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As “L” is at the heart of “SALT” so Gospel Literature Ministry is at the heart of what SALT does in Malawi.

By the grace of God, over the past 10 years we have been able to publish and distribute around 14 Million items of Gospel Literature across the length and breadth of the country.

How SALT’s  Gospel Literature Ministry in Malawi began

In 2003, Gail and I were commended by our local assembly in Bangor (N Ireland) to serve the Lord in Malawi. For the next 6 years I laboured in rural ministry, mostly preaching the Gospel in simple village “assemblies”.

The Lord knows the value of those years, but we found them frustrating. We were often discouraged as over time it appeared that many assemblies had lost the true Gospel. The “believers” had little knowledge of salvation and the leaders in the assemblies appeared more interested in personal advantage than the glory of God. Some even proved hostile to us and the truth.

God at work through difficulty and disappointment

We returned to Malawi after a short visit to the UK during Summer 2008, to face another blow. In our absence, a trusted helper in the work had stolen and wrecked our pickup truck. Miraculously, neither he nor his accomplice were harmed, but this deep discouragement confirmed our conviction that it was time for a change of direction.

We had a burden to refocus the work from the villages to the city of Zomba. The once-distant prospect of returning to the UK for a time for the needs of our son was getting nearer. We felt the time was right to try an urban work before circumstances would take us back to the UK. Consequently, we began to look for suitable premises from which to run a Christian bookshop.

Bethel Books

For the next couple of years, Bethel Books became the focus of our work in Zomba.

The book shop attracted Christians of many different flavours. The light refreshments on offer broadened the appeal even further and provided many priceless opportunities to share the Gospel. Each Lord’s Day morning we met with a number of  Malawian and ex-pat Christians for a Bible Study. On Saturday mornings we ran a Children’s Bible Club and also has a mid-week Bible Study for young adults. We praise God for the many lasting contacts made during those days, not least of them Wati, who joined the SALT team in May 2021.

There were two young men present at the official opening of Bethel on 28 February 2009. Goodson Chitanda had encouraged us with his interest since we met him at Mussa village. Harold Makawa had also been a blessing, helping me with some of the carpentry required to fit out the bookshop. Both have gone on to prove their faithfulness and usefulness in service for the Lord.

Gospel Literature Ministry

Unfortunately, we were unable to find anyone to keep the bookshop ministry going, and we closed Bethel when we returned to the UK in 2011. However, my interest in literature work had really been aroused.

For a long time I had convinced myself that a tract ministry was unlikely to work in Malawi. To my shame, I had never really tried. However, my experience at Bethel helped me gain another perspective.

Poverty & Adult Literacy

Malawi has a lot of serious poverty and relatively low literacy rates. However, instead of working against us, this works in our favour. People are generally keen to practice their reading skills, even with Gospel tracts.  They don’t have the things which often distract more wealthy people, and are usually thrilled to receive a gift of a Gospel calendar. So, Gospel tracts can be highly effective when you keep them short and simple.

A Gospel Literature Legacy

Although expecting to return permanently within a couple of years, I was anxious to make a positive impact on the work while absent from Malawi. I planned to make frequent visits back and considered how I could use my time most profitably. As I wondered about this, the Lord laid a burden on my heart to use these trips to pioneer areas I had never visited before. And I started to realise that by equipping others with Gospel Literature, I could help the work even when I wasn’t there.

Harold and I made the first of many trips in late 2011. I brought a couple of suitcase-loads of tracts and we spent a week or so distributing them around the country. Harold had studied carpentry at Ekwendeni in the north of Malawi, and his knowledge of the area was very useful. As we travelled, making a long loop around the country, we would stop at town ands markets and preach and distribute tracts. Although slowly at first, people began to contact Harold using his phone number which we had printed on the tracts.

While some told Harold about getting saved, others were interested in getting tracts to distribute themselves. At first, they would shyly ask us for one or two bundles of tracts and a pickup-load would last for 1000Km or more. But as the work grew, so many distributors gained confidence to ask for more, and in turn, we gained the confidence to give them more. After a while, we started having to return to base to reload the truck, but before long, even that was not sufficient to fulfil the demand.

Inhibitors to growth of the work

There were two main limitations preventing the work from growing. Manpower and transport.

Travelling many miles together, Harold and I grew close as brothers and coworkers. There are long distances between some population centres, but we filled the time with conversation about the Scriptures, the Gospel and the Work. But Harold did not even own a bicycle, so some aspects of the work simply stopped when I came home.

Harold made the most of his limited resources, and where possible, would use public transport (minibuses) to deliver literature supplies. This presented its own problems. Minibus drivers work to tight schedules and are always reluctant to make unnecessary stops. Once Harold arranged to meet a distributor at the roadside but the driver refuse to stop, and Harold could only toss the package of tracts from the window of the speeding vehicle. We often joke that those tracts could have made a real impact – if they’d hit someone!

As the work continued to grow, and we were glad of Brother Goodson’s additional help. A young Canadian sister, who came to help with MGO, generously donated her remaining holiday money to buy him a cheap Chinese motorbike. Goodson put it to good use, transporting many cartons of tracts along village tracks on his mountainside home.

Gospel Literature Depots

The demand continued to increase but we tried to reduce transport problems by establishing storage depots in key locations across the country. We moved bulk quantities of literature to the depots using commercial hauliers, and Harold would manage local supply from there. Over time, he identified trusted volunteers who were willing to look after the depots and keep their colleagues supplied. This really reduced the burden on Harold and has been a big help.

Vehicles

In time, the kindness of the Lord’s people enabled us to import a small second-hand car for Harold. This was a huge blessing, as Harold could now do local deliveries and follow-up visits. When an elderly dutch missionary couple returned to the Netherlands, I bought their also-elderly Landrover Discovery. This was an even greater help, but sadly it developed mechanical problems and we were relieved when we managed to sell it. However that left Harold with greatly reduced carrying capacity again.

It is hard to find quality used cars and spare parts in Malawi. Reliable mechanics are just as rare. Consequently, we have had a litany of maintenance problems with our ageing vehicles. In Feb 2019 my old Isuzu Double Cab blew its engine, and 3 years later the mechanic is still promising to fix it “next week”. An equally old Toyota Land Cruiser we bought as a temporary replacement has caused its own share of trouble and expense. However, we hope that after some initial difficulties, a used 2-Ton Mitsubishi truck we imported will ease some of our transportation troubles.

Thanks!

I’ve hinted already at how important our small army of volunteers is. Without them, we could never distribute such large quantities of Gospel Literature. However, we are just as thankful for another great blessing from the Lord.

His People!

We are humbled when we think about the many Christians who support us around the world. They have given prayerfully and generously so that the work could grow. We could not have done it without them.

We also could not have done it without the kindness of Revival Movement / Every Home Crusade. They are a printing ministry which ships Gospel Literature all over the world. Although we still use commercial printers in Malawi, RM/EHC have sent us several containers of tracts and calendars and this has really increased our capacity. We will not know the true value of their gift until we finally reach heaven.