There are many individuals we have met over the years whose lives have become part of the heartbeat of the work of Africa & Beyond. One such individual is Coster Tambala. Coster became a Christian after finishing secondary school in 2010. He was visiting our church in Lilongwe one Sunday morning. At that time, the congregation he was visiting was meeting in a tent on a piece of property we had rented from a local school. Jamie was preaching that morning in Chichewa (a major language spoken in Malawi), and this caught Coster’s attention.

He says, “The way he (Jamie) highlighted the state of man grabbed my attention. This then produced a strong conviction in me of which I now understand was the power of the Holy Spirit. He focused on our state as human beings, that we are sinners and needed to be saved by a perfect Savior. He went on to speak of what Christ had done for us and said, ‘Christ as a stainless lamb, has died on our behalf. Therefore our response needs to be to accept Him in our lives as Lord and personal Savior.’ He quoted Romans 10:7-10. On that day, I felt I needed Christ as a sinner. I then said ‘yes’ to Jesus, allowing Him to take total control of my life. From that day, I committed myself to the church.”

From that time until now, Coster has been a faithful member of the church. He has assisted with leading the youth, serving in evangelism, and has become the church’s Business Administrator (he holds a Diploma in Business Management). He is also most recently serving as a youth pastor in one of the church campuses in Lilongwe under the leadership of Pastor Wilson Mvinya.

This young man has proven that one life, one soul, is worth all of the effort put into planting churches and raising local leaders. Together with him and others like him, we will see a thousand, and more, churches planted on the continent.