Malawi

Central African Preaching Academy

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Class at CAPA

               Number of Graduates: 129 | Churches Impacted: 50               

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To glorify God and strengthen the church by training pastors to study, live out, and teach God's Word.

Church in Malawi
Faculty member speaks at conference for CAPA

MISSION

KEY DETAILS ON CENTRAL AFRICAN PREACHING ACADEMY

About

  • We exist to train faithful pastors for gospel-centered, biblical churches.

    • Train pastors in expository preaching and church leadership

    • Provide foundational equipping for church members

    • Promote biblical ecclesiology and church leadership

    • Respond to pervasive prosperity movement with sound theology

    • Produce biblical resources (including translated texts) for the church in Malawi

  • We use a modular model, meeting two weeks per month for face-to-face instruction, then two weeks of reading and assignments. Each student is part of a mentorship group with one of our faculty pastors. We also have a rural-training program, taking basic level equipping to remote areas to strengthen the church and its leaders. Graduation requires the completion of the academic courses and pastoral affirmation of church membership and strong character.

Training

    • Certificate in Biblical Studies: A two-year foundational introduction to Hermeneutics, Old Testament/New Testament, Theology, and Christian Worldview and Leadership

    • Theological Studies by Extension (TSE): A three-year program (intensive week every quarter) for members and church leaders.

  • Our school was founded in 2014 by missionaries sent to Malawi from Grace Community Church. Over the past eleven years, there have been 129 men who have graduated from CAPA's various programs, helping them to serve their churches more faithfully.

  • Lord willing, in the next five years, we will have established two new formal programs (Certificate and Bachelors) giving options for lay and pastoral training. We hope to strengthen our network of cohorts in rural areas for basic-level training in Chichewa. We also plan to produce translations of multiple key texts each year in order to better resource the local church in Malawi.

Context

  • Population: 21,763,309 (2024 est.)  

    Ethnic Groups : Chewa 34.3%, Lomwe 18.8%, Yao 13.2%, Ngoni 10.4%, Tumbuka 9.2%, Sena 3.8%, Mang'anja 3.2%, Tonga 1.8%, Nyanja 1.8%, Nkhonde 1%, other 2.2%, foreign 0.3% (2018 est.)  

    Languages: English (official), Chewa (dominant), Lambya, Lomwe, Ngoni, Nkhonde, Nyakyusa, Nyanja, Sena, Tonga, Tumbuka, Yao  

    Note: Chewa and Nyanja are mutually intelligible dialects; Nkhonde and Nyakyusa are mutually intelligible dialects.  

    Religions : Protestant 33.5% (includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%), Roman Catholic 17.2%, other Christian 26.6%, Muslim 13.8%, traditionalist 1.1%, other 5.6%, none 2.1% (2018 est.)  

    Population of Major Urban Areas: Lilongwe (capital) 1.276 million, Blantyre-Limbe 1.031 million (2023)  

    Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons

    Refugees (country of origin): 11,502 (Burundi) (refugees and asylum seekers), 6,594 (Rwanda) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2023); 34,605 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers) 

    Stats from CIA.gov

  • Malawi’s name comes from the Chewa word for flames, originating from the Maravi peoples who first settled the region in 1400. Malawi came into existence as a nation in 1964, after gaining its independence from British colonial rule. Two years later, it was declared a republic under the leadership of Hastings Kamuzu Banda. The country faces difficulties due to increasing pressure on agricultural lands and the prevalence of poverty and corruption. High population growth and HIV/AIDS present major problems for the nation’s economy as well. While Christianity does exist in Malawi, it is mixed with nominalism and the influence of traditional African religions. A strong Muslim presence likewise poses challenges for evangelistic efforts in the country. 

    Compiled from CIA.gov, Operation World, and Joshua Project

  • Emmanuel at his local church

    “The Lord has used the training I received from both Christ Seminary and CAPA to enable me to serve and shepherd God’s flock.”

    Emmanuel Mpeni, Faculty Member at CAPA

  • Students at CAPA

    “CAPA was and still remains an answer to my prayers…Being a CAPA student was a great joy as my eyes were opened to what the Word of God really is and how it should be studied and lived out in my own life”

    Graduate of CAPA

  • Church in Malawi

    “This has opened my eyes on what I got wrong, what I misunderstood, and has made me realize that I need to do the right thing in my teaching as a pastor.”

    Madalitso Maseko, Pastor in Malawi

  • Class for CAPA

    “These trainings have helped me so much especially in interpreting the Bible [and] understanding the message. Getting what the passage is saying and communicating the same.”

    Kennedy Kwanda, Student at CAPA

HOW TO PARTNER

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Stories from Central African Preaching Academy

Open Doors in Africa

Over the last year, CAPA has begun sending faculty members and biblical resources to a small fellowship of pastors in a remote corner of Malawi.

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Truth and Translation in Malawi

As CAPA professors were wrapping up a conference, a pastor came to them with a need and an opportunity. The local pastors and men of his community needed to hear the teaching from the conference—in Chichewa.

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Not for Prestige, but for Faithfulness

Prideful, spiritually immature leaders can wreak havoc on a church, but humble men trained to rightly handle the word of truth are a blessing to their entire congregation. Maxwell’s story is just one example.

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