A two-week evangelistic crusade run by Central Malawi Conference Women's Ministries has ended with 150 baptisms across four centres in Kapiri, Dedza.

The campaign ran from 9 to 22 August 2026 and was directed at communities where the Adventist Church has had little previous presence. About 30 of the baptisms took place at Sitolo Village, which had no Adventist members at all before the meetings began.

Church leaders said the response at Sitolo was the clearest indication that the campaign had reached its intended audience, and that villagers who were not baptised have since asked about attending services.

Steven Banda, one of those baptised, said the meetings gave him a fuller understanding of Scripture than he had previously held, and that this settled a decision he had been weighing.

Thokozani Davison, 27, said she had wanted to join the Adventist community for years without an opportunity to do so. Her marriage to an Adventist and her attendance at the crusade brought that within reach.

"I have always wanted to be part of the Adventist community, but I did not have the opportunity," Davison said. "Through attending this crusade, I have finally fulfilled that desire."

She said the Church's organisation and its willingness to serve others had shaped her decision.

The newly formed congregation at Chikoleza is meeting in a temporary shelter. Central Malawi Conference Women's Ministries Director Smartha Hoka and Mtakataka District pastor Peter Chibwato have appealed for support towards a permanent building, saying a fixed structure would accommodate the growing congregation and give continued evangelism in the area a stable base.

The Group Village Headman of Chikoleza addressed the newly baptised members, encouraging them to hold to what they had learnt and not to be turned aside. He urged others considering the same step to take it without delay, telling them that life does not wait.

The 150 baptisms mark the largest result yet for the Central Malawi Conference Women's Ministries evangelism programme.