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TRANSCRIPT
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:
Registered
Charity No: 293961