Missions History in Malawi

1963: Missionaries Raymond Cox and Richard Mueller move from Zambia (then Rhodesia) to Blantyre, Malawi (then Nyasaland).

1964: Six Malawi men are confirmed and become the charter members of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa – Malawi Synod (LCCA-MS).

1966: Missionary John Janosek arrives in Blantyre. Mission work expands from the southern region of Malawi to the central and northern regions.

1970: Medical mission work begins at Senga Bay on the shores of Lake Malawi.

1976: Deverson Ntambo, Malawi’s first national pastor, is ordained and installed at St. Peter’s congregation in Lilongwe.

1980-1982: The Lutheran Mobile Clinic leaves Senga Bay and begins to serve outlying villages from Lilongwe, Malawi’s new capital.

1981: The Lutheran Bible Institute opens in Lilongwe. Before this time, all Malawi students traveled to Zambia for both Bible institute and seminary level training.

1996: The LCCA-MS elects the first Malawian chairman, Pastor Frackson Chinyama. From this time on, all chairmen are Malawian.

1997: Pastor Daison Mabedi is installed as the first national principal of the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe.

1998: Two WELS missionaries, Richard Warnke and Ron Uhlhorn, are called to start urban ministries in Lilongwe and Blantyre.

1999: The Lutheran Reading Room opens in the city of Blantyre in an effort to reach English-speaking residents with Christian books and periodicals. The effort is largely unsuccessful.

2004: Beautiful Saviour Lutheran Church opens their new church in October. The landmark building is situated opposite the main market in the city of Blantyre, Malawi.

2010: The Greater Africa Theological Studies Institute (GRATSI) is established for the granting of bachelor of divinity degrees to select pastors from the Malawi and Zambia.

2015: WELS Christian Aid & Relief donates about 400 metric tons of maize to assist Malawians affected by severe flooding.

2019: The “GRATSI” program is expanded to include pastors from all synods in our fellowship throughout Africa.

2023: The LCCA-MS adopts an official financial manual to ensure financial transparency and accountability.

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