Malawi (MNN) — Here is a snapshot of the church in Malawi and how Trans World Radio (TWR) partners are striving to strengthen it.
According to Joshua Project, this southern African nation has a more than 74% Christian population. But Victor Kaonga, TWR’s international director for East and Southern Africa, wishes more believers would grasp the Lordship of Christ.
“By that, I mean I wish every Christian believer understood and practiced making Christ Jesus as Lord over every aspect of their lives — actually submitting and ensuring that their work is surrendered to Christ,” he says.
Victor Kaonga, TWR’s international director for East and Southern Africa (Photo courtesy of Trans World Radio)
“People will confess, ‘Yeah, I’m a Christian and all that.’ But their works, their fruits, show differently.”
Government corruption can be found even among leaders who confess to being Christians.
“The followers, and even those who are not believing in Christ are disillusioned,” Kaonga says. “[They say,] ‘What’s really going on? What’s the Christian testimony here? Is it any better because a Christian is there? It looks like sometimes it’s worse.’”
Around 17% of Malawi’s people follow Islam, but Kaonga says radical Islam is not present in the country.
“There have been clashes here and there — clashes where one camp has felt offended, and maybe they will chase people out,” Kaonga says. “These have been selected minor incidents in particular districts in the country.”
Radio reaches people who might not otherwise be able to access God’s Word for themselves. (Photo courtesy of Trans World Radio)
However, the prosperity gospel does present a challenge. It is a core tenet among some of the prophetic ministries active within Malawi.
“To counter that, TWR has continued to provide balanced teaching of the Word of God,” Kaonga says. “Being a nondenominational radio ministry, we believe in biblical teaching that is balanced — I mean, to remain true to the Word of God, to preach and teach the Word of God, and to call people to faith in Christ Jesus.”
TWR Malawi has also offered radio programs on agriculture, health, and apologetics. They look to develop into new platforms and especially reach young people in Malawi.
“It will be not doing justice to our people in our generation if we don’t attend to them through the digital platforms that are prevalent now,” Kaonga says, pointing to podcasting, WhatsApp groups, Facebook Live pages, YouTube, etc.
Please pray with Kaonga for God to reveal Himself as Savior and Lord to the people of Malawi. Pray for opportunities and staffing capacity for TWR to reach the next generation with content that guides them toward Christ.
Learn more about TWR Malawi and a recent award their gospel work received here.
Header image of TWR Malawi’s staff with Victor Kaonga and the award they received in 2025 for their pioneering work in Christian broadcasting. (Photo courtesy of Trans World Radio)
