Pastor resource libraries

Salima Malawi update

As many of our regular readers will know, the Trust gives ongoing support to the Starfish resource libraries in the Salima district of Malawi by providing supplies of much needed Biblical teaching and preaching titles. We have recently delivered our latest supply (two cubic metres of books) to their shipping container locally (looking rather like a bowling alley in our first image left).

Starfish resource libraries were established in 2009 following Starfish Malawi’s work with local church leaders. Over the years the libraries have helped in providing books that cover theology, church leadership, preaching resources and secondary school curriculum textbooks for Starfish’s sponsored students. Apart from the main central library in Salima, there are now nine other smaller libraries in villages across the Salima area.

This week we received an update from our friends at Starfish:

“We are so grateful to Chris Moffett and Sovereign World Trust as they have supported this project for many years, supplying more books each year so that the stocks can be updated.  As we write this newsletter, they have just supplied another consignment of books for the main library. Two cubic metres of books, have been categorised and packed and are now loaded on our container ready for shipment to Malawi.They have also been able to include some Bibles thanks to St Stephen’s Church, Tonbridge. We are so thankful for this.”

Many pastors and leaders have not gone through formal Bible school, so the resources are a boost to local leaders who visit the libraries, as they have teaching to refer to and to deepen their spiritual understanding, enabling them to pass on their knowledge to their church family.  

Starfish report that the membership numbers have almost doubled from 74 in 2019 to 141 in 2020 and they are confident that as more satellite libraries are established in 2021 that the membership and pastors supported will increase further.