Signs of the times- a call for prayer and strategic action
In the wake of recent floods across various nations in Southern & Central Africa, CreationCall are calling for a renewed commitment amongst our ChristCentral family to stand together across the globe and develop strategic environmental stewardship programmes.

While the scale of these current floods may not have reached the record-breaking levels seen in Pakistan recently, the human cost in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia has still been significnat. In Malawi, for instance, he churches we are working with mourn the loss of three members, one directly from the floods and two from ensuing hunger. Many families across the region have had their homes destroyed or damaged, and there has been disruption of livelihoods and schooling. All this has followed severe droughts in recent years (which still continue in some parts of Malawi), interspersed with repeated floods.

A Call to Discernment
There is a sense that these events are more than just changing weather patterns but perhaps are ‘signs of the times’. Echoing the words of Jesus, who chided His hearers for failing to interpret the world around them, leaders are urging our churches to consider what it means to be a global family in an era of real-time communication and rapid climate shifts.
"These repeated climate-induced events bring a major challenge to work out what it means to be brothers and sisters across the world... How do we stand with our friends in their great needs?"

Beyond Emergency Aid: The Need for Strategy
While emergency relief remains a priority, the current crisis has highlighted a significant gap in long-term resources. Existing initiatives like the WayMaker and BREADTrust farming projects are providing vital support, but they are currently limited by a lack of "human resources" to increase their scale and reach. Much of WayMaker's operational weight currently rests on a single individual on the ground, Goodson Kaluba, highlighting a need for a broader base of trained volunteers.

Clearly climate change is not the sole or even the main cause of poverty across the world but it acts as a ‘threat multiplier’ undermining initiatives that would otherwise be more profitable or sustainable.

How can we respond to the current and future crisis?
In the light of the challenge before us two distinct strategic pathways are proposed to strengthen our response as a family of churches:

1. Strategic Partnerships - leveraging the success of WayMaker’s fundraising model to potentially partner with larger organisations like Tearfund. Despite previous hurdles, the success of Tearfunds ‘Transforming Communities’ program - which was recently highlighted by Jubilee+ may offer a potential blueprint for supporting local churches through professionally managed environmental projects.

2. Mobilising the church - increasing the profile of CreationCall, through it’s monthly international online prayer gathering. These gatherings are grounded in the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to ‘heal the land’, they bring together believers from multiple nations to intercede for environmental and political solutions.

More Together
As the worst of the current flooding begins to subside, the long-term work of reconstruction and adaptation begins. The call to our family of churches is one of presence and partnership. Standing with those in need not just with finances, but in prayer and shared expertise.