About Us

John grew up in El Dorado, Arkansas.  When he was a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University, he met Gina, a junior from Texarkana, Texas. They married in 1990 and settled back in his hometown in 1993 after John accepted a job as a law clerk for a Federal Judge. The move to El Dorado then led to his 26 year career at Murphy Oil/Murphy USA.  

John retired from Murphy USA in the summer of 2022 as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel. John felt for some time that the Lord was calling him to spend more time in ministry. When he began submitting to that call, doors to disciple, teach and plan events for men kept opening up. He attends Immanuel Baptist Church where he now leads men’s ministry and serves in other volunteer roles. He also currently sits on the board of One City Movement and the Boys and Girls Club. He and Gina have 3 grown sons and he is proud to be a grandfather (Poppy) since 2022. His favorite pasttimes are playing pickleball and golf- especially with his sons.

Outside of her volunteer roles at church, Gina is also on the board of One City Movement and a member of a team that plans Quiet Retreats for women twice a year. She teaches the Bible several times a week and especially loves discipling the young women who meet in her home every Monday night for Bible study. She occasionally speaks at retreats and conferences. Her desire is for women (and men) to learn more about the Bible and not be intimidated to study God’s Word. Her favorite titles are Follower of Christ, Wife, Mother and Birdie (her grandmother name). She is a homemaker at heart and loves taking care of her home and serving her family. 

“My name is Mathews Wilson Phiri born in 1969. I was raised in a non-Christian home where both my Father and Mother were believers in the ancestral spirits. From age 5 until age 7 I was a street kid in my hometown of Ntcheu.  At 8 years old a family from Ntcheu Baptist Church adopted me into their family. They took me to Ntcheu Baptist church where I joined a new Sunday School class and began to learn more about God. 

In 1983, the Baptist Mission Board send a Missionary to Ntcheu by the name of Ghana.  He was a good man of God who loved the word. He was our Sunday school teacher. I still remember that exact Wednesday in June of 1983 when Ghana was teaching on Romans 5. When he read Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” tears of both sorrow and joy flowed from my heart. Sorrow that I was born a sinner and joy that I have someone who loves and died for a sinner like me. I surrendered my life to Jesus. That was the turning point of my life. 

I graduated high school in 1992 and was married in 1996 to Thokozani (translated -  “Thank you “in English) We have 5 children (3 biological and 2 adoptions). In 1997, another Baptist Missionary from the Malawi town of Dedza started a Leadership Training class.  I felt the call and joined the school. After graduation the Missionary recommended that I attend Baptist Seminary. I started seminary in 2002 and finished in 2006. Ntcheu Baptist Church called me to be their pastor in 2002.  My wife Thokozani and I have served Ntcheu Baptist for 21 years.  I received my Theological Certificate from the Baptist Seminary in 2006 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in 2020.  I am currently in the process of obtaining a Master’s Degree from the Baptist Seminary.

Besides the pastoral and church leader’s trainings, God also called me to children’s ministry. When I was in seminary, there was a Missionary family who came and taught for six months about the importance of children’s ministry. That was my beginning of my calling towards children. Our children need to hear the gospel and they need to hear that Jesus loves them.  Children are born with a sinful nature.  

In 2013, I was privileged to go to the OCC Connect Conference in Orlando, Florida. I prayed two things to God before I left on this trip: Lord thank you, thank you and thank you!!!!!, second: Lord show me your grace by giving me a ministry partner in the sharing of the Gospel in Malawi.   God answered my prayer in abundance.  That conference is where I met Gina Moore, a strong believer in the Lord, a compassionate lady and a lady full of grace. And beyond that, a lady with a big heart for Africa, and now Malawi.”

God’s grace is sufficient for me!!!!!!!!!!

My name is Thokozani Phiri. I am married to Mathews Phiri with 3 biological children and 2 adopted children. I was born in 1972, on 26th October.

My mother married a British man called George Walker who came to Malawi under the British Government to construct roads in Malawi and coincidently my mother was working in the Ministry of Works as a secretary. The two got married in 1970. In 1977, the two were sent to Zambia to study and survey some of the roads to be constructed. They took me to Zambia as their baby. While in Zambia, they got into a car accident and both of them died on the spot. Graciously, I survived. The Malawi High Commissioner’s Office made all arrangements to repatriate the dead bodies of my Mother and Father. I still remember some of the incidents. 

That was my hopeless turning point, from living with parents with almost everything: good food, good water, a good school, a good house, a good mother and father, to living without food, without water, without school fees, without a place to sleep and bad enough without the lovely voice of my mother and father. I had no one to take care of me except my dear, lovely grandmother. Though poor, but very rich in love; though uneducated but full in the knowledge of the goodness of God; though many times walking without food and clothes but full of joy because of her love. She cared for me. This reminds me of Paul’s writing in 2 Corinthians 7:4-10 “But we have treasure in the jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

I have a true testimony of life without parents. I walked around in my village without hope and my life was meaningless. From the years of my youth, I felt no sense of living in this world. Until a time when our church, Ntcheu Baptist had a missionary from Oklahoma by the name of Gana. This couple showed love to me, fed me, dressed me, and shared with me hope from the living word of God.

My second turning point was the time when this missionary preached the word of God from the book of Romans 8:28,30-39. That was on Wednesday mid-week services in 1985. After this message, I felt relieved in my heart and I had to put my hope in Jesus. He became my mother, my father, my friend, and much better, he became my personal Savior.

All these years Matt and I were in the same church and same Baptist youth group but had no intention of marrying each other until 1989 when I met Matt in a special way. My prayer was to marry a man who would be in the shoes of my mother. One who could be an encourager, a prayer partner, and one who could strengthen my faith by reading the word of God together. Yes! God answered my prayer. Though we had no one from both sides to celebrate our wedding because of the background of poverty and the lack of someone to stand by us, tears of joy flowed from my heart because God filled the emptiness I lacked. We started a new journey of sometimes excitement and sometimes sorrow. Nonetheless, day after day, we made a commitment to ask God to satisfy us with His unfailing love.

In 2006, God challenged me through his word in James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Since I grew up as an orphan, I feel crushed when I see orphans and widows comparing my personal experience I went through. 

God miraculously gave us our adopted daughter Hope. She was denied by her relatives from the village on the day her mother died. The government announced in churches about the scenario that a mother has died at the hospital and has left a baby without parental care. Straightaway, I made a commitment to adopt her. Now she is 17 years old. She is a grown, sweet girl, with a lovely smile on her face. In 2009, another incident happened. A mother died while giving birth and the government announced it in churches. I was not sure how I could raise two orphans, but the spirit of the Lord gave me strength from Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” I made a commitment again to adopt the second one and name her Hannah.

God knows everything!  He allowed me to grow in such an environment for His own purpose, glory, and for our own good. I live a life of joy, hope, and trust in Jesus finally waiting for the day that I will be able to see him face to face. God’s grace is sufficient for me!!!!!!!!!!