How does a Malawian minister and academic come to work at Mukhanyo? We went to ask Rev Willie Zeze, Mukhanyo’s lecturer in church history and church policy.

The answer is simple. He saw the vacancy advertised on his email, applied and is now already in his third year at Mukhanyo. And he finds it a stimulating place, interacting with friendly colleagues and students.

Born and brought up in Malawi, he was a member of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, of origin a group of churches planted by Dutch Reformed Church missionaries in Africa. Now he is a member of the KwaNdebele Reformed Church and over and above lecturing he preaches and does mission work on weekends, especially with Malawians working on farms and in Johannesburg.

Wasn’t South Africa a strange place for him? Not really. After studying at the Zomba Theological College in Malawi, he continued his study at the University of Stellenbosch where he did his master’s and doctorate in church history and church government.

Before coming to South Africa he was a church minister, coordinator of Theological Education by Extension of Malawi, lecturer, vice-principal, chairman of the Nkhoma Nursing College, and in between he translated the Heidelberg Catechism from English into Chichewa.

“We have a wonderful team here at Mukhanyo. I came because I wanted to work with residential students. And that is what I am doing.”

He hopes God will enable him to continue this work. His work permit, enabling him to work in South Africa, expires in 2018, but can be extended. So let’s see what God wants and has decided for him.

Read more:
What students think of Mukhanyo
Big plans for 2018…
Lessons for the youth

 Why study at Mukhanyo? We asked about forty theological students at the KwaMhlanga campus and were pleasantly surprised by some of their answers. Here are some of their remarks:

• Uncompromised Reformed training.
• Very good college
• Teaching is close to God’s Word
• True Biblical doctrine
• Good teaching style
  

Other comments included positive remarks about lecturing, Mukhanyo’s Reformed background and the fact that students with various background studied together.
 
Advice was also given, such as “keep up the good work”, “continue building step by step” and “add more lecturers”.

Lecturers were given high marks: on average 80%, while the quality of the study guides was rated as on average 77%.

Of those who handed in their questionnaire, 36% wanted to become teachers, 46% ministers of religion and 18% missionaries.

How did the students get to know about Mukhanyo? Many answered that they heard from a friend, family or their minister; only a few got to know of Mukhanyo through its website. Nearly all of them are active in their churches and are doing some form of community work.
 
Besides a number of students from Reformed churches, students come from a wide variety of other churches such as the Evangelical or Baptist churches as well as charismatic and Pentacostal churches.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
Big plans for 2018…
Lessons for the youth

Mukhanyo is going to expand its church-based training and short-course offerings in 2018, God willing.

Management held a two-day strategic planning session late in July and formulated plans, over and above the programmes that Mukhanyo is already running and which obviously are to be continued.

The plans were approved by the Mukhanyo board on 24 August.

The expansion in this area of the ministry has been central to Mukhanyo’s visions ever since its inception more than 25 years ago and much has already been done. But much more can be done if Mukhanyo is able to appoint people to organise it, not only in KwaMhlanga, but also in Johannesburg and elsewhere.

In practical terms, this will mean more conferences, workshops and short courses. Topics could include courses on church leadership, training of elders, preparing sermons, church management and finances, the role of women, the duties of parents, youth ministry, consultation and advice, etcetera.

In addition, Mukhanyo hopes to continue to invest significantly in curricula and study material development, as well as in faculty and distance facilitators. Plans to greatly expand the library and student support are already being implemented, while the recording studio in KwaMhlanga and the facilities on the Johannesburg campus have been upgraded.

Also on the agenda is further investment in Mukhanyo’s facilities in all three centres.

Bible study distance groups, of which there are some 50 at present with between 450 – 500 students, are also an area with much promise for expansion and this will be promoted.
    
All these plans are, of course, dependent on the will of our heavenly Father. We pray that He will allow Mukhanyo to serve Him in this way, and give Mukhanyo the means to do it in the way He wants.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
What students think of Mukhanyo
Lessons for the youth

A youth conference was held on 12 August in KwaMhlanga, addressing a number of very topical matters such as how to live as a Christian in a sinful world and dating for Christians, using Romans 12:1-2 as the starting point.

As Christians we don’t belong to ourselves. Our bodies should be a holy and acceptable sacrifice to Christ. We must have our minds renewed by controlling what we take in and focus on. We should deal drastically with sin in our lives, according to Rev Isaac Maleke. Regarding relationships, Rev Happy Sibanyoni added that we can’t truly love another person before we love God.

During the group discussions the huge challenges which especially the young people of today are facing, were discussed. This makes it very hard for them to make good decisions.

Questions which were discussed, included how to know what career God wants me to choose, how to know if this is the spouse for me, should a Christian marry an unbeliever …? For all these issues there are important Biblical principles, the main point being that whatever you do or decide, you must be sure that it is God’s will.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
What students think of Mukhanyo
Big plans for 2018…

Now that the renovation work (second phase) on the Johannesburg campus has been completed, the next phase will be the installation of three additional lecture rooms which will hopefully be done in 2018 – if the funds for this can be found.

In the meantime, the recording studio in KwaMhlanga (see picture), worth R200 000, has been upgraded. The long-awaited new equipment should significantly improve the quality of the DVDs send to the study groups.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
What students think of Mukhanyo
Big plans for 2018…
 

This year Mukhanyo is once again thankful to receive a continuing stream of highly qualified guest lecturers (see also the previous newsletter) – but never yet someone from Ukraine. He is Dr Erik van Alten, who is heading the Evangelical Reformed Theology Seminary in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital.

Actually he is a South African and was a minister of the Free Reformed Church Pretoria Maranata until a few years ago. When he was called to head the seminary in Kiev in July and August, the European holiday season, he and his wife and children  came  to visit their family and Erik spent a week in July to lecture a module on early church history, from the year 30 to 600, to over thirty of Mukhanyo’s B.Th degree students .

Van Alten says he really enjoyed lecturing and was impressed with the students and their interests. The highlight for him was that he came to realise that a very important part of the early Christian church history took place in Africa, especially North Africa. This is often not realised.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
What students think of Mukhanyo
Big plans for 2018…

In July and August another guest lecturer was Manuel Kamnkhwani from Malawi. He lectured on Dogmatics and Church Planting.

He studied at the Westminster Theological Seminary in California between 1999 and 2002, returned to Africa and went on to teach at Harare Theological College in Zimbabwe. In 2004, he and his wife and three children returned to Malawi where he became the country representative for Word & Deed Ministries, a position he still holds.

In 2006, he was instrumental in the founding of a lay training ministry called Logos Ministries, which teaches elders and deacons within the CCAP Nkhoma Synod, Reformed Presbyterian denomination. The mandate of Logos is to bring the basics of Reformed theology to church leaders, most of whom have very little or no knowledge of Bible doctrine.

Read more:
Introducing another Malawian lecturer
What students think of Mukhanyo
Big plans for 2018…