The Bible is our core business. We are involved in Bible translation, publishing, distribution and Bible engagement programs. By joining the Bible Society of Malawi team, you’ll have a unique opportunity to help fulfill Christ’s command to make the Gospel available to all through your gifts, talents and experiences.
If you have marketing, sales and business development skills and you would like to contribute to the achievement of the widest possible, effective and meaningful distribution of the Holy Scriptures in Malawi and to help people interact with the Word of God then this might be the job for you.
We are looking for a Sales Assistant initiallyfor our Blantyre Bible Shop but could fit in all our sales outlets.
Please download the application form below and submit your completed application form in own handwriting and copies of certificates to:
The Bible Society of Malawi held a Youth Talent Competition called Bible Youth Buzz (BYB) in Lilongwe. 35 groups and individuals participated in the competition. The youth came from four cities: Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
The performances were in four categories, namely: Drama, Scripture recitals, music and poetry.
Mr Clapperton Mayuni presenting gifts to Enita Chikuse for her Scripture recital
Speaking when presenting the prizes, Mr Clapperton Mayuni, BSM Executive Director, commended the youths who had showcased their talents in different forms, stressing that youths should use their God-given talents to praise him and not indulge in things that dishonour God’s name.
“The Bible Youth Advocate is a program which seeks to unearth and promote youth hidden talent as we promote God’s Word,” said Mr. Mayuni. “In this competition everyone is a winner because we are celebrating those talents God has blessed us with. I urge you to continue honouring God through your God-given talents.”
Eight groups and individuals went away with different prizes like laptops, smartphones, Bibles and trophies.
Mr Mayuni joins young Hanneck Phola in dance moves during gift presentations
Innocent Kandoje, Director of one of the participating groups, Thunders – a dance group, thanked Bible Society of Malawi for giving the youths a platform to showcase their talents. “We thank the Bible Society for this competition because our talents have been exposed to people and that they can appreciate what we are able to do,” he said. “We do this in our backyards with no one knowing what we are doing, but now we feel like the whole nation now knows about us. We ask Bible Society to continue engaging us, the youth in different activities so that we can help spread the message of Christ and not indulge in bad things.”
Thunders Dancing group performing during the event
The Bible Society of Malawi has launched a new Tumbuka Common Language Bible. The launch was attended by leaders from different churches.
Translators: Mr Boniface Chirwa and Rev Kingsley Nyirenda
The translation of the Bible started in 1994 and was completed in 2013 under the supervision of UBS Translation Consultant, Dr Ernst Wendland and later Dr Gerrit van Steenbergen.
Translators involved were: Late Rev S P Kamanga, late Mr H Banda, Late Pastor L Wowa, Rev PK Nyirenda, Mr B H Chirwa and Rev KRM Nyirenda. The project also involved 15 external reviewers.
Rev Dr L Nyondo and Bishop Magangani receiving the Bibles on behalf of the church from Mr Clapperton Mayuni, BSM Executive Director
The Bible Society commended the church for its participation in the translation project, like the CCAP Livingstonia Synod for provision of the translation office for free.
“We thank the church for their contributions towards the project, especially the Livingstonia Synod for providing office space for free, for the years the translation project was running,” said Mr Clapperton Mayuni, Executive Director of the Bible Society.
The new translation has two versions, the Protestant Version and the Catholic Version.
Receiving the Bibles on behalf of the church, Rev Dr L Nyondo of the CCAP Livingstonia Synod and Bishop Magangani of the Anglican Diocese, thanked the Bible Society for making the Bible available to Tumbuka speaking people and promised that the Bible will be used by effectively by the church and its members.
Tumbuka is widely spoken in the northern region of Malawi. This Tumbuka Common Language Bible is the third version of the Tumbuka Bible.
The Bible Society of Malawi will be launching the new Tumbuka Bible (common language) on 17 February 2018. The event will take place at Mphatso Motel, in Mzuzu City.
The New Tumbuka Bible has two versions called MAZGU GHA CHIUTA, MUKANG’ANAMULIRO KAPHYA and MAZGU GHA CHIUTA, MUKANG’ANAMULIRO KAPHYA -Bayibulo la Katolika (with Deuterocanonical Books).
The translation of the new Tumbuka Bible took about 20 years to be completed.
Praise be to God for his marvelous deeds!
New Tumbuka Common Language Bible with Deuterocanonical Books
New Tumbuka Common Language Bible without Deuterocanonical Books
A number of people have been involved in the the Tumbuka Bible Translation Project over the years, in the picture (from L to R): Rev PK Nyirenda (translator), Mr B Chirwa (translator), Late Pastor L Wowa (translator), Mr M Ntambo (then Manuscript Examiner), Dr G van Steenbergen (Translation Consultant) and Ms J Kayira (Keyboarder)
On Thursday, May 18, 2017, the Bible Society of Malawi presented over 3,000.00 CEV Camouflage Bibles to the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) in Lilongwe. The Bibles were received from Operation Africa, an international mission organization committed to the evangelization of military groups and armies in Africa.
Mr Kamkwamba, Board Chairperson presenting the Bibles to Lt. Col. Saenda
The presentation ceremony was held at the MDF Headquarters in Lilongwe during a morning devotion parade.
Receiving the Bibles on behalf of MDF, Lt. Col. Saenda thanked the Bible Society of the timely gift and stressed the importance of the Bible in the lives of soldiers.
“The duties of soldier come from time immemorial,” he said. “The Bible is full of stories about soldiers and it’s a duty that God designated. So, soldiers need guidance and help from above. These Bibles will help us seek the Lord’s presence when we perform our duties.”
Some soldiers receiving the Bibles during the event
MDF Chaplain, Captain Rev Andrew Kamponda, who led the devotion parade expressed the need for more Bibles, even in vernacular because the MDF has many soldiers who are in military barracks as well as in foreign assignments.
The Bible Society of Malawi Board Chairperson, Mr Dasford Kamkwamba, thanked the MDF for being God fearing and putting God first in their duties. He said we was happy to present the Bibles Bible Society and Operation Africa.
Mr Gordon Green came to visit Malawi from Quesnel, Canada, not knowing exactly what to expect or what the Lord wanted him to do. However, he realized what the Lord had directed him to do, when he attended a church service in a semi-urban congregation.
Mr Gordon Green
The church, filled with joyful congregants, had logs for pews and no Bibles. Later that day, in the home where he was being hosted, a boy asked his mother if she could get him a Bible. Gordon was amazed that a young boy was asking his mother for a Bible and not a mobile phone. He then realized that the Lord had directed him to Malawi to give Bibles to those who needed to own a Bible but could not.
Mr Green started going to different areas to distribute free Bibles. He went to villages, shopping malls, offices and open places to share this precious book.
Ms. Masozi Chirwa, a banker who received a Bible said, “I am overjoyed that a stranger walks into our offices and give us with free Bibles. It takes a calling to make such a sacrifice. He could have spent the money on his own needs. This is a good lesson to me as a Christian and an encouragement that we should make Scriptures available to those who cannot afford to buy a Bible. This is an act worth emulating.”
Mr Green giving Bibles to workers at Shopping Mall
Mr Julius, who works at the mall when Mr Gordon was distributing Bibles said, “I am grateful for this gift. Many people struggle to buy a Bible because they cannot afford it because of economic problems. This is a precious gift because it changes lives.”
Mr Moses Andiseni from Namiyango township was all smiles when he received the Bible, saying, “I have an old Bible, but today I have received Revised edition of this Bible and it will help me in my study of God’s Word because other resources like the glossary and footnotes have been included in this Bible.”
Ms. Chirwa received Bibles on behalf of the staff at Standard Bank
However, his free Scripture distribution was not without misfortunes. On Friday, 27th January, as he was giving out Bibles with our Distribution Manager, Mr Herbert Chagunda, his wallet, which had all his money and credit cards, was stolen. He had planned to buy more Bibles the following Monday. All the plans seemed to have died.
But God, wanted Mr Green to finish his mission. As he was hanging around the shopping mall, wondering how abrupt his mission had ended, a cleaner came to him with his wallet. She had found it while cleaning the restrooms. All the contents of his wallet were intact, except for few Malawi Kwacha which were taken.
Mr. Green was excited that God had intervened and that he’d complete his mission.
The following Monday, he came to the Bible Shop to buy more Scriptures for distribution.
The Executive Director listening to Mr Green’s story
By the end of his mission, Mr Green had bought 1,008 Bibles worth MK5,580,870.00 (about US $7,650.00) which he distributed for free to people of all walks of life in Blantyre.
We thank God for sending this Scripture distribution angel, whose love for God and God’s people in Malawi has been manifested in complimenting the mission of the Bible Society – that people should have Scriptures in their hands.
In 2014 the first ever Chiyawo Bible was produced and launched. There was excitement among Yawo speakers that they can now read the Word of God in their own language. However, a good number of the speakers do not know how to read and write.
In order to make the Chiyawo Bible an open book, the Bible Society has embarked on a Chiyawo Literacy program.
The materials production workshop was held and was very well attended by local chiefs, local interested parties in literacy as well as district government education officials from Mozambique. The event was marked by a high degree of enthusiasm and a strong spirit of cooperation. The workshop lasted four weeks.
During the workshop, a linguistic study was conducted to determine those letter most frequently used to make words. Primers and teacher’s guide were produced.
It is expected that the literacy program will run for eight months in 2017 and will have a total of 60 classes.
The workshop was conducted by Mr Rudy Klaas, SIL Consultant.
Malawi is going through massive power cuts due to the low water levels in the Shire River, which is the source of hydro-electric power throughout the country. The increased load-shedding has affected homes as well as business. The Bible House has, on average, three days of regular power. In order to mitigate the power problem, a 33kVA generator has been installed at Bible House. This has made a big difference in the day-to-day activities as work continues without power interruptions.
The installation of the generator was done through the Stepping Stone Project funded by British & Foreign Bible Societies (BFBS).
The Bible Society of Malawi held its Annual General Meeting on 27 May 2016. Forty-one members of Bible Society attended the meeting which took place at Monarchy Square in Blantyre.
The AGM received the Audited Accounts from the Auditors (Graham Carr), the Chairman’s Report and the Executive Director’s Annual Report.
Presenting his report, the Chairman, Mr. Dasford Kamkwamba said that the year 2015 was a very difficult year for Malawi because of devastating floods which brought food shortages and the Malawi Kwacha lost value. This made prices of imported products to go up and the Bible Society was affected by these price increases resulting in rising operating costs.
The Chairman also reported to the members the support from received the British and Foreign Bible Societies in the Stepping Stone Project where a number of BSM projects will be funded by BFBS for the next five years (up to 2020).
On his part, the Mr Clapperton Mayuni, the Executive Director, outlined the projects and
Pastor Clive Mwalwanda
translation programs being undertaken. The Society is keen to reach out to the youth and has therefore recruited a Youth Officer to implement the youth programs.
As for translation, the translation of Ellomwe Bible is now at 84% and is expected to completed in 2017. The Lambya New Testament was launched on 23 April 2016 and the Old Testament work is still in progress. The Society hopes to publish the New Testament of the Chichewa Study Bible by the end of 2016.
Mrs Lovely Kamanga
“We shall remain thankful in 2016,” said Mr Mayuni, “For the great things the Lord does through us, with us, for us and indeed even in spite of us.”
The meeting announced the retirement from the BSM Board of Pastor Clive Mwalwanda and Mrs Lovely Kamanga who have served the board for three terms (9 years) and also the election of Dr James Kumwenda and Mr Garry Jumbe as new board members.
The AGM also witnessed the launch of the new Bible Society of Malawi Website which has been developed under the UBS Global Digital Project. The new website will help improve BSM’s online presence and be able to respond to a changing world, now and in the future.
Ulufingo Ulupya, the Lambya New Testament, was launched on 23 April 2016 in Chitipa with jubilation and dancing from Christians of all walks of life in Chitipa District. The event was held at Chitipa CCAP hall.
Speaking at the launch, the UBS Translation Advisor, Dr Gerrit Van Steenhergen said that Lambya speaking people should celebrate because they now have the word of God in their language.
“Today is a special day,” he said, “because the Lambya people can hear God speaking in their language. I hope that next time I come to Chitipa, your New Testaments will not be as clean as this, but worn-out as evidence that you have been using them.”
Dr. van Steenbergen also confirmed that the Lambya New Testament is a true representation of the meaning of the original language.
On his part, Bible Society of Malawi Executive Director Mr. Clapperton Mayuni described the launch of the New Testament for the Lambya Bible as a milestone in unifying church leaders and their followers as they will now use it when preaching the Gospel.
Also in attendance was Senior Chief Mwabulambya, who thanked the Bible Society for the translation of the Scriptures into Lambya. He said that he believed that as people read God’s word in their own language, they will change their behavior and live their lives according to God’s will.
“The translation is timely and will help the Lambya people an opportunity of hearing God’s word in their own language,” said Senior Chief Mwaulambya.
The Lambya translation project started in 2002, and is a joint project of Bible Society of Malawi and Word for the World.
“Today is a special day,” he said, “because the Lambya people can hear God speaking in their language. I hope that next time I come to Chitipa, your New Testaments will not be as clean as this, but worn-out as evidence that you have been using them.”
