The Gospel is a Living Language

Prof. Daile served as a parish pastor for ten years before joining the LBI staff. He is a very animated speaker.


Our mission team has a guiding motto, “Christ for All, Great News for Africa.” That battle cry inspires me. For twenty-five years, I have seen first-hand how little Christ is known in Africa. Church is too often about laws and customs, not Christ. But in our Lutheran churches, the gospel of Jesus is heard every Sunday in sermons our African brothers preach.

Our WELS Mission team in Africa (the One Africa Team) plays a key role in training those African preachers. Much of our resources and manpower is devoted to helping sister synods in the effort.

African pastors are far better equipped to preach to and teach in their own culture. But it’s also true that African professors are much better able to teach future African pastors. We’re making some newsworthy progress in this.

Students at the LBI learn to speak the Greek that Jesus and his disciples used 2,000 years ago.


These past two months I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with a cheerful new colleague on our Lutheran Bible Institute campus. Pastor Stanley Daile has joined us on the faculty. His focus will be to teach Biblical Greek. For the rest of this school year, he and I are working together to teach the Greek course. After next school year, he will take over the Greek instruction.

Stanley Daile is the newest faculty member of the Lutheran Bible Institute in Lilongwe, Malawi


We have an aggressive schedule for bringing him up to speed. We meet for an hour, one on one, three times a week. Together, we are team teaching Greek to the students five class hours a week. In addition, after each class Rev. Daile and I chat for ten minutes, only in Greek. It’s great fun teaching and learning Greek together, but our best hour together comes on Fridays. On that day, we read the New Testament in Greek with our colleague Rev. Kumchulesi. The three of us dive into the Word using the original language and come out of those waters refreshed with the gospel.

LBI Staff (L-R): Mr. Lamson Chimaliro, Prof. Darlington Mwakatika, Missionary Mark Panning, Rev. Alfred Kumchulesi, Missionary Paul Nitz


The Wisconsin Synod has been training men for the pastoral ministry in the United States since 1865, teaching them to read the Scriptures in Hebrew and Greek. One Africa Team desires to give future pastors in Africa the same advantage and blessing of being able to read the Old and New Testament in their original languages. When pastors are steeped in the Word and understand it well, the gospel wins. Their sermons and teaching and counseling will reflect the love of God revealed to us in the Word.

Philip Melanchthon wrote, “If we are to be devoted sons to our Father, surely we should eagerly strive to study and even emulate our most devoted parent’s language” (De Studiis Linguae Graecae, 1549). Pray blessings on Rev. Daile as he works at taking over teaching African pastoral students the language our Father used to tell us the good news.

Paul Nitz lives in Malawi and serves as the Principal of the Lutheran Bible Institute. He also serves as the Integrator of One Africa TeamPlease pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Go to this link to learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa