Missions Trip: Malawi, Africa
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20
I recently returned from a mission trip to Malawi, Africa. We saw thousands of people give their lives to Jesus, we witnessed many miracles and participated in humanitarian aid. I believe that the gospel should affect the entirety of a person—spirit, soul, and body. And that’s what happened! Hungry stomachs were fed with food and the void in people’s hearts was filled with Jesus!
Short-term missions are something that every believer should do—at least once. My wife and I have traveled to many nations over the years and it not only fulfills the Great Commission that Jesus gave, but it fulfills our hearts and fuels what God has called us to here in the States. There’s something you get in the nations that you can’t get here, and there’s something you get here at home that you can’t get in the nations. We need both!
God has called us to minister in both our neighborhoods and the nations! (My friend and pastor Theresa Jones wrote a great book on that. Check it out here).
The mission of missions is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ! And from that place, make disciples of Christ; teaching them, giving them all that Jesus gave to us.
I recently went to the Navajo nation in Northeast Arizona and ministered in a tent revival. We saw demons cast out, supernatural healings, and salvations as I preached the word and ministered. But one thing that stands out is how God activated a young girl in healing ministry.
The fire of God fell on her during ministry and I felt God was imparting to her the gift of healing. She received it and the next night prayed with me down the prayer line and all kinds of miracles were taking place! Even after I left, she was laying hands on people in the revival, and people were getting touched by the power of God!
This is making disciples! Giving away what Jesus has given us. Freely we have received, freely we give.
Here are a few things we did in Malawi—
1. Miracle Crusades
I went with Jerame & Miranda Nelson of Elisha Revolution/Fire&Glory, and they preached 4 nights of miracle crusades. Thousands of people gathered in an open field where a stage was set up and music played and the gospel was preached.
In 4 nights, there was a count of over 100,000 people who received Christ!
Each night, the power of God was released for healing miracles. People came up and testified of tumors disappearing off their bodies, pains leaving, and many other miracles. After that, the team was released to pray for the sick in the crowds and I saw a couple of deaf ears open and stomach pains leave. Praise God!
Paul said in Romans 15:19 that the gospel is fully preached when signs and wonders take place—“in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
The gospel should be accompanied by power.
We didn’t just tell people the gospel—we showed them the gospel as the power of God healed many. It’s a “show and tell” gospel!
I commission you to show and tell the gospel!
2. Street Ministry
We not only did large gatherings where the gospel was preached, but we also ministered to people on the streets.
One lady we ministered to, I had a word of knowledge that she had pain on the left side of her neck. My friend jokingly responded that it was probably her husband. The translator asked her about it, and it turned out she not only had physical pain in her neck, but she was also dealing with issues with her husband! Her neck got healed, and we prayed for her marriage.
The pastor who was translating with us invited her to church the following Sunday. I was preaching and did an altar call for salvation, and she came forward with a friend to receive Jesus. Then as we prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, she and a friend manifested demons—and got set free!
Look at God! What a great and ideal result of street ministry! She encounters the supernatural power of God on the streets, comes to church, gets saved, gets delivered, and now has a church to plug into for discipleship!
That’s how it’s supposed to be!
We can do this in the nations and in our own neighborhoods! Jesus said, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt. 10:7-8)
As you go!
3. Humanitarian aid
I love preaching the gospel in large settings and on the streets, but I also love being able to meet the basic needs of people. A couple of ways we did this on this trip were feeding the street kids and partnering with an organization that teaches people how to grow their own year-round crops.
We partnered with Blazing Faith Ministries to feed over 100 kids who’ve been orphaned in the natural and live in the streets. This is something they do regularly. I got to preach the gospel to them and activate them to pray for healing for each other, and many received Jesus and testified of pain leaving their bodies.
We also partnered with Well of Plenty, which is an organization that helps villages with year-round harvesting of crops. In Malawi, farmers usually depend on the rains for their crops, which leaves them with 2 harvests per year. With Well of Plenty, there is a well that is dug for clean water, a drip irrigation system set up for year-round watering, and a variety of crops that are grown to give a variety of nutrition.
One thing I really appreciated about Well of Plenty is that the requirement to receive a garden is that they are committed to teaching someone else how to do it. In that way, the multiplication never ends. It’s making disciples!
Like I said in the beginning, the gospel is meant to impact the whole person—spirit, soul, and body. Jesus wants to feed empty stomachs and fill empty hearts!
If you’d like more information on missions (go on a trip, or give into what they’re doing), check out these ministries:
I’ll be going back to the Navajo Nation soon, and if you’d like to give into buying Bibles for them, you can give here, and mark it for missions.
Question: Have you been on a short-term mission trip? How did you see God move? How did impact your life at home?