Theological Training in the Heart of Africa:
Chisomo Masambuka’s Remarkable Journey from Malawi to The Master’s Seminary
When Chisomo Masambuka boarded a plane in Lilongwe, Malawi, in the summer of 2022, it was his first time leaving the country. He wasn’t going on a quick trip to nearby Zambia or South Africa, or on a vacation to Europe. Instead, he and his new wife were moving halfway around the world to Los Angeles, California, where he was enrolled as a student at The Master’s Seminary.
“It was crazy,” Chisomo said, referring to his first day in Los Angeles. “I’ll never forget seeing a Porsche at the airport and being in awe of the wealth.”
The contrast certainly is stark. According to the investment firm Henley and Partners, Los Angeles has more than 200,000 millionaires and is the sixth richest city in the world. On the other hand, Malawi is earth’s 12th poorest country according to the World Population Review. The nation’s nearly 20 million citizens have an average yearly income of $580.
Yet Chisomo did not come to Los Angeles to escape the poverty of his home country. Far from it. He misses his homeland and is eager to return. But he knows that right now God has him in Southern California for an education at TMS. Specifically, he is here for his second Master of Divinity degree. He completed his first M.Div through the Central African Preaching Academy, or CAPA, a school started in Lilongwe six years ago. He was one of 80 men who were part of the first M.Div students at CAPA in 2017.
“CAPA was a huge shock,” Chisomo said. “I’d read as much theology as I could get my hands on, including Puritans like John Owen and John Flavel. But I never could figure out how those writers pulled so much theology and insight from the text. CAPA taught me how to first look at the Bible and study it on my own.”
Having benefited so much from his education at CAPA, why did Chisomo leave his homeland, the only country he’s ever known, to come across the world and earn a second Master of Divinity degree?
“Since Chisomo already has a master of divinity, he was eligible for the doctor of ministry program at TMS,” said Brian Biedebach. Brian is associate professor of pastoral studies and dean of students at TMS. For more than a decade, he served as a missionary in Malawi, pastoring a local church in Lilongwe and teaching at African Bible College. Before returning from the mission field, he had a crucial role in the development and launch of Central African Preaching Academy. “But Chisomo wanted to experience the full Master of Divinity program here at TMS,” Biedebach said. “That’s going to be invaluable for him when he returns to Malawi and, Lord willing, is part of CAPA. He’s experienced the CAPA M.Div in its earliest possible form and now he’s going through a world-class version of the M.Div. When he goes back, he can help CAPA make sure any future M.Div programs have the same depth and quality as the program here on the campus of TMS.”
That’s certainly Chisomo’s prayer. Before coming to TMS, he worked at CAPA, providing administrative and business support. At the end of his time at TMS, he wants to return to Malawi and CAPA, this time as a professor. His prayer is that one day it will be the premier theological school in the country. He knows that throughout Malawi, there’s a massive hunger for the kind of rigorous, theological, and exegetical education modeled at TMS. The appetite was evident in the massive size of CAPA’s first class of nearly 80 students. Many people are coming to Christ throughout Malawi. They want to know what the Bible says. They are desperate for clear, precise, biblical teaching. And they want to go to a church with a well-trained preacher who knows how to handle the text.
Chisomo’s seen that hunger for truth increase dramatically in recent years. When he first became a Christian at 18 and was introduced to reformed theology not long after, he only knew of one or two healthy churches with expository preaching. The rest were charismatic in nature. Most taught some version of the prosperity gospel. But today, Chisomo knows of at least 12 churches throughout the country that are led by graduates of CAPA or other men who believe in reformed doctrine and expository preaching. He is optimistic about the future of his homeland, and he knows that in order for it to fulfill its potential and become a country where Christ’s Word is proclaimed faithfully, theological education at places like CAPA is critical. He can’t think of more valuable work. And he can’t think of a better place to prepare for this work than the M.Div program at TMS.
Moving from one of the poorest countries in the world to one of the globe’s richest cities would have been impossible without the TMAI partner scholarship. It provided full tuition and a cost-of-living stipend for Chisomo and his wife. The John MacArthur Charitable Trust invests in this crucial scholarship so that men like Chisomo can come from TMAI partner schools to TMS and receive premier education, then model that education back in their home country. Thank you for your gift. It’s making a significant investment in ministry training in dozens of countries like Malawi around the world.
