wells and irrigation

systems

• Supporting orphans

Faith in Action,

Emmanuel Cottage,

Rusper Road,

Ifield, Crawley,

West Sussex

RH11 0LN

Telephone:

01293 526424

Fax:

01293 533022

Website:

www.faithinaction.uk.com

Email:

sally@faithinaction.uk.com

Registered

Charity No: 293961