Villages in Partnership is a community of people and organizations who are devoted to sharing God’s love and blessings with the poorest of the poor in the impoverished nation of Malawi, Africa. It all began with a quiet but unshakable feeling in the mind and heart of co-founder Liz Heinzel-Nelson that God was calling her to be in a community with and serve the poor. In response to that call, Liz and her husband, co-founder Rev. Stephen Heinzel-Nelson, spent a year in Malawi with their family getting to know the country and its people, building relationships, and discerning how they and others could partner with people there to help change each other’s lives.
Villages in Partnership is the outgrowth of the seeds the Heinzel-Nelsons planted during their time in Malawi. Those seeds have grown into what is now a vibrant, wide-ranging development organization, involving dozens of people working in partnership with other churches, schools, businesses, and community organizations to nurture enduring, life-changing relationships with villages in Malawi. Together, we work hand-in-hand with one another to devise and implement long-term sustainable development projects designed to empower our friends in those villages to be able to lift themselves out of poverty.
Through our connection with VIP, PCTR has sent 9 different individuals to Malawi as part of Friendship Trips in addition to supporting VIP and the Heinzel-Nelsons in the work they are doing.
Villages in Partnership believes there is no more profound way to get involved than to go to Malawi, to meet with our friends in person, break bread with them, and work and worship alongside them while sharing each other’s blessings and burdens. One of the core principles of VIP is that we are not distant benefactors sending hand-outs from afar, but are true partners who care about and seek community with our brothers and sisters in Malawi. During these friendship trips, participants get to know our friends and understand their circumstances, listen to them and work alongside them to further the important work we are doing together.
Visit them at villagesinpartnership.org
To learn more about our Outreach Ministries and mission partners, or to help serve in one of these areas, please contact the church office (732-349-1331).