The Brethren in Christ (BIC) Church in Malawi began as an outreach ministry of Zimbabwe in 1983. Today there are two significant BICWM ministries in Malawi – one to the people in Southern Malawi who are mostly Chewa, and another to the Yao near Lake Malawi. The headquarters for BIC Malawi is in the southern region, in Maone, which is just 5 minutes outside the commercial capital city of Blantyre. The Maone church center was established in 1998, with a house and guest house on the property. One of the senior pastors of the BICC of Malawi lives in the house, but one room in the house is also where the congregation of the Maone BIC Church currently meets. The congregation of about 70-80 meets in the room where there is almost no room for expansion. A make-shift tent is also set up on the property for the meeting of the annual BIC Malawi General Conference.
There are many expectations for the new building. The first, of course, is that it will hold more people and allow the congregation to grow. It can also grow through new membership from a broader level of Malawian society without losing any of its existing membership. The congregation is also excited to see a “real church,” as in a physically larger building that you can see from a distance. Therefore if someone wants to go to church, they can see the building and go to it. For example, on the way to this church, you can see three mosques (which are places where Muslims worship) on the hill side in the village. Finally the building will be a place to better minister to the compassion needs of its membership and provide a greater quantity and quality of training by hosting conference wide gatherings, such as “Home Based Care,” HIV-AIDS prevention, “Farming God’s Way,” various skills training… etc. HIV-AIDS alone is a huge problem in Malawi, as more than 10% of the population is infected. The village near this church has a much greater percentage infected than the country average. The church also trains church workers through programs like “Go Ye Therefore” discipleship training. This training program brings in older teenagers and disciples (or teaches) them to then go back into the villages and lead programs.
The plans for the building have been in the works for over 10 years and now with the drawings paid for and approved, it has finally come to a place where it is ready to be built. The following is a timeline that was created back in 2007:
• Excavation and Masonry – Complete by end of 2009
• Roofing System – Completed by 2nd quarter 2010
• Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical – Completed by 3rd quarter 2010
• Finish Items – Doors, Windows, etc. – Completed by 4th quarter 2010.
It was estimated to be completed by the end of this year, with the excavation and masonry already completed at the end of 2009; but due to lack of funding and the rainy season, materials couldn’t be purchased and trenches for the foundation could not have been dug. So if this project is going to be completed by the end of this year, or even by the middle of next year, some miracles will need to happen and funds will need to come in; and God-willing, the building will be completed in a timely manner. The plan that was established in 2007 was that the project will be supported through funds and labor provided by the Malawi BIC church, in partnership with funds contributed by donors. Work teams from North America will be recruited to minimize labor costs, and to help build a spirit of unity between sister conferences. The project estimates are as follows:
• Foundation - $5,000
• Slab - $25,000
• Walls - $25,000
• Roofing System - $30,000
• Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical - $25,000
• Finish Items - $15,000
After donated funds were used to pay for the city council to approve the drawings, we have about $1800 in the building fund. This is enough to start purchasing some of the materials, but with more financial support, we will be able to start pouring the footers within the next couple of weeks. The people of the church here are thirsty to get the project completed. Individuals as well as churches have given money and food, and have donated labor. There is just a big difference between Malawi and the US regarding finances, it would take the church many years to save enough money to even build the foundation and pour the concrete slab. If you would like to donate to the project, you can either send your tax-deductible donation to Brethren in Christ World Missions, PO Box 390, Grantham, PA 17027 with “Maone Church Center” in the memo line, or you can donate online at http://www.bic-church.org/wm/get-involved/partnership/malawi/ then go down to “Maone Church Center” and click the “Donate” button.
Thank you so much and may God bless you abundantly.
-The BICWM team in Malawi
A couple of videos have also been made. The first is a video made for a vacation Bible school whose special project for the week was to provide money for bricks.
