Lotts in Malawi - Copyright 2007
The area around Lilongwe is largely unmapped and access to the villages is on small tracks and off-road. Whilst there are existing churches to which village members belong, it has not apparently dented the prevailing dark culture of polygamy, witchcraft, drunkenness and worse.
The Lotts started their ministry in these villages in 2002. There has been an amazing growth in new churches with regular invitations from new villages to bring the teaching to them. After three or four visits to any one village it is not unusual to see several people give their life to Jesus and to change their lives radically. It is typically at this stage that the church is started. Often meeting in schoolrooms these are all called the Church of the Disciples of Jesus.
The momentum now is such that new church teams are eager to join the evangelism to new villages. They use testimony and drama (at which they are excellent) often enacting Jesus’ parables. With as many as twenty people in the back of the pickup truck singing their hearts out for the Lord, it is hard for any village to ignore them as they pass through. In the new churches those who ask to give their life to the Lord are baptised and frequently receive the gift of tongues.
Already over 500 people have experienced a dramatic change in their lives. For the men it has meant breaking with the Nyau secret society and witchcraft, and taking a proper responsibility for their wives and children. Just as Livingstone sought to bring Christianity to break the hold of slavery, so this generation is experiencing liberation from the hold of witchcraft and more.
The momentum now is such that new church teams are eager to join the evangelism to new villages. They use testimony and drama (at which they are excellent) often enacting Jesus’ parables. With as many as twenty people in the back of the pickup truck singing their hearts out for the Lord, it is hard for any village to ignore them as they pass through. In the new churches those who ask to give their life to the Lord are baptised and frequently receive the gift of tongues.
Already over 500 people have experienced a dramatic change in their lives. For the men it has meant breaking with the Nyau secret society and witchcraft, and taking a proper responsibility for their wives and children. Just as Livingstone sought to bring Christianity to break the hold of slavery, so this generation is experiencing liberation from the hold of witchcraft and more.