Disciple-making and Church-planting in Malawi
By Patrick Readson
Patrick reaching out…
In 2012 I completed the discipleship training process offered by Disciplers International. Since then, the ministry has been very fruitful. My wife, Mervis, and I thank God for His faithfulness in using the training and resources we have received to equip Disciples of Christ to become Disciplers for Christ. So far, God has led us to plant over 35 churches in Malawi and Mozambique, and to provide discipleship training for church leaders.
Before taking people through the training process, we begin by taking time at home for thinking, processing and praying, while trusting the Lord to direct our steps. Then we go into the communities just to get a feel for the environment and help people however we can. Malawi is one country, but with different cultures and religions making it difficult to relate sometimes. So, we spend much time in prayer and building relationships as best we can. In fact, we take three months simply going into the communities, prayer-walking and trusting the Lord. After that, we start meeting the village chief to help us identify one faithful man to disciple, whom God will use to plant a church and start discipling others.
Mervis building personal relationships…
We think the use of storytelling is very important in building bridges and relationships with the people we are reaching, so Mervis and I share stories about how we became followers of Jesus, why we are there, and what we are doing. As we build relationships we look for opportunities to share the gospel. We may ask those who show an interest, "Oh, do you want to hear about Jesus?" For those not interested at first, we just wait until they are ready. We develop trust with others first and then just follow God’s lead.
For us, we see obedience as the main tool for making disciples and developing leaders. There are times we feel discouraged and don’t want to go into a community, but when we step out in faith, we see God open doors. After obedience comes commitment as the next priority. We commit to what we said we will do with the people we are seeking to reach. So when we say we will be with them on a certain day and time, we are there!
We are passionate about what God has called us to do, and we trust the Lord to deepen our passion for Jesus even more. Depending on the circumstances, passion can go up and down, so I trust the Lord to keep my passion for Him and His work high. The photos included with this blog are of some churches planted through the discipleship process.
