Bible study aids attract wide audience in Malawi

By Ian Farrimond | Malawi in Southern Africa

Family peer educator training in Nsanje.

What started as a solution to a specific need in the Africa Evangelical Church (AEC) has led to high-quality Bible study and devotional books for many denominations throughout Malawi.

The weekly women’s group is perhaps one of the most important meetings regularly held in the AEC. Back in the ‘90s, SIM Malawi worker Marilyn Barr saw there was a need to help the women engage with the Bible. To meet that need she wrote a Bible study book in the local language, Chichewa. This led to a desire, if not demand, for more of the same, and so a new ministry was developed in SIM Malawi.

Other ministries, including those working with young people and with pastors, have seen the need for good-quality printed material to enhance their teaching and training work.

The project leader, Revd Wadi Chamambala said, “In recent years, there has been a real desire for people in the AEC to be more engaged with the Bible through personal and group study.

“Marilyn’s books have met this need, and more and more people are using them. But it is not just the AEC. We are regularly seeing people from other churches and denominations visiting our small book shop in the Blantyre office to buy quantities of the titles we have on offer.”

This increase in demand leads to occasional reprints, which has recently been the case for two specific books, one of which is aimed at the family and the other is a wider-appeal Bible study book which is proving popular with the youth of the church.

Pray:

• For the readers to grow in their intimacy with Christ Jesus.

• For the reprints to be used effectively.

• For wisdom to make these resources easily available to people.

• For churches to support their congregations to have access to these resources.

Support SIM’s ministry

Do you feel led to help the production of Bible study books in Chichewa continue? To give to this ministry, visit our donation portal, find the nearest office to you, and use project #96058.

This story first appeared in SIM Malawi Amoto magazine. Read the full story.