President of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Malawi, Pastor Petro Lameck Sukali, has urged church pastors to remain grounded in the Bible and uphold church doctrines as they minister to their congregations.

Pastor Sukali made the remarks on Saturday in Zomba during the ordination of six pastors from the Eastern Malawi Conference (EMC) of the SDA Church.

He emphasized that pastors should remain apolitical, noting that the church does not engage in politics in order to avoid divisions among members.

“We all know that the country is saturated with politics, but as pastors, they should remain apolitical. Active involvement in politics can make it difficult for them to effectively guide members who belong to different political parties,” said Sukali.

He added that pastoral ministry requires total dedication and sacrifice, urging the newly ordained pastors to be strong, courageous, and ready to serve in both urban and remote areas.

“You are ministering in a region largely dominated by the Muslim faith. Love Muslims, show them kindness—they are our brothers and sisters,” he said.

The six pastors ordained are Martin Daimon (Balaka), Maxon Chafunya (Maldeco), Smation Billiat (Mangochi), Redson Masamba (Chiradzulu), George Maziah (Domasi), and Adamson Magundani (Nkaya). They are now fully ordained and authorized to officiate weddings and conduct baptisms.

One of the newly ordained ministers, Pastor Maxon Chafunya, expressed his commitment to serving his congregation wholeheartedly in his new role.

Eastern Malawi Conference President, Pastor Dr. Sanned Lubani, said the ordination reflects the growth of the conference. However, he noted that more pastors are still needed, as some currently oversee more than 50 churches—a significant workload.

He added that the ordination will help reduce costs incurred by the EMC when sending ordained pastors to conduct baptisms and officiate weddings.

“We still need to recruit more pastors, and we pray that God blesses us with the resources to do so and to subdivide districts. We hope that within the next five years, the largest districts will have only 10 to 15 churches,” said Lubani.

Currently, the Eastern Malawi Conference has 25 ordained pastors serving 655 churches and a membership of 95,464.