A team of three from Malawi headed to Los Angeles for the TMAI International Symposium and
Shepherds Conference in early March. On Monday, the team had several hours of meetings
with other TMAI training center leaders from around the world. We had the privilege of hearing
from TMAI’s president, Dr Mark Tatlock, updating us on the latest from TMAI and reminding us
of the task of training faithful leaders for the local church in each of our contexts. We also heard
from Dr Jerry Wragg and Dr Chris Mueller, who provided insights on discipleship from their
years of experience in church/training ministry. On Tuesday, we interacted with hundreds of
people at the CAPA display table set up during the TMAI Symposium. It was a joy to tell people
about what is happening in Malawi, through the ministry of CAPA.
From Wednesday to Friday, Shepherds Conference at Grace Community Church was attended
by over 4,000 men from around the world. We were fortunate to hear wonderful preaching, and
it is a wonder to hear that many men singing together (being led by Bob Kauflin). During the
week we had a number of meetings with the TMAI home office staff, old friends, and new
ministry partners.
Probably the greatest joy of the week was time spent with men looking to re/join the team in
Malawi as faculty in the near future. Tom Dickerson and Brad Pogue are both faithful men who
are in the process of moving to Malawi with their families as missionaries, to join the CAPA
team. Chisomo Masambuka is benefiting from TMAI’s scholarship program at The Master’s
Seminary, just finishing his second year of the MDiv program (he and his wife Thando also just
welcomed their firstborn son). We’re very grateful to have spent time with these men during the
week in Los Angeles.
