Several months ago, we shared the story of how Chicago’s Parkview Christian Church had been commissioned to launch the Purpose Driven strategy in Malawi.
Now, they are seeing the fruit of their labor as the country transforms into a thriving PD nation. According to Archbishop Dr. Mark Kambalazaza, “The Purpose Driven Training is very good because it touches all areas—spiritual areas and mental areas—it is fantastic.”
As pastor of Parkview Christian Church, Tim Harlow knows how important it is to reach all people for Christ. “After all,” he says, “In Acts 1, Jesus charged the first disciples with the responsibility of first reaching out to people in their own Jerusalem and then moving outward.”
When Pastor Tim first arrived at Parkview Church with his family in 1990, it had about 150 people in a heavily un-churched area of the city; now 25 years later and well versed in Purpose Driven principles, the multi-site church has over 7,000 members and has become a vital part of the community.
The Parkview Church family is committed to missions—not only in the suburbs of south Chicago—but in the landlocked country of Malawi, also called “The Warm Heart of Africa.”
One of the smallest countries of Africa, Malawi is also one of the least-developed nations of the world. Mentored by Saddleback Church, Parkview has been committed to implementing the PEACE Plan in Malawi. And, now their global ministry is taking on a whole new level, as they help fulfill the vision to bring the PEACE movement to every country in Africa.
They’ve gleaned wisdom from Saddleback’s Rwanda team, and were able to find additional support from Sam Kawale, a local Malawian and member of Parliament who is leading the PEACE initiative in Malawi.
According to Sam Kawale, “The Purpose Driven movement is growing much bigger than we anticipated. It’s very exciting!”
Parkview’s PD team is currently working with the local government in Malawi, and has already built significant business and economic connections. But at the end of the day, the church is the hope of the world.
Both at home and in other nations, Pastor Tim teaches his congregation to look at the community around them like a mission field that is ready to harvest. He models how to think and act like a missionary and act like a missionary 24/7—and his church is responding both near and far.
“Salt does no good in the shaker,” says Pastor Tim. “It’s great to ask the Lord to send workers,” he continues. “We should keep doing that. But we should also remember that each one of us is to be counted among those workers. So we shouldn’t only ask the Lord to ‘send.’ We should also ask him to help us ‘be.’ We should be looking around every day and reaching out to the harvest in our own backyards.”
To learn how to build a Purpose Driven Church, connect with a PD Coach today. Visit pd.church/start.
