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Chapter Eight

Evangelism

8.1 INTRODUCTION
Along with the Medical Department, the function of evangelism has always been a key focus of Nkhoma Synod. In the 1960s, the spiritual climate of the country, in the view of South African personnel, contained both opportunity and challenge. Although it seemed to them that the political climate was favourable to their cause, it was feared that this could change quickly. They identified Islam as a source of challenge; at that time, seventeen percent of Malawians were Muslim, while twenty-three percent identified themselves as Christians. Roman Catholicism posed another challenge; they had at that time in the Central Region nine secondary schools and colleges compared to only two for the Synod. Children of the Synod accounted for 61 percent of the students at these Catholic schools. Martin Pauw was quoted as saying that Catholic children seemed better taught and could express their beliefs better than could the children of the Synod. Communism and modernism were also identified as serious threats to the work of the Church.

8.2 OUTREACH TO YOUTH

8.2.1 Nkhoma Synod�s Multi � Faceted Approach to Youth Work
Nkhoma Synod clearly has a profound commitment to meeting the spiritual needs of youth. This can be seen in the creation of such posts as congregational, presbytery, and synodical youth directors, and in such activities as youth camps.
Already in 1962 The Synod had two youth movements, the Boys� Brigade and the Girls� Life Brigade. However, the Banda government was determined to supplant all youth groups in the country with its own Young Pioneers. This governmental policy was consistent with its educational aims (see section 5.2, �Secularisation and Schools�). In spite of the political pressure brought to bear on it, the Synod remained equally determined to continue its youth organizations, and asked the General Synod to appoint a commission to go and speak to Prime Minister Kamuzu Banda (see section 11.3, �Nkhoma Synod and Contention with the Government�).
In 1967 the General Secretary presented his Annual General Report to the Chairman of the General Mission Committee of the DRC in Cape Town. In one section he reported that the Young Pioneers were doing a wonderful job of helping to develop Malawi.
Later in the report, under Youth Work in General,� he reported that Malawi�s youth were under pressure from two fronts: conflict with less educated parents, and non-Christian expatriate teachers. There were at that time three full-time youth workers in the Synod. Many youth were being reached through �S.C.O. weekend camps�. At Malingunde there was an ideal site for a camp, �but at the moment there is no money to develop it�. The youth workers were reaching 600-800 boys and girls per week. Two areas that needed attention were the working youth, and those that failed to make it to secondary school, but were unemployed.
In 1972 the three persons dedicated to youth work were: Rev. AE Mndala, Rev. MH Daneel, and Mrs. M. Mwansambo. However, Mndala departed for studies in Zambia. As short-handed as they were, these youth ministers still had a Synodical-level Youth Committee to which they reported.
In 1973 the Synodical Committee noted with satisfaction that the number of youth �under our care� had increased to 900. This translated into increased numbers seeking admission into catechumen class. A   revised Sunday school manual had been published, �The Children�s Bible� was soon to be published, an the work the work of the Students� Christian Organisation (now SCOM) was progressing well.
Nkhoma Synod gave a report on its youth work to the CCAP General Synod in 1977 that was all of one sentence. �Youth work, especially in and around Lilongwe, has been seriously hampered by lack of staff, but the position will improve in 1977.� The report made no attempt to explain how.
Related to youth work was the recognition of strains developing in families within Malawian society. A report submitted to the 1982 General Synod listed the following:
� Young people want rich partners and parents often encourage them in this.
� Some young people have too many partners before marriage and find that these partners come round even after a marriage has taken place causing many problems.
� Young people often marry too early without knowing enough about each other.
� There is often too much emphasis on looks and not enough on personality and character.
� There is lack of adequate training for young people prior to marriage in some parts of the country.
� When a marriage has no children the husband looks for another partner.
� Recent urbanization is a problem breaking down family ties.
� A partner in marriage who is successful often looks down upon a spouse who is uneducated.
� Boys especially are unwilling to look at the whole range of responsibilities involved in marriage and act too hastily.
� There is a lot of premarital sex and this can contribute to sexual licence later in marriage.
� Christians who marry outside their locality, or who marry non-Christians are often unprepared in the difficulties they will encounter.
� Non-Christian partners are often admitted into the church without proper instructions and this weakens discipline.
� Drinking of alcohol leads to many marital breakdowns.
The same report made several recommendations. The drinking of alcohol was to be discouraged. A booklet containing tips on marriage was to be prepared (The report acknowledged that Nkhoma Synod already had its Chirangizo booklet). Attention to marriage counselling was to be given at Zomba Theological College. Finally, more research into the problem was mandated.
At the 1982 CCAP General Synod, Nkhoma Synod submitted a report on its youth work:
The Synod has called Rev. L.L.K. Chafumuka to start Youth fellowships in all our congregations. Some have begun them but others are still yet to begin. It is hoped that before the next Synod meeting, every congregation will have started a Youth Fellowship.
Two youth workers are stationed in Lilongwe to do Youth Work around the secondary schools of Lilongwe town. One is a Lady, Miss A. Kirsten, another is Rev. Kazembe who has recently gone for further studies in America.
In 1983 it was decided that Rev. van Deventer should be engaged in training ministers on how to do youth work. He was not to try to visit each individual congregation in the Synod, but rather to train ministers �so that they can do the work in their congregations.�
The progress of youth work was of concern in 1985. In the General Secretary�s report to Cape Town for 1985, in the section on outreach to youth, it was noted that early in the history of the Synod schools were established with evangelisation of children being a major goal. However, with the onset of the era of independence, the government took over the responsibility of schools and teacher training (see section 5.2, �Secularisation and Schools�), the result of which evangelisation in schools diminished. It was recognized that Sunday schools and catechism classes were therefore more essential. It was further noted that whereas in the DRC most catechumen pupils were baptized, such was not the case in Nkhoma Synod. More young adults than children were being baptized there. During 1984 about 10,000 young adults were baptized in the 88 congregations of the Synod, or more than 100 per congregation. �That is also why Nkhoma Synod is being regarded as one of the fastest growing churches in the world,� said the General Secretary in his Annual Report. Concern was felt, however, for the quality of the training received in Sunday schools and catechumen classes. Teachers often lacked basic teaching aids. The Boys Brigade and the Girls Brigade ceased to exist following independence, and the successor �youth organization� failed to meet expectations. It was further recognized that the Students� Christian Organization in Malawi (SCOM) was proving to be better at reaching young church members of secondary school and college age than were local Nkhoma Synod congregations. It was noted that Rev. W. Kazembe, Rev. HJ van Deventer and Miss EJ Kirsten had worked over a period of years to reach this age group within the Central Region. Finally, the General Secretary�s report said that Christian camps were seen to be the most effective means for reaching the youth, but the costs involved made it unaffordable to most.
In its report to the 1990 General Synod meeting, Nkhoma Synod reported the following regarding evangelistic outreach to youth:
This is divided into two sections. The first section is done by a full time ministers (sic). He is working with the youth from Sunday school level up to primary School level. Through his work every congregation is encouraged to have a youth committee on the congregation level then on the Presbytery and Synod level. He is also engaged in initiating projects for school levers and dropouts. Already there are farming, fishery poultry, and building projects taking place on the Synod level. Every year conferences are held for the youth on this level.
The second section is the work done among the youth in post (perhaps post secondary?) institutions around the City of Lilongwe. This is also done by a full time ministers (sic) based in Lilongwe. It has proved that services of such a minister are very much needed by the youth as they experience a lot of problems at this stage.
At the 1994 CCAP General Synod, Nkhoma Synod reported on its work with youth. There was no full time minister for the congregational and primary school levels, but each presbytery appointed one minister to do this work. There was a full time minister for post primary youth, Rev. AM Chiphiko. His work included youth retreats, mostly at Malinunde Youth Camp. Other ministers appointed by the presbyteries were assisting him.
Nkhoma Synod has a Youth Department and a Youth Director, Rev. Kachibaba; his colleague is Mr. Veitch. Additionally, there are youth committees at the congregational and presbytery level. Their activities include Bible studies, dramas, camps, charitable work, and �school-leavers� camps�. This last one aims to prepare youth who have not had much schooling for the problems that they will face in life.
In the year 1983 Nkhoma Synod was informed by the General Synod that it wanted a youth program that encompassed all the CCAP. Youth workers from all the constituent synods would work together.   One can see this policy being implemented by recent actions of the CCAP General Synod (now Assembly). The CCAP General Assembly Standing Committee Ten-Year Policy and Strategic Plan 2000-2010 addressed the issue of youth feeling estranged from the life of the Church. It said
The challenge for young people growing up at the height of the AIDS pandemic cannot be over emphasised. It is essential that the Church has a vision for the way forward which ministers to young people spiritually and helps to steer them strongly and compassionately through the immense dangers ahead.
The Strategic Plan called for improved Youth Centres, and for better training for Synod Youth directors and Presbytery Youth Directors, as well as more resources being made available them. It called for an expanded role for youth in the life of the Church. It also stipulated that youth be sent to General Synod (now �Assembly�) as ruling elders or at least as observers.
One can understand why Nkhoma Synod places such a high priority upon outreach to the youth of Malawi. One reason is that the country�s population is young; a continuing high birth rate ensures that this will be the case for some time to come. Another reason is the secularising tendencies of the government, particularly in the field of education (see section 5.8, �The Challenge of Multi-Faith Education�)

8.2.2 Youth Work and the Para church Organisations
Today, throughout the world, specialised ministries commonly called �parachurches� abound. This section will illustrate that some have found their way to Malawi.
An American representative from Young Life came to Malawi in 1985 to commence youth work. The Moderamen directed that this person stay with Rev. Kazembe. The present researcher finds this interesting, as Young Life is sympathetic to Charismatic gifts and its founder, Loren Cunningham, has written a book, read by the present researcher entitled, Why Not Women? It advocates the opening of all church offices to women. Nkhoma Synod has consistently distanced itself from these two doctrinal positions.
Rev. CL Chimkoka served as General Secretary of SCOM from 1982 to 1985; it was in this capacity that he attended a conference in Great Britain in 1983. SCOM was initiated by teachers at Robert Blake Secondary School. It was intended to focus on students at both the secondary and tertiary levels. After Chimkoka�s term, the leaders were all laymen; through this a certain amount of charismatic influence came into SCOM.
Meanwhile, a number of para church organisations are reaching out to the youth of Malawi. The Student Christian Organization of Malawi (SCOM) is a good example. Its ministry has heavily influenced many of the students at African Bible College. AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed) is a nondenominational program for youth, now used by many churches. When the present researcher attempted to start an AWANA program at a nearby Nkhoma Synod church, the bureaucracy of that church proved to be an insurmountable obstacle. ABC students have successfully implanted this program at local Baptist and Assemblies of God churches.
Nkhoma Synod Missions Committee Chairman Rev. Michael Khombe, like Rev. Chimkoka, feels that there is a certain tension between the Synod and para church organisations. �Teachings conflict,� he says. However, he and his committee do cooperate with the Evangelical Association of Malawi.
In November 1994 Ryk van Velden mentioned to Cape Town that Scripture Union in Malawi was interested in an inter-denominational Youth Team for Malawi. At the same time, seeing that the (Malawi) government took over all primary schools of the church in Malawi, Rev. Kainja asked Cape Town to help with courses aimed at spiritual equipping of primary school teachers. Ex-missionaries were mentioned as a possibility.
Cooperation with inter-denominational groups and parachurches for youth work carries with it an advantage, but also at least a potential disadvantage. The advantage is that these ministries can furnish highly skilled specialists. The potential disadvantage is that they may detract from loyalty to one�s denomination. Exposure to fellow participants from other traditions may lead to doctrinal confusion, to which Rev. Khombe alluded.

8.2.3 Youth Work and the South Africa Connection
The �South Africa Connection� in regard to youth work is given for two reasons. First, in the past, much youth work was in fact done by South African personnel, both short- and long-term. Secondly, in all likelihood, South African personnel will do further youth work, and it is felt that reading this section may provide useful insights. A big part of the life of Nkhoma Synod�s life is its DRC of South Africa legacy. This legacy is seen in many ways, including youth work.
A June 1969 meeting in Cape Town noted that Rev. KJ Mgawi, at one time the General Secretary, was at that time serving as the full-time youth minister of the secondary schools and chairman of the youth committee of the Synod. He was being assisted in this work by Rev. BH Groenwald, Miss B. van der Merwe, and Rev. Martin Pauw (part-time). A youth camp was erected at Malingunde.
In 1983, Rev. Hennie van Deventer began the task of training ministers to do youth work. It was not intended that he visit each congregation, but that ministers would go to him for their training.
In 1992 a Youth Team was sent from South Africa to Nkhoma Synod. It first took an orientation course at Huguenot College, then another in Malawi. A Malawian team joined it. The Executive Committee in Cape Town sent with it a candidate-minister, who was placed in the service of Nkhoma synod for one year.
In September 1992, Youth Committee Chairman EH Kamanga sent a handwritten evaluation to DRC Mission Secretary JD Thom in Cape Town.
I am happy to report to you that I am in receipt of your letter reference no. AF/2/66 dated 12th August 1992.
The letter was on 28/9/92 tabled to the committee which accepted the apology your Executive expressed to us. Please find herein a report from our committee as requested.
Concerning that the South African team came to Nkhoma Synod as a result of an invitation; to this fact, the Youth Committee has noted with great disapproval, and as such the CCAP does not accept the ownership for the projects.
For the future plans, please refer to the recommendations in our report.
Thank you very much for your cooperation throughout this period of visit.
The report to which Kamanga�s letter referred contained the commendation that the Jesus Film was shown with great effectiveness and that the South African young people forged friendships with their Malawian counterparts. However, the report was scathing in its list of cultural violations committed by the South African team. This included a speaker preaching with his hands in his pockets. Their �love affairs� - the men and women related to one another in a way that greatly offended the Malawians (�Their behaviour (relationship) does not match with what they preach�). �They don�t show any respect towards the church�s traditions, customs and culture of the Malawian Society and those in authority.� The South Africans said things that were insulting, i.e. �The members of the church seem to be dead.� The Malawians wanted training in skills such as carpentry, and the South African youth disappointed them in this respect. The report closed with a list of recommendations, such as future groups coming from the DRC only, and youth workers being trained at the Presbytery level before the youth themselves. The report also did not want future teams from South Africa to include an equal number of boys and girls (�as this embarrasses our traditional values here in Malawi�). Finally, the report asked the South Africans for more money for the Youth Department.
Cape Town suggested that the Synod send three people to Huguenot College for training, and then they along with three young people from South Africa would be sent back to Nkhoma for follow-up work.
�Mission trips� are very popular today, both in the evangelical churches of America, and in South Africa. They often feature enthusiastic young people. However, it was demonstrated that they could be culturally insensitive. A long-term veteran of the South African personnel at Nkhoma mentioned to the present researcher that groups from the Western Cape have been known to bring wine with them; permissible back home, but it horrified both the Malawians and Nkhoma�s South African personnel.

8.3 RADIO MINISTRY
The pioneers of Nkhoma Synod, Murray and Vlok, could not in 1889 have foreseen the impact of radio ministry. This section describes how for a number of years this avenue of evangelism was used by the Synod.
Rev. Attie Labuschagne explains that he got the idea for �Modern Evangelisation Means in Africa� (MEMA) one day in 1958 while listening to the Lutheran Hour using a cheap �saucepan� radio at Dzenza, Malawi. In April 1959 the DRCM Mission Council gave its stamp of approval. The following year it voted �1,000 for the building of the MEMA Centre at Lilongwe. It also approved the purchase of a MEMA Mobile Unit. In 1961 Labuschagne moved to Lilongwe with a view to producing MEMA programmes to be aired over Radio Voice of the Gospel in Addis Adeba, Ethiopia. In the mid-sixties the MEMA and radio programmes (begun in 1963) were proving to be such a success that the contract with Radio Voice of the Gospel was renewed from two to four years. The right was obtained from the Malawi Broadcast Corporation to broadcast one hour on Sundays and five minutes each day for a religious program. The missionary Rev. PR Smit undertook a Bible Correspondence Course that cooperated with these programmes. The radio ministry (which actually was under the sponsorship of the Christian Council of Malawi) ran into financial problems however; other churches failed to pay their financial obligations. As a result the Nkhoma Synod incurred a debt of R 3,759 (Labuschagne 2003: 297-301).
The MEMA report for 1966 reported that the studio had been operating for three years. It had produced daily half radio programmes for Radio Voice for the Gospel, but that this was to end in 1967. At the same time it anticipated gaining more air-time for its programmes on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).
In June 1967 the GAC heard that MEMA Studios were producing no programmes because MBC had discontinued the use of programmes produced by the Gospel Broadcasting Committee of the Christian Council. However, negotiations between the Christian Council and MBC continued.
The MEMA Department reported that in 1967 from April to July almost all of its programmes on MBC were halted. MBC had acquired a new director, Mr. John Perry of Rhodesia, who insisted on concentrating on programmes produced by MBC rather than by outside sources. MBC entered into negotiations with the Catholic Church and with the Christian Council. The result was that MBC broadcast three hours of religious broadcasting from these two groups per week.
When an arrangement with Radio Voice Of the Gospel of the Lutheran Church, Addis Ababa was cancelled, MEMA began broadcasting over the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). At first MEMA understood that it was to get four-and-a-half hours� time per week over MBC; it was distressed to learn that this was reduced. MBC said that there would be a total of three hours� of religious broadcasting per week, to be shared equally by the Protestants and the Catholics. However, it was noted that the Catholics did not have program production facilities of their own; MEMA learned that this left them with the possibility of having two hours and twenty minutes per week on MBC (Labuschagne 2003: 297-301).
It was noted in a July 1969 meeting in Cape Town that MEMA still had 2 hours and 10 minutes for Christian radio on Radio Malawi. A donation of R 5,120 was received from Holland for development and expansion of the MEMA buildings and equipment.
In his �Annual General Report for 1969� to the DRC in Cape Town, General Secretary YA Chienda reported that regarding MEMA, �General Director of MBC Mr. John Perry praised the programmes for being really well prepared.� MEMA�s work also involved cinema, a film library, and filmstrips.
In April of 1971 the GAC declared that MEMA Studio was not being compensated enough by the Christian Council. They stated their intention at that time to loan their studio to the MBC.   Another issue was the appropriation of MK376 for the work of an Indian evangelist, expected to arrive later in the year (see the following section, �The Challenge of Islam�).
The Joint Financial Committee noted in its October 1971 meeting that the Baptists had agreed to take over MEMA. No equipment was to be removed or sold.   A month later the deal with the Baptists fell through, as the Christian Council decided to hand over this work to the MBC, while retaining a measure of control. The January 1972 JFC meeting outlined the terms of the MBC take-over. They were to continue to pay the MEMA staff at the Nkhoma pay scale until April 1972, at which time MBC would set pay scales.
In the mid-seventies Ethiopia�s Haile Selassie was overthrown and that country was a Marxist state for a number of years. Radio Voice of the Gospel in March 1977 became Radio voice of the Revolution. MEMA became the Religious Department of Radio Botswana, operating from Gaborone. In 1966 Labuschagne moved to Pretoria, South Africa, working with the Christian Literature Fund of which MEMA had become branch. In 1968 the South African Broadcasting Corporation began its external Chewa service, and Labuschagne was involved with this, specifically a programme called �Tisanthule za m�Baibulo.� In 1983 Labuschagne retired and handed over this work to Rev. Wallace Chikakuda, who had gained experience in radio at the Lilongwe MEMA studio, and who had produced religious programmes for the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). His work with Tisanthule za m�Baibulo ended in 1998 when the SABC discontinued this programme (Labuschagne 2003: 368-373).
Into the decade of the eighties, the Synod continued to demonstrate the priority that it had given to evangelism. At the Nineteenth Meeting of Synod, in 1983, there was a report from Rev. Sankhani regarding the radio ministry. It was suggested by him that pastors be separated for the work of preaching on the radio, and that he himself would do the training.   In 1985 Synod noted that the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was adding to the number of hours dedicated to religious programming. Synod�s explanation for this development was �because it was seen as being necessary for spiritual growth of listeners�.
Synod in April 1995 took the step of establishing a committee to investigate the possibility of once again using the MEMA broadcasting studios.   Today the old MEMA studio in Lilongwe is being rented from Nkhoma Synod by MBC and is next door to Lilongwe CCAP church.
Nkhoma Synod is currently considering starting a radio station, either in Lilongwe or at Nkhoma.   CCAP General Secretary YA Chienda reveals that the old MEMA studio sitting next to Lilongwe CCAP may be taken over from MBC and converted to the Nkhoma Synod radio station, complete with radio tower. A committee is currently looking into it. He points out that the equipment inside the facility is now twenty years old, and may need to be refurbished.
Nkhoma synod has now mentioned to its partners with the Commission for Witness in the Western Cape, South Africa, of its interest in the revival of broadcasting.
Thank you very much for bringing out this issue of religious broadcasting. At the last year�s Synod, a decision was made that Nkhoma Synod should start religious broadcasting by establishing a broadcasting studio. Many people are asking if we can reclaim the MEMA studio at Lilongwe.
I will be contacting Mr. Van Wyk to see if we can start a studio station. There are now many radio stations in Malawi and we hope that the Government can allow us to have one.
Late in 2002 CM Pauw contacted the General Secretary and among other things discussed radio ministry. He observed that African Bible College had a transmitter in Lilongwe, and that Trans World Radio was �putting up transmitters all over Malawi�. He suggested that working with them was the answer regarding getting back into broadcasting.
Malawi now has TV broadcasting, and its religious programming is very prominent. Nkhoma Synod plays no part in this TV religious programming.
The venerable Rev. Sankhani (who came out of retirement and now pastors in a remote area between Salima and Nkhotakota) has disclosed to this present researcher in personal conversations that he still dreams of starting a radio station aimed at the Muslim community around Salima.
Trans World Radio is very active in presenting Christian programming in Malawi; it has offices in Lilongwe. One very recent work is �Project Samuel�, being produced in South Africa for TWR Malawi.
There has been an association between Rev. Sankhani and Trans World Radio. The Moderamen in 1989 made the decision to �second� him to TWR.
The committee agrees that a minister should be made available to help T.W.R. with the religious broadcasting. The committee agrees that Rev. Sankhani be seconded to T.W.R. as part time worker. He should also attend the meeting of T.W.R., which will take place this year.
One can go to a remote village in Malawi and see in someone�s hut a simple battery-operated radio. Evangelisation by radio continues to be essential, and one can well understand Nkhoma Synod�s continuing interest in it.

8.4 THE CHALLENGE OF ISLAM
Malawi offers an opportunity for one to observe the co-existence of two major world religions. This section will describe the efforts of Nkhoma Synod to reach out to the Muslim community, while there exists the necessity to stay within certain limits. For ten years, the country had a Muslim head of state.
In his �Annual General Report for 1969� to the DRC in Cape Town General Secretary YA Chienda reported that the new congregation at Nkhotakota (an Islamic stronghold) was growing and this included Yao converts from Islam. Regarding work among the Indians, there was a need for an Indian evangelist and for financial support for this work.
The same meeting studied the topic of mission work among Asians. The spiritual need of this group had been keenly felt for a long time. Some of the missionaries had already on their own started work among them. Nkhoma synod now asked the SMC to budget for a worker for Asian evangelism. They further asked that one of the South African ministers already there be given this assignment. The salary would be equal to that of a native minister. At that time there was an Asian minister available, Mr. GC John. He was a member of the Methodist church and came from India. The FMSC approved, and recommended it to the SMC
That same Synodical Commission said that John would be appointed as an evangelist, not as a minister, �until the time Synod may decide to accept him as a minister�. It also stated that a residence permit for John had been obtained from �H.E. the President.� It further stipulated that the Psalter of the Reformed Church, containing the Heidelberg Catechism, the Netherlands Confession, the Canons of Dordt, and the constitutions of the CCAP and the Nkhoma Synod be sent to John so that �he can become acquainted with the doctrinal basis of the Nkhoma Synod.� Synod was at that time asked to make regulations for the acceptance of ministers from other denominations.
We have seen that during the period under study, 1962 - 2004, Nkhoma was never exclusively focused upon it, but was engaged in evangelistic work to the Moslems and in Mozambique. A July 1972 Nuusbrief Uit Malawi article serves as another example of the progress that has been experienced. Here the Malawian evangelist to Moslems in Nkhotakota, Rev. J. Kajawa, reported that from starting in 1969 with 213 parishioners, 60 candidates for baptism, and 75 Sunday school children, three years later, in 1972, they had increased to 360 parishioners, 70 candidates for baptism, and 120 Sunday school children.
In 1973 the DRC in South Africa dispatched Rev. Dr. JM Cronje, Mission Secretary of the General Synod of the DRC to Malawi. The purpose was to explain the DRC�s commitment to do evangelistic work among Communists in Africa. After making a presentation to the Synodical Committee, the Committee decided to explain the work to the Synod itself. The same meeting learned that their missionary to the Asians found it difficult to live on his salary, �due to his Indian way life�. A request for a salary of MK100 per month was forwarded to Cape Town, which was furnishing his pay.
The evangelist to the Asian community, Rev. John, became disturbed that the local mosque was able to use loudspeakers to call members of that faith to prayers five times a day. He went to the local police commissioner and got permission to mount a pair of very large speakers on the roof of his house. Using them he played short messages and Christian songs to his predominantly Moslem neighbourhood. He reported that he received no complaints, but rather Asian women appreciated the opportunity to listen within the safety of their homes.   Rev. John left the service of the Synod in 1978. He received demission on July 16, 1978 at the Lilongwe congregation, and departed on July 27. The Synod gave him a gift in appreciation for his work.
In a November 1975 meeting of the JFC, it was learned that there was only MK 1,834 in the Mission to Muslims Fund. It was decided to complete the church and manse at Nkhotakota, but it was determined that it would not be possible to provide the minister there with a vehicle. It was noted that the Kongwe congregation had completed a similar house at Dowa.
A bit of a milestone was observed on 14 March 1976 when The Synod�s first Indian convert, a Mr. Bawdekar, a resident of England on contract with the Malawian government, was baptized at the English service of Lingadzi CCAP in Lilongwe. Though from a Hindu background, he had a Christian wife. The Synod praised Rev. GC John for this event.
In the field of missions and evangelism, the 1979 report regretted that no minister for outreach to the Asian community of Malawi had been found. In evangelisation of (non-Asian) Muslims, things were somewhat brighter. The report cited 62 Muslim converts in Nkhotakota, and 30 each in Salima and Malowa. It said that a Muslim chief had approached them and begged for a �revival meeting at his head-quarters�. There was a Mission to Muslims Committee. One task they set for themselves in 1979 was to distribute Bibles to new converts from Islam. It was decided to sell the Bibles to them at the subsidized price of 75 tambala apiece �so that he will treasure it and know that it is his own�.
In its report to the 1982 CCAP General Synod, Nkhoma Synod gave the following report on its outreach to Muslims:
At the present moment the Synod has suspended her preponderence (sic) in mission in Mozambique. But mission work among the Muslims is in progress. Rev. John, an Indian Christian who once worked among the Asians in Lilongwe, left the country in 1979 and no replacement has been made as yet. There is, however, a great deal of work being done at Nkhotakota, Salima, Chitundu and Malembo among the Muslems (sic). The number of Muslem (sic) converts has increased at Nkhotakota.
In December 1983 a Dr. Haafkens visited Malawi on behalf of �The Islam Project in Africa�. Synod was asked to assign Rev. Gareta, upon his return from the U.S., to help with this work. However, it was not a specifically Presbyterian work, and the Moderamen noted that Gareta would be busy doing his ministry at Nkhotakota. They concluded that before he got involved in interdenominational work, this would have to come through the Christian Council of Malawi.   The following year, 1985, the Moderamen stated that, � . . . when the Synod wants to send someone to do training in evangelism among the Muslims, the Christian Council should be informed.�   This attitude toward interdenominational efforts later got modified. From June 22-27 1987, the Christian Council of Malawi held an interdenominational seminar on Muslim evangelisation. It asked Nkhoma to send three representatives.
In 1984 the Synod reported to the GMC in Cape Town that �About 40% of the population of Malawi are still heathen. From this percentage about 20% is Muslim. Especially in the congregations of Nkhotakota, Salima and Chitundu, special effort is made to bring the Good News to those of the Muslim faith.� Rev. Gareta, who was sent to Nairobi and to the USA to get training in ministry to Muslims, returned and was placed at Nkhotakota. He also was assigned to train ministers in outreach to Muslims. It will be remembered that Rev. Gareta died in an automobile accident shortly after assuming his evangelistic role (see chapter 3.5.1, �The Ministers of Nkhoma Synod�).   After Rev. John left the outreach ministry to Muslims in Lilongwe, no suitable person was found to replace him.
David S. Bone explains that during the 1980s there was a significant Islamic revival. It manifested itself in the form of greater Islamic efforts at education, the opening of an Islamic health clinic, and greater production of Islamic literature (Bone 2000:145-146).
On specific attempts by churches and church related groups to respond to developments within in Islam the following can be said. With regard to the Area Committee of the Islam in Africa project it is perhaps surprising that during the years of Islamic revival in Malawi it was less active than before. In 1980 and 1981 the Committee presented no report on its work to the Christian Council of Malawi. In 1981 it organised no courses at all, the reason given being that the Area Advisor was abroad on further studies. By 1982 the Area Committee had, in effect, ceased to function and was deemed by the Christian Council of Malawi to be in need of re-activating. The desire that the Area Committee in Malawi should be more active was expressed at the General Council of the Islam in Africa Project in May 1983.
In January 1984 the Area Advisor returned to Malawi having by this time completed, with Islam in Africa project sponsorship, a Masters degree in Missiology with a specialization in Islam. In August of that year he organised a national conference but the following month he was killed in a road accident (this was Rev. Gareta). His untimely death dealt that Area committee a severe setback from which, by 1986, it had not really recovered (Bone 2000:149-150).
In 1989 the Synod searched for an Indian minister who would work specifically with the Indian community of Lilongwe. It was proposed that such a minister would be attached to Lilongwe CCAP.
The Committee instructed the General Secretary to write to the Reformed church in Africa (Indian Church) asking them whether they could find us a minister.
This request went unanswered. There has never been an Indian minister for Lilongwe CCAP.
In 1990 the Synod was still feeling an urgent need to do outreach to the Muslims. The General Secretary was directed to write a letter to the Christian Council asking about opportunities for training in this field.   A month later, March 1990, it was reported that a suitable person had been found in South Africa, and it was agreed that he should come.
The Christian Council of Malawi recruited Rev. Kajawa, who had recently retired, in 1990 to work with Muslims for a period of three years.   In its report to the General Synod in 1990, Nkhoma Synod reported the following regarding its outreach to Muslims:
Mission work among the Moslems is still going on at Nkhotakota and Chitundu congregations respectively. The number of Moslem convert (sic) at these places is increasing every year. Besides that it is pleasing to report that it the 1989 Synod meeting (sic) the Synod decided to form Mission Committee (sic) right from Congregation, Presbytery and Synod level. We praise the Lord that through this decision the Synod has now come to a point for the first time of sending a missionary to a foreign country which is Mozambique.

At the 1994 CCAP General Synod meeting, Nkhoma Synod reported that evangelisation among Muslims was continuing at Chitundu and Nkhotakota. It reported further that the work was being extended to Malowa and Mtchakhatha. �The number of converts is encouragingly rising.�
Muslim evangelism continued to be a priority. In 1995 Synod thanked Rev. GA Kachaje and JM Kajawa for translating a booklet designed to help newly converted Muslims.
In 1999 Nkhoma Synod produced the �Nkhoma Synod CCAP Policy for Christian-Muslim Relations and the Evangelisation of Our Neighbours�. It was approved by the Synod Meeting of 18-25 October 1999 at Namoni Katengeza Church Lay Training Centre. Among its aims were to promote respect and love for Muslims without denying differences between the two religions. It also called for the good general care of Muslims who had converted to Christianity. Congregations were encouraged to establish funds for the support of converts from Islam who had been rejected by their families. Churches were asked to pray for God�s protection against the advance of Islam. Christians were encouraged to take seminars and courses about Islam. It further called for the development of discipleship courses for converted Muslims. It further called for the establishment of training teams that could train congregations in Muslim evangelism and discipleship.
The CCAP General Assembly Policy and Strategic Plan 2000-2010 sounds a cautious note regarding the denomination�s approach to Muslims.
. . . the CCAP will continue to promote dialogue and understanding among the various faith communities.
However the challenge posed by the Muslim religion must not be underrated. Thus we must tread the dialogue path with great care to avoid being captured by Islam subconscientiously.
One strategy of the Muslims is for their boys to marry our Christian girls and allow our girls to continue with Christianity but the children of the marriage will join Islam. We constantly see the manifestation of this strategy during Kirk Session for cases whereby most of our girls who come with pregnancy cases mention Muslim boys as being responsible for the pregnancy. We need an intensified sensitisation campaign of our young girls in this area.
Our faith must also appeal to the needs of a human body on this earth. And if we continue simply telling our faithfuls that they are not of this world and their kingdom is coming without appealing to their human needs we will lose the battle with the Muslims. This is why our mission is to serve humanity holistically i.e. the body and soul together. Hence we need to improve education and health infrastructure and intensity development projects and other economic activities of the people so that there should be nothing attractive to the human being in the Muslim faith compared to the Christian ones.
There is also need for the Christians to have deeper understanding of the scripture for them to have an informed and correct perception of some of the beliefs of the Muslim faith.
Today along the shores of Lake Malawi there are CCAP congregations made up entirely of converts from Islam. This is the result of Nkhoma Synod�s outreach to them. They do not take off their shoes or follow other Islamic traditions, but rather the standard Nkhoma Synod liturgy. When asked how this came about, the researcher�s informant said that Nkhoma Synod evangelists used a person-by-person approach rather than mass evangelism, and it has worked.
In 2003 Rev. Michael Khombe, formerly Pastor of Kaning�a CCAP, became chairman of the Nkhoma Synod Missions Committee. In addition to work in Mozambique (see chapter nine), his committee oversees outreach to Muslims. For this, he says that the committee gets funds from South Africa and from word and Deed, a U.S. foundation. He claims that �great numbers� are converting from Islam to Christianity. They work in four areas, all near Lake Malawi: Salima, Nkhotakota, Chipoka, and Monkey Bay. He points out that when a Muslim young person converts to Christianity, his family ties are severed. For this reason Rev. Khombe�s group must try to provide them with food and accommodation to school fees. He attributes his committee�s success to the fact that when Christians go into a village, they feed everyone without discrimination, while Muslims will feed only Muslims or those converting to Islam. This makes a favourable impression for Christianity.
CCAP General Assembly General Secretary YA Chienda laments that Muslims are now using tactics not used before. These include giving scholarships, making schools available for free, and providing material needs. He points out that they have oil money available to them that make these things possible.
While there is the need to tread carefully, outreach to Muslims must not be neglected. It requires specific training; distributing Khasu tracts (see the following section) is inadequate. Muslim youth can ask some very tough questions. On the other hand, Muslim communities have been astonishingly open to such things as viewing the Campus Crusade �Jesus Film�.

8.5 OTHER EVANGELISTIC ACTIVITIES
Nkhoma Synod has demonstrated a willingness to use various means to reach out to people. In so doing, it is continuing the vision of Murray, Vlok, and other early pioneers.

8.5.1 Revivals and Tracts
In his �Annual General Report for 1969� General Secretary YA Chienda reported that evangelisation was continuing in spite of Rev. AS Chisanu�s calling to be principal of the Chongoni Lay Training Centre. Evangelist Shadreck Moloka from Dorothea Mission in South Africa helped with revival meetings.
A 1979 report to Cape Town said that nearly every congregation had held revival and open-air meetings. It specifically pointed out that many had been trained in the use of a particular evangelistic tract, Khasu (hoe).
Veteran missionary Rev. Attie Labuschagne explains his involvement with Khasu.
Campus Crusade opened an office in Lilongwe where churches could get literature about personal work and evangelisation. We translated the Four Spiritual Laws of Campus (sic) into Chichewa, adapting it in a way that Malawians would understand it. We called the book Khasu meaning a pickaxe or hoe which was used to break new ground (Labuschagne 2003: 415).
In its report to the 1990 General Synod, Nkhoma Synod stated that there were many revival meetings at the congregational level, some were being held at the presbytery level, and that in 1990 for the first time there would be a revival at the Synod level. The report went on to say that it had been decided in 1989 that there would be evangelism committees at all three levels; congregation, presbytery, and synod.
Among the church-going community of Malawi, revivals are a common experience. Hand-in-hand with this activity is the distribution of tracts. The procurement of tracts in Chichewa and in sufficient amounts can sometimes be a challenge.

8.5.2 Expatriate Contributions
The Billy Graham Crusade (an American organisation) donated $3,322 in 1984 to the Synod for the purpose of buying cinema equipment. It gave the stipulations that the Synod itself must buy the equipment and that the equipment must remain in the hands of the Synod. The General Secretary was directed to write a letter of thanks to the donors.   The same Billy Graham organization held a large convention on world evangelisation in Amsterdam in 1986. Several Nkhoma Synod pastors were invited to attend.
The Reformed Mission League (of the Netherlands) offered money in the field of development. It was decided to use it on relief and development among the refugees from Mozambique (of which there were a lot at this time).
In 1991 a group from South Africa proposed to come and teach �Evangelism Explosion� at Chongoni. Various churches in Malawi, as well as the students of African Bible College are still using this program sporadically.
At the November 1999 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Synodical Commission for Witness and Mission, it was noted that two young South Africans, Dries van Jaarsveld and Willem van der Merwe, were going to team up with personnel from Nkhoma Synod for evangelistic purposes. They were to emphasize one�s �relationship to God and responsibility toward the environment�.
In today�s Malawi there continues to be a sizeable expatriate missionary community. It consists of both long- and short-term personnel. Nkhoma Synod works effectively with a number of them.

8.5.3 A Continuing Commitment to Evangelism
In a 1972 meeting, the Synodical Committee observed that more congregations were making use of the New Life For All evangelistic program. This met with the Committee�s approval. At the same time they instructed the Evangelism Secretary not to visit all congregations annually, but only the ones that specifically requested assistance. This was because of the need to cut back on expenses.
In 1977 Nkhoma Synod attempted to create the post of chaplain at Kamuzu Barracks (Malawian Army) in Lilongwe. The minister to be called to this post was to have been Rev. AE Mndala. However, the necessary permission was not granted. Mndala continued where he was, and �Lilongwe Presbytery is notified not to form a new congregation at Kamuzu Barracks.�   Today, more than a quarter-century later, the soldiers of the Malawian Army are among the highest at risk for AIDS. This suggests that they could have used an evangelistic thrust.
In 2001 Synod turned its attention to the training of evangelists at Chongoni. It was stipulated that the prospective trainer should be a pastor. Members of other denominations were not to be allowed to use the Chongoni facilities for evangelist training.   Reading Chapter Twelve, dealing with relations with other denominations, will help to explain why.
In its Ten-Year Policy and Strategic Plan 2000-2010, the CCAP General Synod took up the issue of evangelism. It actually covered several issues related to this topic.
� Evangelism campaigns need to provide for counselling and follow-up.
� In all Congregations the need for spiritual renewal should be addressed.
� The CCAP needs to help its members understand how to react to evangelical campaigns which challenge fundamental Reformed doctrine.
� The Church needs to be aware that there is little sense in �fishing� for new members when our existing members are lacking training and opportunities for service.
� Partners could be approached to help fund a general CCAP conference on Evangelism inviting theologians from the WCC and the AACC to bring a wider perspective.
The Strategic Plan concluded this section by saying that it needed to re-examine and modify if necessary such basic doctrines as infant baptism, being born again, and the work of the Holy Spirit (see section 13.5.2, �The Challenge of the Charismatics).
Nkhoma Synod has recognized that evangelism is its life-blood; it does simply rely upon biological growth. Statistics show high numbers of adult conversions and baptisms (see section 4.6, �Forty Years of Growth�). This is made possible, as the laity get included in the evangelisation process.

8.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
How has Nkhoma Synod developed its sense of being a church? Much of the answer to that question lies in this chapter, and in the one to follow.
The third of the seven �secondary questions� which this study resolved to answer was, �Has the Nkhoma Synod become a Three-Self Church� insofar as it is self-propagating?� The answer to this is a definite �Yes�. The involvement of outside organizations is undeniable. Nevertheless, the impressive gains in membership of the Nkhoma churches can be explained in terms of its untiring evangelistic efforts, one with or without outside help, and a high birth rate.
Early in its history, the DRCM, and later, Nkhoma Synod, penetrated Malawian society through its youth. The vehicle through which this was accomplished was education. Later, the Synod had organizations specifically for youth, the Boys� Brigade and the Girls� Life Brigade. Then, early in the independence era, it was recognized that the trend in education was secularisation and the steady replacement of church schools by government ones. In chapter five, the one on education, the concerns regarding school children were discussed. Simultaneous with this trend was the pressure from the government to disband the Boys� and Girls� Brigade in favour of the Malawi Congress Party�s Young Pioneers.
The synod answered these challenges by emphasizing Sunday school and catechism classes. It also investigated ways of enveloping specialists in youth ministry. To this end, it received assistance from various agencies in South Africa and the United States.
It was seen that in addition to internal Synod outreaches to its youth, there are external-parachurch-outreaches. Such groups as SCOM (Student Christian organization of Malawi), the Navigators, Life Ministries (Campus Crusade for Christ), and Scripture Union are just some of these external outreaches. The youth of Malawi are, in the eyes of a Western researcher, astonishingly open to Christian evangelism. Whenever this present researcher has gone into villages to show the Campus Crusade Jesus Film, his audiences were predominantly young people.
The Synod in its decisions and statements of priorities gives every indication that its commitment to youth evangelism continues. It was seen that the explosive growth of orphanages offered yet more opportunity in this area.
The Synod was, in the sixties and seventies, heavily involved in radio ministry, principally through MEMA. A number of Nkhoma Synod people got involved in broadcasting and in the production of programmes. That facet of Nkhoma Synod�s evangelism declined. Such things as the Marxist takeover in Ethiopia proved to be a powerful blow to it. Yet we now see a strong drive to revive it. There is the interest in taking the studios next to Lilongwe CCAP, currently rented by MBC, and turning it into a radio station. While religious radio stations and programming proliferate in today�s Malawi, one can understand Nkhoma Synod�s earnest desire to make use of this crucial medium.
Depending upon which resource one reads, up to one-fifth of the population of Malawi is Muslim. Nkhoma has never relented in its efforts to reach the Muslims with the Christian message, but it has always been a delicate issue.
First of all, the Malawian middle class is largely Muslim; they are the shop � keepers and business managers. They therefore have a level of affluence not enjoyed by many Malawian Christians, and this has proven to be a barrier to evangelisation.
Secondly, the second president of Malawi � in power from 1994 to 2004, was a Muslim. During his term of office, relations with Libya was normalized, and President Mohamar Khadaffi was a visitor to this country. The relationship between the president and Nkhoma Synod is discussed more fully in chapter eleven.
Islam in Malawi is experiencing a resurgence. The economic power of certain Muslim countries is being used to buy influence in Malawi. One sees this in signs over businesses, i.e., �The Kuwaiti Tailor Shop�. There is now the �Lilongwe Islamic Study Centre�. On the other hand, Christian denominations and parachurch organizations are allowed to proceed with their evangelism activities unhindered, as long as they say nothing openly negative about Islam.
The involvement in other areas such chaplains to the Malawian Army, and Evangelism Explosion, suggests that Nkhoma Synod attempts to have a well � rounded evangelism program, rather than one limited to a specific target group. This may serve to explain its steady growth.
The story of missions beyond Malawi�s borders will now be examined. The work of home evangelism and the work of missions go hand-in-hand.

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