Tree of life works together with with local partner organization More Than A Mile Deep (MMD) to provide in-depth education in Biblical truths, so that God is just as relevant the rest of the week as on Sunday.

Also church on Monday
Local pastors in Malawi often have no training. Leading a church has “happened” to them because they can read and write. Either they experience a strong calling to this work, or because they possess natural leadership qualities. These pastors are strong in evangelizing and involving people.
This is fantastic, but there is clearly less development in the field of structural education and diaconate. Many churchgoers celebrate the Sunday service, but from Monday to Saturday it is often of little relevance to family or workplace life.

Gospel with rolled up sleeves
In the churches there is often no awareness or desire to make a difference in their environment. Although poverty is often blamed, there is also a lack of knowledge that Biblical truths are relevant to social themes.
The Good News is not only meant for hope in the future, but also as a reality for today. Real needs such as hunger, diseases, lack of education and employment require sustainable and practical solutions. This requires energetic Christians who show together as a church what this looks like. Solutions that are practical and require decisive Christians with rolled up sleeves.

Action plan
Change starts with a good understanding of God’s Word, the Bible. Pastors are highly regarded in Malawi and are potentially important partners in sustainable community change. A church brings people together and can have a large reach from there:
– Leaders are trained and learn to link biblical truths to social themes;
– In churches where leaders are trained in this way, the awareness arises that they can make a difference;
– Municipalities get the desire to make a practical difference in the social problems around them.

It all starts on Mitongwe
A church was founded at the Mitongwe training center in early 2020. This church is led by Jeremiah Mfune, one of the few pastors in the area who has received a good theological education. The church has begun to build bridges to other leaders by inviting them to an interdenominational prayer meeting. At the first meetings, the leaders felt a bit uncomfortable in each other’s company, but trust gradually grew.
The second step was to celebrate joint services on Christian holidays. The testimony that it shows is great!

Equipment and reaching out
There is a great need for knowledge among this group of ministers. Together with MMD, Tree of Life offers training courses at the Mitongwe Training Center that are tailor-made for church leaders living in rural areas.
Education starts with the pastor himself; his relationship with God, his family, calling and care for his congregation. They are equipped so that they can train their own people and tackle problems together.

Expected results
Our prayer and commitment is that church leaders, their families and congregations may:
● Grow in caring for their own family and understanding their Biblical calling;
● Implement the Biblical command to make a “plan for the poor”;
● Contribute to an increase in local ownership of social problems by their municipalities.