Key points:
- Late last year, 32 people participated in evangelism training in Antananarivo, preparing for efforts in Madagascar’s Deep South.
- Thanks to a $12,000 grant from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the team conducted open-air campaigns and house-to-house outreach, distributed Bibles and built a shelter for worship in Andranovory.
- Andranovory, Ankilimidega, Marovahatse and Toliara are now among the new places where The United Methodist Church is taking root in southern Madagascar.
An evangelism mission conducted in Madagascar’s Deep South is opening a new chapter in the establishment of The United Methodist Church on the island.
Supported by a $12,000 grant from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the initiative aimed to proclaim the Gospel in a region marked by poverty, drought, scant basic services and a limited Christian presence.
By the end of the four-month campaign, United Methodist communities had begun to take shape in Andranovory, Ankilimidega, Marovahatse and Toliara, while another point remained in preliminary stages.
For mission leaders, this progress is part of a broader story. The first official parish of The United Methodist Church in Madagascar opened in 2018. Since then, the United Methodist presence has expanded to new areas.
“We are seeking souls,” said the Rev. Éric Kalumba, a Global Ministries missionary from Tanganyika, Congo, assigned as a church planter in Madagascar. “We want to make disciples of the Lord.”
Late last year, 32 people participated in training in Antananarivo, focusing on field evangelism, missionary life in remote areas, geographic and cultural realities of the Deep South, and the methods best suited to sharing the Gospel in difficult contexts. Prayer support also was encouraged.
Although Malagasy is the official language, dialects vary from region to region, and some evangelists from Antananarivo and northern Madagascar equipped themselves to serve in a cultural and linguistic environment different from their own, more than 620 miles from home.
“In order to evangelize, you need prepared evangelists,” Kalumba explained. “We chose to start with training. Without it, we would not have churches.”
For Razafindrabe “Nicko” Notahiana Miando, motivation came both from his calling and his desire to go where the Gospel is still little known. “Above all,” he said, “my first trip there had the goal of proclaiming the Gospel to those who had never heard it and extending my church into that region.”
After the training, the team set out for 18 days. Difficult road conditions and harsh weather slowed the team’s progress. Evangelism unfolded in several strategic locations along the way, where doors opened and residents showed a genuine desire to hear the word of God.
In Andranovory, halfway along the route, before the muddy road leading to Ampanihy, a woman expressed her desire to become United Methodist. Her decision encouraged the team to hold an evangelistic campaign in that community. The evangelists went door to door to invite families, while the sound equipment purchased in Antananarivo was used to share the Gospel during open-air gatherings.
Near Ejeda, another community along the route, the team also was warmly welcomed. Young people and children came out to meet them. The traditional chief received the team and mobilized residents from several small villages within a radius of about seven miles. Prayer marked the first meeting. Coffee was then offered to the evangelists before conversations began about the campaign scheduled for the following day.
That welcome deeply moved the evangelists, especially since the region remains difficult to access. During the rainy season, even large vehicles struggle to travel. For those who made the journey, that reality confirmed the spiritual and human urgency of the mission.
“The biggest challenge we faced was infrastructure,” said Ramainty Clémence, head of evangelism in Madagascar. “The poor condition of the roads did not always allow us to do our work as effectively as we wanted.”
Ralivony Silly Monique agreed. “When we went there, it was raining a lot.”
Miando recalled a moment when the team thought they might not continue. “One striking testimony is that of our vehicle,” he said. “It became submerged in water, and some essential parts were soaked, which caused the engine to stop completely. We were discouraged, very far from everything, with no one to help us. So, we prayed. God helped us find solutions, and the vehicle started again.”
The living conditions affected the team most deeply. “What touched us the most was the way people are suffering,” Kalumba said. “There is extreme poverty … things you cannot imagine people lacking. It is painful to see people living where clean drinking water is desperately sought, where the hospital is always some distance away, and where schools are also far away.”
In that context, the evangelistic campaigns were not simply religious gatherings. They were also a way of bringing hope to places where isolation, hardship and climate-related trials weigh heavily on families.
Along the journey, people in Ankilimidega and Marovahatse also responded to the call of the Gospel. The team carried that same vision to Toliara, the major city of the southwest and the provincial capital, where another United Methodist community began to emerge.
For Ramainty Clémence, the spiritual fruit of the mission remains the most striking aspect. “I truly saw miracles when we went to the South,” she said. “Many of the things the Lord did among the people we met go beyond our understanding. They received Jesus. Some had previously attended other churches but had stopped serving God; they came back and are now ready to pray with the Methodists.”
Perasoa Olivia agreed. “Even though the culture of the people we met in southern Madagascar is different from ours,” she said, “many received Jesus Christ and are ready to walk with our church.”
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To strengthen what had been planted, leaders presented Bibles to those who remained firm in the faith and committed to the United Methodist community. In Andranovory, the team built a shelter to provide the new believers with a place to gather. In several other places, worshippers pray under trees or in borrowed rooms, sometimes in schools.
Kalumba said he was satisfied with what was accomplished in southern Madagascar. Through the reports and photos received from the field, he learned that United Methodist congregations continue to gather, and the shelter is already being used by new believers. He saw clear encouragement that the mission had truly borne fruit and that God’s work continues to move forward in the region.
For the team, the campaign produced visible results and confirmed the value of the preparation. “The training we provided added something important,” Kalumba said. “There were trained evangelists who played their role, accompanied by God himself. The result is positive.”
Leaders now say that four new United Methodist churches have been planted, with another church plant still in formation.
Gratitude toward the whole church comes through strongly in the testimonies. For those who took part in the mission, Global Ministries’ support was far more than financial assistance. It was concrete proof that the worldwide church is carrying Madagascar in its missionary vision, Monique said.
“We truly thank God and GBGM, because God is really using them as an instrument to support the development of The UMC,” she said. “They provided materials through financial support to make this evangelism journey possible. Thanks to that, we were able to project videos, make posters, preach in open air, spread the message through media and build a shelter that allows the new believers to begin gathering as a UMC church in their region.”
Rakotoarivony is a communicator for the Madagascar mission field of The United Methodist Church.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer, news editor, [email protected] or 615-742-5469. To read more United Methodist news subscribe to the free UM News Digests.
