Truth and Translation in Malawi

A Need for a Nation

Last November, Central Africa Preaching Academy (CAPA) had just finished its Expositor’s Conference. As the professors were wrapping up, a pastor named Kennedy 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.

But there was a catch.

All the conference content needed to be taught in Chichewa, not English.

A Pastor in Malawi

As a young man, Kennedy Kwenda did not interpret the Bible correctly.

In Malawi, it is common to hear God’s word misinterpreted. The wrong applications formed from a single verse in scripture can lead many to a misunderstanding of the Gospel. These wrong teachings can become the “truth” to the people. And when faithful men then preach the truth from Scripture, it is often difficult for the listener—and the preacher is seen as the false teacher.

Out of a desire to learn how to properly understand God’s word—and teach it correctly to Christ’s church—Kennedy sought instruction from CAPA.

Since graduating from CAPA, Pastor Kennedy has been shepherding a church in Kasungu—around two hours north of Lilongwe in Central Malawi. For years, he stayed in touch with CAPA, inviting them to Shalom Christian Church to do a few one-day pastoral workshops for the men of the congregation.

These remote, one-day workshops have opened the door for more training, but something else was needed.

It’s difficult for one who has believed a misrepresentation of the Bible to be convinced to travel hours for training at the CAPA campus. Though the men were responsive to the truth, it is hard for them to see the need for true pastoral training. Pastor Kennedy saw himself in these men, in how much they didn’t yet understand. He shares, “You know how far you’re lost when you start the journey back.”

He knew they needed more.

Traveling to Kasungu

After hearing Pastor Kennedy’s request to come to Kasungu, the professors at CAPA immediately got to work.

All the one-day workshops that CAPA had done in Kasungu had been in English. However, as Chichewa is the national language of Malawi, most of the people speak Chichewa. A challenge they faced is that Chichewa is not a vocabulary-rich language—words like “justification” and “propitiation” do not have equivalents. Teaching on a reformed view of salvation and hermeneutics would prove challenging.

CAPA reached out to a likeminded ministry for assistance in training, something they had expertise in. Eager to help, the men gave them their wisdom in this type of training, while CAPA faculty worked to translate the conference material into Chichewa for the pastors in Kasungu.

The faculty of CAPA went to Kasungu, ready and equipped to teach the TULIP Conference in the local language.

“Hearing this teaching for the first time, the pastors and men of Kasungu were hooked on every word.”

The results were immediate.

The speakers began in English and switched to Chichewa. At that moment, there was a huge change. Hearing this teaching for the first time, the pastors and men of Kasungu were hooked on every word. Though their previous understanding of theology may have been skewed, the clarity and truth of God’s word cut through the confusion.

And it softened their hearts in a manner only the Holy Spirit can.

“You’re seeing it from God’s word,” one pastor noted. “If the teaching is from the word of God, who am I to deny?”

AI and the Ongoing Work

“This was an incredible investment of time,” a CAPA faculty member shared with us. The men proved to be excited, sensitive to, and interactive with the TULIP material. Moved, they expressed a desire for more training at CAPA.

The response was so positive that it sparked further conversation among faculty—how may they continue ongoing training for the cohort of pastors and church leaders in Kasungu? CAPA reached out to a like-minded school in Zambia with years of experience in modular training for remote areas in vernacular languages. In June, CAPA instructors will launch an ongoing certificate program—with Chichewa as the language of instruction—for pastors and church leaders in Kasungu.

All of this was a result of the truth of the Bible being taught to soft, ready hearts—of godly men seeing the need to preach the truth.

“We must counter lies with truth.”

This only exposes the huge need for more access to Biblical resources for the people of Malawi in their mother tongue. And CAPA is working tirelessly toward this end.

In Malawi, the reading culture is not well developed. Universal primary education has only been offered for the last 30 years, and most of the citizens did not grow up reading. And the prosperity gospel has taken advantage of this, pumping out radio, television, and even print material in spades.

“We want to make truth available to people who would not normally get solid teaching,” a CAPA faculty member stated. “We must counter lies with truth.”

A five-man translation team from CAPA took on the project to translate Expository Studying into Chichewa. Since Chichewa does not have words for common English theological terms, the men need to create an entire theological glossary in order to correctly translate terms and illustrations.

Utilizing AI technology and reviewing with indigenous Chichewa speakers, CAPA finished their first translation project in February of this year.

But the work is far from done.

A solid, Biblical book is an entry point for people into something much larger. It’s an opportunity for people to challenge what they once considered the truth. To go further with people with better resources, more training, and a true understanding of God’s word.

“As our bandwidth increases, we hope to do more of these projects every year,” one CAPA faculty member expressed. “All we want is to help and strengthen the people.”

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