Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

February has seen us get back to our lives and our work.

The month of February has been a welcome shift to stability for our family in many ways. After traveling and generally being out-of-sync during our 7 months in the US, it is good to have a rhythm to life once again.

Our children have started back to homeschooling with new tutors. Pray for them as they continue to get used to new people and new habits. We are also still searching for a new tutor for Jude, our son with autism, and we ask that you would pray for us to find the perfect person to help Jude reach his full potential.

The calling of missions is a calling that affects an entire family, and I am so thankful to have a wife who equally feels God’s call to serve here and helps lead our children to have joyful attitudes about God’s plan for our lives.

Josh has been teaching Theology 2 and Church History.

Discipling young men

This month, we have focused on discipling the young men who are here for training at Shepherds Academy. These students will finish up the term on March 17. My primary class has been Theology 2, while I have also been teaching shorter seminars on Church History and Pastoral Ministry. Isaac continues teaching Counseling and Church Planting.

The students have also assisted us to plant Indonesian bamboo that we will be able to use in about 3-4 years as the cooking fuel for our school kitchen.

As this term draws to a close this month, Students will return home to their families. Those finishing their second year will return in May to do their final ministry project and graduate.

Get your copy of The Bible Guidebook and support the work of Gospel Life!

Those preaching at Gospel Life Baptist Church have been meeting weekly to work on sermons together.

Growing as preachers at Gospel Life Baptist Church

One new initiative we have started is to focus more on developing the preaching ministry at Gospel Life Baptist Church. Currently, there are four of us that preach at our church here in Zomba. Right now, we are preaching through 1 John. Each Wednesday for lunch, we are meeting to critique the sermon from the previous week and then discuss the passage for the following week together.

I started these Sermon Review Lunches to help teach the others how to preach better, but I have been amazed how their input has improved my own sermons. We are prayerful that God will continue to use his word to transform our church.

Training pastors at the end of the month

Pray for us as we prepare to have our first modular pastor trainings since furlough at the end of March. During the week of March 26, we will meet first with pastors in the Lower Shire and then with pastors in Zomba. Isaac and I will teach them the basics of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry. 

A practical class of this nature will force us to confront a lot of practices that are acceptable culturally but unbiblical. I am glad to co-teach it with Isaac who possesses great wisdom in these areas.

Joshua Hutchens

Joshua Hutchens

Joshua Hutchens (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a missionary to Malawi and president of Gospel Life. Before becoming president of Gospel Life, he served as a pastor in Kentucky. He is married to Stacy Leigh, and they have five children.

Do you believe in prayer?

We do. Join us as a prayer partner today!

Give life through the gospel | Plant. Teach. Serve.