LIKUNI SDA CHURCH DEDICATED TO THE LORD AFTER FORTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EXISTENCE
What started as a family prayer house by a couple who were teachers at Likuni Girls Secondary School in 1972 in Lilongwe, has now been dedicated as a Church.
On November 15, 2020 the Executive Secretary of the Malawi Union Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Pastor Innocent Chikomo officially cut the ribbon and opened the doors of Likuni Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Immediately after cutting the ribbon, the Pastor said “I have cut the ribbon, symbolizing cutting the chains of sins. Symbolically there is also need to open the gate so that you can enter the church.”
He then continued to open the main doors and said, “I am asking those of you passing through this door today, your desire should be that you enter the heavenly kingdom.”
He then invited the congregates to enter the church, first to enter were the officiating ministers followed by their spouses. Dorcas choir followed after, then invited guests and lastly the congregations, cheerfully singing Christ in Song hymn number 238, “Who are these”?
The chairperson of the function was Pastor A D Msulira who welcomed the congregants and introduced Pastors who had once ministered at Likuni Seventh-Day Adventist Church and were present, beginning with Pastor Kabambe who was at Falls Seventh-Day Adventist Church when Likuni was a Branch of Falls and Pastor Laston Banda the first District Pastor in 1995.
Before the dedication, Elder Peter Phiri who is the first elder of the church gave a brief history of the church.
Likuni Seventh-Day Adventist Church began as a family prayer house of late Wayson Ziba and Catherine Ziba who were teachers at Likuni Girls Secondary School in 1972. Later members around Likuni joined them and as membership increased, they started assembling at Likuni Hospital. Later the group moved to Likuni Boys Secondary and later Likuni Boys Primary School before they settled at Maziro Village, the present site in 1988.
The church started with a temporary structure in 1989 before construction of this permanent building began in 1995 when Pastor Kabambe led the ground breaking ceremony.
During the ground breaking ceremony, the membership was 40 and 40 years later it has risen to 426. These are only members whose names are found in the Church Clerk’s book and excludes students from the Natural Resources College, Sky Way University and Likuni Boys Secondary school whose membership is not at this church.
The church is currently building Pastor’s house, two houses for church workers and has future plans to construct a perimeter fence and a multi-purpose hall.
These plans are concurrently to go with evangelism which is the core business of the church and currently it is focusing on Maziro Village as its impact area.
Presiding over the dedication, the Executive Secretary of the Malawi Union of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Pastor Innocent Chikomo said that dedication sermon is one of the important functions performed in the house of the Lord apart from wedding sermons which take place. He thanked members of Likuni Seventh-Day Adventist Church for constructing such a beautiful church.
Reading Acts 3:1-9 from the Bible he emphasized that praying has no time limit as was the case with the two disciples, John and Peter who were going to church to pray all the time all their lives. The church is supposed to be opened at all time so that people could come and pray any time all the time.
The disciples told the crippled that they did not have silver nor gold but what they offered him was more than what he had wanted. The good thing is that the crippled person followed the disciples into the church and the Pastor asked the congregation how many people have followed them into the church?
Pastor Chikomo stressed that the function was not just a matter of dedication but had a purpose. The church was being dedicated in order to carry out the work of evangelism as commanded in Matthew 28:19-20 to hasten the second coming of our Lord.
Soon after the dedication sermon, Pastor Sibande of the Malawi Union Conference led the act of dedication when the church vowed to give the church to the Lord. A certificate of dedication was presented to Likuni Church which was received by Pastor Paul Kamgoma, the District Pastor of Likuni with copies received by Pastor Msulira and Pastor Botolo of the Central Malawi Conference and Malawi Union Conference respectively.
Pastor Sibande then declared that the building had now become property of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and part of the sisterhood of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church worldwide.
Lastly, on the behalf of Likuni Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the President of Central Malawi Conference Pastor Petros Sukali officially accepted the building. In his acceptance speech, among other vows, promised that the church will be utilized only for its intended purposes.
Only right doctrines from the Bible will be accepted to be preached, will maintain clean environment within and outside the premises, promote truth and impartiality in all its undertakings.
As a dedicated place, no food will be allowed to be taken in the church.
The function closed with Christ in Song hymn number 228, “Praise Him! Praise Him”! And Pastor Dennis Matekenya offered the benediction.
By Mathews Katoleza, Communication Secretary,
