Effective retention strategy for successful evangelism of the Chewa of Chinsapo community in Lilongwe, Malawi, through small group ministry

Abstract

The work of evangelizing the Chewa ethnic group of the Central Region of Malawi has been difficult. The purpose of the study was to find out why the Chewa people resist the Seventh-day Adventist Church and to find out ways of retaining them after they are converted to Adventism. In order to find out why the Chewa people do not stay long after joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a study was conducted that involved small group ministry. The reason was to find out if using small group ministry would help them stay. The study was conducted at Nsewa Adventist Church in Lilongwe from September 2016 to March 2017. Twenty mature leaders were selected and trained on how to lead a small group. The idea was that after training, these people will lead twenty small groups that were to be established. The researcher was to monitor these small groups so that the purpose of establishing them would be realized.The objectives of establishing small groups were that Adventist members would invite the Chewa people during the sessions so that they learn what Adventists believe. This was because inviting them to church proved to be futile. These small groups were organized to be taking place in villages where Adventists live. The project was launched when the researcher was the pastor of the church where the research project was being conducted. However, the project met a setback as the researcher was moved to another place. The district had no full time pastor for four months. The researcher however, visited the project though not frequently. The small group leaders did a commendable job as there were not many problems. At the end of six months, data were collected and analyzed. The data were collected using quantitative data. The results supported the assumption that if small group ministry were as a strategy for evangelizing the Chewa, they would learn and acquire the SDA beliefs and then stay in the church. In conclusion, the study has shown that using small group ministry can help the Chewa People join the Adventist Church and stay. The study recommended that small group ministry should be used by the church in other region as well where the Adventist Church is resisted like in the Eastern part of Malawi where Islam is dominant.