Dear Prayer Partner,

The focus this month is Malawi.

Malawi is a small landlocked country with a population of around 15.5 million people. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 28.7% of the population of the population living in extreme poverty.
There are many Christians in Malawi and the Bible Society has a strong presence, with branches in several of the major cities. They are involved in a range of projects, including translation and youth engagement. 
The Bible Society in Northern Ireland is specifically supporting the work of the Family Scripture Engagement project through our Bible-a-month calendar. This project seeks to encourage whole families to study the Bible together.
Malawi

Capital: Lilongwe

Population: 15,691,784  (July 2018 est.)

Official language: While the official languages of Malawi are English and Chichewa, there are 24 other recognised regional languages. Scriptures and/or teaching already exists in many of these languages in audio and text form.


Religion: Christian (76%), Muslim (13%), Other Religions or No Religion (11%)


Statistics and map taken from The World Factbook and Operation World .

Life in Malawi

Many people in Malawi live in poverty. It is one of the poorest and most densely countries in the world. Farming is the main source of livelihood for a large portion of the people, which has put a strain on the land as a result of the increasing population. The high levels of national debt, HIV, malaria and unemployment affect many families.

Despite the many obstacles these people face, the hope that the Bible brings has penetrated into the society. The church in Malawi has been experiencing a stead growth and so many people are coming to faith. This has caused church leaders to reach out to Christian organisations to help them engage their congregations and the wider community with the Bible. The believers in Malawi are eager to learn more about God and His Word, and the Bible Society is seeking to provide them with the resources they need.


Helping Whole Families to Engage with Scripture

After reports from churches of low interaction with the Bible on a family level, the Bible Society saw a need for families as a whole to be studying the Bible together. Not only does this help individual believers read the Bible, but it helps children brought up in these families to grown in their faith and learn to read the Bible every day. This scenario was found to be worse in the rural areas of Malawi where people had fewer means to be able to afford a Bible.

After consulting with church leaders, it was decided that a resource for families would be developed and distributed throughout the country. The Bible Society has partnered with Scripture Union in Malawi to develop the pack. It contains a Bible, a Chichewa Children’s Bible and a Scripture Union Bible Reading Guide. They then worked to identify those who have limited access to the Bible and distribute the packs to these families.
The project has targeted 7 locations so far, with 7 volunteers acting as promoters for the packs. These volunteers coordinate with churches and take the packs to those who need them most, delivering them on bicycles.

There have been over 600 packs produced so far, reaching 600 families and an estimated 5,000 people. Feedback from this project has been remarkable. Those who receive these packs are full of praise, having been given their own Bible and the resources that help them to understand the text. They have found that it has helped them grown in their own faiths and devotional lives, as well as strengthened their families.

There are still many families who need a pack, which is why we have chosen to support this project this August. Over the rest of the year the Bible Society in Malawi plans to reach many more people and we trust that you will join us in praying for them as they continue to carry out this work.

"...for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.   As a result, many of them believed..."
Acts 17:11-12

Pray for Malawi

Please pray for the Bible Society work in Malawi and the opportunities that they have to reach out to people and their families.

  • Pray that people would practice the habit of reading the Word of God on a daily basis. Pray for those families in Malawi, and also the families in your own local church, that they would practice this good habit.
  • Pray for the leadership of the churches involved in this project, especially Pastors, to continue encouraging their members to engage with the Bible as well as sharing the benefits with others. 
  • Pray that these children would see the examples set by their parents and be inspired. Pray for them as they grow in their faiths- they will become the church of tomorrow.
  • Pray that more churches will embrace the need to help their people to regularly interact with the Scriptures. Ask God that these packs would be distributed to those who need them, and that enough financial support would be provided to reach the need.

Give

Every £5 donated to this project will help give a Scripture Engagement pack to a family living in Malawi.

Make a donation online now.

This project is our Bible-a-month project for August. Decide to become a Bible-a-month partner today! You will receive a free calendar with information about this and 11 other Bible Society projects. Commit to giving just £5 each month and you will ensure that the Word of God is shared across the world. Sign up here.

BIBLE SOCIETY NI
27 Howard Street, Belfast, BT1 6NB
028 9032 6577 Charity Reg. No. NIC102557

Header image shows Mr Dass who treasures the Bible he received through this project.
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