Kanjuli Church Meeting
Msiwila Village, Zomba District, Malawi
November 30, 2002

The Kanjuli Church meets in Msiwila Village which is located in the northern area of Zomba District, 95 kilometers north of Blantyre City. The Kanjuli congregation was established in 1974 by the African Church of Christ brethren . The group called The African Church of Christ is a group who had disassociated themselves from white people, especially white missionaries many years ago. This brotherhood came into being after some of the African brethren had a bad experience with a white missionary of the Church of Christ who I understand came from Europe. These brethren were convinced that white missionaries came to Nyassaland (now Malawi) to take advantage of the Africans for their own personal gain and not for religious purposes. Of course, through subsequent years, this theory has been proven to be incorrect. Consequently, very few of these segregated congregations now exist. In recent years, the Kanjuli brethren decided that this attitude of segregation in neither Biblical, nor the attitude of a Christian. They renounced their fellowship with the African Church of Christ and established their fellowship with us.

When Stephen Kasenda and I arrived for this meeting, the brethren met us about 200 yards from the building and gave us an enthusiastic escort to the building. They really made us feel welcome! They also made us feel like they came to hear the Gospel because they listened very attentively to the preaching. This was another occasion where we were convinced that the lesson concerning the significance of the Church of Christ in God’s redemption plan for mankind was an appropriate subject. Not only did we have members from some of the nearby congregations and local villagers who were not members, we had the Member of Parliament representing the people in this area, Malawi government officials of Zomba District and several chiefs from surrounding villages. (See photo of these people). As you can see, we had a nice crowd for the occasion. --Jim Franklin

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These are the special visitors attending our meeting. From left to right: The Hon. Kennedy Elton Kuntenga, MP Zomba Maloza Constituency. To the left of the Hon. Kuntenga is Mr. T.L. Ngomano, UDF District Treasurer of Zomba District. Mr. Ngomano is a Muslim which is noticeable due to the manner of his dress. To the left of Mr. Ngomano is Mr. Peter Mussa the Constituency Chairman of UDF for Zomba Maloza. Mr Mussa is also a member of the Muslim faith. To the left of Mr. Mussa is Councilor of Lipani Ward, Mr. Chawanda. To Mr. Chawanda’s left is Village headman Msiwila, the chief of the village where the Kanjuli church is located. To Chief Msiwila’s left is Village Headman Litia. To the left of Chief Litia is Village Headman Chitenjere II. To the left of Chief Chitenjere II is Village headman Njete. To the left of Chief Njete is Village Headmistress M’mina. To the left of Chief M’mina is Village Headmistress Mpamba. The lady standing to the left of Chief Mpamba is also a village headmistress, but her name was not included on the list given to me identifying each person. I am certain that this was an oversight , something which I did not notice until after I arrived back home in Blantyre. --Jim Franklin