I know you’ve heard bits and pieces about the new calling which Caron and I are pursuing. If you’ve not pieced it all together, I want to take a little bit of your time to fill you in. For those of you have seen this before feel free to skim and skip to the end.
First of all, I’m not retiring. Honestly, this next ministry phase appears every bit as challenging as church planting was in Dayton, Ohio in 1988 and in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1997! Caron and I are both healthy and I feel much younger than I may seem. I love serving Christ and if granted long life and good health, I’ll serve him till the end!
I am the Project Director for Malawi, Africa for Equipping Leaders International. ELI exists to glorify God by developing strategic Christian leaders inside and outside the local church to lead biblical transformation in their communities and to replicate this leadership. We train leaders to train leaders! 30,000 churches are started each month in the developing world, and 85% of those pastors have no formal training. We exist to mobilize leaders in the developing world to give those pastors the tools they need to reach and disciple many.
What Caron and I will be doing (yes, she will join me on at least one trip a year) is the following. The main focus will be pastoral training conferences in Malawi and follow up training. It is exactly what we’ve done in 2017 and 2018, only with greater frequency. We hold a conference in a city or village region for many church leaders. I’ll be bringing other pastors and church leaders with me to assist with teaching. Through translators we teach as many as 250 leaders at a time (our current high number). Then, in each location, we spend time with trusted pastors helping them to prepare to take the same material out to those who have less access to training. These pastors are called “Certified Course Instructors,” or CCI’s. My funding will support them as they take this material out and teach it in the mother language of Malawi - Chichewa. Of course, they know more about their own situation than I would know in a lifetime!
These CCI’s are the cornerstone of ELI’s ministry. Because I’ve been to Malawi twice already, I start my project there with 15 trained leaders in two locations - around 30 total. This gives us a strong base from which to branch out throughout the country in the coming years. Our huge dream is to ensure that every village pastor in Malawi can go through our entire training program! As hundreds and even thousands come to Christ in that region, we want pastors to be trained to disciple believers and lead their churches.
An exciting dimension of our training in the future will be our “Business as Ministry” teaching. We will bring leaders from the military, government, educational and business communities to Malawi to help train Christians who are not pastors to see their work as a high calling from God. My educational training at James Madison University was in Business Administration, and I have been blessed to meet some amazing believers who are not pastors. I aim to bring those key leaders to help influence Malawi Christian business people for God’s glory.
A key question that is often asked is, “What do you do when you are not in Malawi?” Caron has put it this way: “Don will be leading four to five mission trips a year!” Here is how I see it. After a brief rest, I’ll be checking in with my Malawi leadership as they teach what they have learned, while helping the next teaching team get ready to go with me to Malawi in another couple of months. This cycle will happen perhaps four or even five times a year. In 2019 we have two trips already planned. Lastly, as a support raising missionary, I will be communicating with our partners stateside all along the way. Caron hopes to help me do that part very well.
Our first task will be to build the partnership team of churches and individuals that will allow this great work to proceed. In addition to our own salary and benefits, we are raising support for travel, costs of our overseas conferences, funds for our “CCI” conferences (which will only increase in number each year), mercy funds for our partners, as well as the more down to earth costs of starting up and maintaining a pastor training ministry in Africa. Blessings of one kind or another have begun to flow in for us. I’ve been offered free office space near our current home. The $1/year rental cost seems to be within any reasonable budget! As we get the funding and prayer base built up in the early months, we will shift the focus to the Africa side of things. We are going to Malawi at the end of June for three weeks, and then again in October.
If you’ve read this far you see that I’m not retired! We are just getting started! If you’ve read this far you realize that we will be needing a lot of help. You might be getting a call from me. You don’t have to wait to help! Here is what you need to know.
Learn more about Equipping Leaders International at our website.
If you want to receive our updates and prayer requests email me at doneliva@gmail.com
If you are willing and interested in having us present the ministry in your home or in a small group, email doneliva@gmail.com or call/text 434-953-5160.
If you are ready to join our support team, you can give here.
PayPal donations here.
Thanks for reading and getting all this information!
In Christ,
Don Ward