Family Update!

Greetings from the city of Chipata! We’re excited to share how God is working through Hope Bible Baptist Church as we step into a new year filled with opportunities to grow, serve, and reach our community with the Gospel. 

Discipleship has always been the heartbeat of our ministry, and God is doing something truly special here. Over the years, we’ve seen how one-on-one discipleship creates life-changing relationships, where a believer walks alongside another, opening God’s Word together and growing in faith. It’s personal. It’s intentional. And it’s transformative.

Recently, we’ve been blessed—and honestly, a bit overwhelmed—by the sheer number of people asking to be discipled. Currently, we have 28 involved in weekly discipleship. Their hunger for truth is both humbling and inspiring. We’ve had to start forming group discipleship classes to meet this need. It’s a different approach, but the same passion is there: to equip believers in their own walk with Christ and empower them to one day go out and disciple others. Dear friends of ours shared recently how these lessons completely transformed how they view their faith, their relationship with God, and even how they want to raise their own family. Seeing God’s people becoming firmly rooted in Him is so encouraging!

Looking ahead, our church is working toward securing a permanent home in the heart of Chipata. We’ve been praying for a couple of years for a central place to worship, disciple, and serve the community more effectively. By God’s grace, we’ve identified a piece of land that seems ideal for this vision. We see this space as a hub where families can gather for worship, children can learn about Jesus, and the community can experience the love of Christ firsthand. Our prayer is for this work to far outlive us as we not only invest in God’s people now but also in the generations to come. As a church family, we’re doing everything we can to pool our resources and move forward, trusting God’s provision each step of the way. It’s an exciting and faith-stretching time for us, and we’re looking forward to how God will provide for what we believe will be a place to impact lives for God’s glory. 

A Little Letter From Lisa!

We recently visited our first church plant and reconnected with friends we hadn’t seen in over a decade. It was a special time—until, two minutes in, our 8-year-old slipped on wet cement and gashed her head. Not quite the reunion we had in mind! A friend quickly drove us to a nearby clinic while his wife stayed with the other kids. Aria, teary and holding a paper towel to her forehead, was bracing for stitches when he casually mentioned, “…and Auntie made chocolate chip cookies!” Her head shot up—“COOKIES!!!” Just like that, the tears disappeared, and she was all smiles. We’re so thankful Aria is fine, for good friends who jumped in to help, and for the undeniable healing power of a chocolate chip cookie!