Building a Family Ark

“But, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

“The overwhelming majority of Christians in the world had Christian parents who poured the gospel into them from infancy. More people are won to faith by their parents than by all evangelists, missionaries, pastors, and Christian workers combined.”
-Andy Davis “Two Journeys”

Last month we hosted a seminar at Mudzi Owala, where over 1000 hungry hearts came seeking to find Christ in His Word. I had the privilege of introducing a topic that I will address later in a full seminar entitled, “Raising children who seek, savor and serve Jesus Christ.” This crucial subject is simply not taught to our parents in Malawi. As I have said before, the missionaries may have completed their task of evangelizing Malawi, but they did not complete Christ’s mandate to disciple the nations by teaching them to obey everything he taught. (Matthew 28:18-20) Consequently, the Church is weak and believers are at risk.

I opened the seminar by asking if they, as parents, would let their children go out to play in the village if they knew a lion was roaming about their village. Of course, they said, “no!” Then, I explained to them that there is a lion who roams about their villages seeking whom he may devour. He is called the devil. (1 Peter 5:8) If they do not prepare their children by impressing upon them the truth of God’s Word, the lion will devour their faith and destroy their lives by his deceptive lies.

Then, I switched metaphors. I asked, “Would you let your children go out to play in the villages if a great cyclone was approaching their village?” Again, the resounding answer was “No!” I then informed them that a great cyclone of evil is coming upon their children. If they do not protect them from it’s terrible power, they will be destroyed. That cyclone will come in three waves: The devil; the world; and their own fallen heart.

I then pointed them to the story of Noah. Hebrews tells us that “By faith, Noah, when warned of things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7) As believing parents with children, their home must become an Ark of safety, where fathers and mothers protect their children and raise them up in the truth and promises that are ours in Christ Jesus.

It is too late to wait until they are young adults. In Malawi, sexual sin may not be advocated by the preacher, but it is promoted even by the parishioners. The traditions of the culture, what we would call the “way of the world,” is for mothers to take their daughters who come of age to the river. Their they are given instructions on how to please their men with sexual techniques. No Bible is opened. No instructions on purity are given. No commands to wait till marriage. Sex is expected and even encouraged by many Christian parents!

But, it is not the mothers who are primarily to be blamed for this tragedy. It is the men, the husbands and fathers. They have simply not been taught, or they refuse to fulfill their God given duty to raise up a God-honoring, Christ-following family. They have not the spirit of Joshua. Listen to his final words to Israel before he would die:
Now fear the Lord and serve him with faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)

In Malawi, the men in the village too often are caught up in drunkenness and promiscuity. It is not uncommon for the men to have more than one wife and to secretly have more than one family. I met young lady working in a store who told me her husband abandoned her and her baby and went to South Africa to find work. She had not heard from him in a year. He most likely started a new family there.

Not all men abandon their families or are unfaithful, but few have been trained to be Godly leaders in the home. A dark and aggressive culture surrounds the children of the villages. Unless the men stand up and resolve to be God-honoring, wife-loving, children-training and family-building leaders, the children will not be ready for the attacks of that roaring lion. Church attendance alone and the best efforts of Sunday school teachers cannot build an ark strong enough to save the children.

So, in 2025, by God’s grace, we will take up a new priority directed at the Malawian family. Our priority will be to train parents on how to raise their children in a Bible centered home. One of the first verses my mother taught me was this: “You word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) It has proven true in my life over and over again. It allowed me to “run in the path of your commands for you have given me life.” (Psalm 119:32) That Word is still valid today, even in Malawi.

This is my conclusion: If Malawi is to be transformed to the glory of God; if the Church is going to stand strong and make a significant difference in her culture; if she is to grow in the knowledge of Christ and in the power of the Word; we must enable her fathers and mothers to build strong Family Arks. Then, discipled in the Word; convinced of the truth; in the power of the Spirit, her children can carry the fight to the enemy, tearing down his strongholds, to the glory of God and the joy of his redeemed people.

What is true in Malawi is true in America. When I was growing up, the culture supported a morality-based life. Not anymore. Parents cannot assume that Sunday School classes will be enough. The enemy is too subtle and his traps are too hidden for our children to stand against his onslaught. Parents: Teach your children to fear the Lord. Then, teach them to love the Lord. Teach them the truth and power of God’s Word, by your life and by your lessons. When you lay down at night and rise in the morning, speak of the unmatched joy and blessings of knowing Jesus our Lord. Teach them that the way to satisfying living is honoring Jesus with their lives. You have to do it. If you love your children, build a Biblical Ark of Safety!