"'...teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." ~ Matthew 28:20
You will recognize the Scripture above as the last verse of the Great Commission. I purposely left off the first half of the verse so that we could focus our attention on this last, but very important, commandment. Truly, we are to go evangelize the nations and baptize those who believe. If we did not step out and evangelize there would be no one for us to teach. But, the Great Commission is not fulfilled until we have discipled new believers and taught them to go, to evangelize, and to disciple others.
The Malawi mission trip was a Great Commission ministry. My last blog told of the 23,874 souls that responded to the message of salvation. In the weeks since, several other teams have joined Joe Veal and the number is now over 59,455 with another team on the way. That is an astounding fact! God is awesome and we praise Him for His goodness. He is mighty to save!
The ministry in Malawi through You-Turn Ministries brought together over 88 village chiefs and their wives (178 total) for a leadership conference that Clint Otto, Joe Veal, and I taught. This single day of training, although brief, was a unique experience. I am not well versed in Malawi culture, but it appears that the village chiefs exert great power and influence. Malawi has a democratically elected President and government. They also have a military and a police force. Yet, the chiefs can act as the judge, jury, and executioner in their village.
The men and women that attended our leadership conference were not Jesus followers. Most have been given the office of chief without any preparation, yet they have the responsibility of leading the people of their village. Many think of African villages as being very small with only a few people and few decisions of consequence, but these villages can range in size from a few families (50 or 60 people) to several thousand people. These men face the effects of poverty and HIV/AIDS every day. It is common for death and starvation to leave orphans and widows in need of food and help. Additionally, there is drought, famine, and joblessness, as well as many other dire situations that impact their constituents.
Our leadership lessons were adapted from John Maxwell’s Equip lessons, which are based on his popular 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Yet, the Equip lessons add a Biblical dimension that is missing from the original book. I taught the lessons on “The Law of Influence” based on the life of Joshua, and “The Law of Sacrifice” taken from the life of Moses. Clint taught “The Law of Process” based on the life of Joseph. Upon finishing the lesson on “The Law of Influence” which teaches putting the interest of others above yourself and important values such as integrity and transparency, one of the chiefs raised his hand to ask a question. “I know what you have told us is true and that this is how we should live and conduct ourselves, but how is it possible to live such a life, and how do we incorporate this teaching into our lives?” he wondered. That sounded to me like an invitation to give an invitation! I told him that the drastic, lasting change that he desired would require complete access and reliance on God. I explained that they could only have access to God through Jesus and offered to show them how they might pray if they were ready to surrender their lives, repent of their sins, and live obediently for Him. Everyone in the room prayed. I asked how many of them had asked Christ to save them for the very first time. They all raised their hands. Not quite believing my eyes, I asked them how many of them were Christians or Christ-followers before today. No one raised their hands. I again asked how many of them had sincerely asked Jesus Christ to be their Savior and their Lord that day. They all raised their hands!
At the end of the day Joe Veal taught the final lesson, “The Law of the Legacy,” which uses the life of Jesus Christ as the model. At the end of our time with them, we asked for questions or comments. There were many. Some commented on the points of leadership that were taught or asked for clarification about something. Many commented on how thankful they were for the teaching because they had just been put into leadership without any training. One chief at the very end summed it up by saying, “Today I have been born again! I have also learned that we need to change the way we lead and to put our people first. We need more of this teaching, and we all should open each of our villages to have a church in them.”
The other major meeting was a two-day conference for pastors. Clint taught the Foundational Doctrine series, and I lead the pastors through the leadership lessons. These men and their wives had already been saved and called to ministry; yet, they lacked training in Biblical doctrine. The potential is great for what the Lord will do through them! Malawi needs churches that are led by strong leaders who understand and can teach the truths of the Bible. This is why discipleship is so important there. Our time with them was precious. We are praying that each of them will multiply themselves a hundred-fold and that thousands of churches can be planted through the partnership of You-Turn Ministries and Urbancrest as we work together for the Kingdom of God.
The work in Malawi is complex and will take many who are willing to go, give, and pray for them. We will have to invest much more while the fields are still white for harvest. All of the projects that Urbancrest is involved in are supported by the Faith Promise Fund. Thank you for contributing to this fund that brings life to the world. People will be in Heaven because of your sacrifice!
