The Malawi Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has called for Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) leadership structures to be established in every local church across the country, following an advisory meeting for PARL leaders held in Blantyre.

The meeting ran from 16 to 18 August 2026 at Mo & Mic Lodge in Namiwawa, bringing together PARL leaders from the Union's five conferences, South East Malawi, Eastern Malawi, Central Malawi, South West Malawi, and North Malawi, to work through how the Church can engage communities and government stakeholders while safeguarding its beliefs and liberty of conscience.

The meeting was facilitated by Dr. Pako Mokgwane, PARL Director for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID), joined by Malawi Union Conference PARL Director Dr. Luke Limbithu.

Dr. Mokgwane challenged conference PARL directors to move beyond administrative work and build intentional relationships in their communities.

"Making friendship is not compromising faith. It makes God's work easier," Mokgwane told the gathering. "As PARL leaders, we should not be distracted by any other voice. We must listen only to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we represent the church in our communities."

He said the Adventist Church can collaborate with civic and security institutions on shared concerns, peace, justice, youth development, and human dignity — without diluting Adventist identity.

Conference leaders were urged to establish dedicated PARL leadership at local church level. Pastor Lubani, Eastern Malawi Conference President and the Conference's PARL Director, described the advisory as an "eye opener."

"Every local church needs someone who understands how to engage government, community leaders, and other faith groups on behalf of the church," Lubani said.

Closing the meeting, Dr. Limbithu thanked the SID PARL Director for facilitating the sessions, describing the advisory as a benchmark for conference leaders in strengthening the Church's public engagement and religious liberty work in Malawi.

Dr. Mokgwane's visit to Malawi also included courtesy calls to the Malawi Police Service and the Blantyre City Council, and forms part of SID's ongoing work to strengthen public relations, religious liberty advocacy, and communications capacity across the Division's territory.