April 7, 2025 • 27 mins
In this final episode of our four-part series, Pastor Jeff Bills talks with Bruce Main of UrbanPromise about Lonjezo University. The conversation reveals a pressing challenge in Malawi: only 3,000 university seats exist annually for more than 50,000 high school graduates. Urban Promise's seven high schools alone graduate 700-800 students yearly, with most having no pathway to higher education. Lonjezo University addresses this gap with a 60-acre campus featuring dormitories, classrooms, and facilities designed to provide quality education in an environment where students can thrive academically and spiritually. Learn more and make a gift to HOPE in Motion today at meethope.org/motion!
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.online.church! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro/Outro (00:03):
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope our world forthe sake of others.
Ashley Black (00:30):
Welcome to Hope.
Hello listeners, we are so gladto be in your ears today.
Today's episode is the last ofa four-part series we've been
doing about Hope's capitalcampaign for 2025, called Hope
in Motion.
If you haven't listened to allof them, please go back and do
so.
Each one is informative interms of what each part of the
campaign entails, but also givesyou an opportunity to hear from
(00:51):
our incredible team of leadershere at Hope who do their very
best each day to make churchwelcoming, accessible, fun,
inspirational and meaningful toevery person who comes in the
front door or finds us online.
Today, we are excited to sharewith you that, because of your
generosity, we are halfwaytowards our goal of $125,000.
(01:15):
And the campaign has only beenlive for a little over a month.
We're encouraged and inspired bythis community's desire to see
hope in motion for generationsto come, locally and globally.
If you have not already done so, now would be the perfect time
to give to Hope in Motion.
Pastor Jeff has specificallyasked the Hope community to
(01:37):
consider giving 10% more thanyour regular giving this year.
We also know that that is notpossible for every individual or
family, but please know thatevery gift matters and that no
amount is too small To give.
Go to meethopeorg slash motionand click the give button.
You can also send your donationto HOPE at 700 Cooper Road,
(01:58):
Voorhees, New Jersey, 08043, or,if you are in our lobby, drop
your gift in one of our givingstations.
Please be sure to include anote or memo that says Hope in
Motion when you do so, so weknow to include your gift in the
campaign totals.
As we listen to today's episode,know that even your decision to
listen right now, to spend 20minutes of your time connecting
on this podcast, means somethingto this community.
(02:21):
We are grateful for you.
As a listener, as a communitymember, as a volunteer or any
other way.
You are a part of HOPE.
Thanks for listening and now wehope you enjoy this
conversation between Bruce Mainof Urban Promise and Pastor Jeff
.
Jeff Bills (02:36):
Hey friends, welcome to the Meet HOPE podcast.
I'm Jeff Bills and I'll behosting today and I am really
excited to be here with our goodfriend, bruce Main from Urban
Promise.
Bruce, how are you?
I'm great, jeff.
How are you?
Doing good?
(02:59):
Doing good, if you've beenaround Hope for any time at all.
We have a great relationship,have had a 35-year relationship
with the good folks at UrbanPromise in Camden.
We have seen volunteers workthere.
(03:19):
We've been contributorsfinancially to the work.
They've been contributorsfinancially to the work.
We've watched it and celebratedits growth from a ministry in
the city of Camden alone tocities around the US and now
international there's a UPinternational.
(03:39):
So what a great story.
And we're always excited, bruce, when you come and bring folks
from your organization to Hopein January.
But today we're talking aboutsomething very specific.
So, as our listeners know, weare in a time right now where
(04:03):
we're raising funds in acampaign.
We're calling Hope in Motionand we have three priorities and
one of the priorities is tohelp support Urban Promise
International in the developmentof Longezu University in Malawi
.
And Bruce, you've told us thatLangezu is a native word in
(04:29):
Malawi for promise.
So we'll call that PromiseUniversity, and so I just wanted
our folks to get inside yourthinking and the vision for this
.
So let me just begin by askingthe obvious question how does a
(04:51):
ministry in Camden end upinvolved in Malawi?
Bruce Main (04:57):
Well, great, great question.
You know, and I've shared thisstory before, but I'll I'll
share it again Cause I thinkit's relevant.
Uh, you know, we were prettycontent with what we were doing
here in the U?
S and especially in Camden, youknow, just trying to keep a, a
local grassroots nonprofit,alive and growing here locally.
(05:19):
Uh, was was, you know, plentyto handle?
And uh, again, I was sitting inmy office about 20 years ago, 19
years ago, and, you know, knockon a door.
I look up, there's a young man.
You know who are you?
My name's william neasulu.
Okay, where are you from?
Malawi?
Uh, where's that?
(05:41):
And uh, you know, he describedthat it was, you know, sort of
the southeastern Sahara portionof the continent.
And you know, and I was like,well, why are you here?
And he said, well, I'm here todo my internship.
And I'm like, well, did youapply?
And he's no, I said, well, youknow, I'm just curious, how did
(06:04):
you end up in my office?
And he, you know, he said Ibumped into a friend of yours in
South Africa at a Bibleconference and he said go to New
Jersey and meet Bruce.
So anyway, long story short, youknow, he starts an internship
with us and a couple of monthslater comes into my office and
says you know, we, we need thisin malawi.
(06:25):
Uh, and I, I said we'll puttogether a little proposal and,
and you know, tell me what youwant to do, how much it's going
to cost.
And so he comes back with thisproposal.
He wants to start a summer camp, after-school program and a
little orphanage for boys, andknow it's going to cost about
$12,000 for the year and I'mlike you can't do that for
(06:47):
12,000.
And so we raise a little moneyand he goes back and he starts
an organization called YouthCare Malawi.
And about a year later I go overand I'm amazed at what this
young man's done.
You know he's got a summer campof 350 kids and he's rented a
(07:10):
house.
He's got 12 boys that wereliving on the streets of the
Capitol and now they're back inschool and they're getting two
meals a day.
And you know they've got a safeplace to sleep.
And you know, and again he'sdoing all this on, you know, a
couple hundred bucks a month.
And you know, and again he'sdoing all this on, you know, a
couple hundred bucks a month.
Jeff Bills (07:42):
So you know that Jeff just really kind of opened
my eyes and said you know, whyare we sending Westerners to
Africa, to, you know, costhundreds of thousands of dollars
?
Bruce Main (07:46):
send a family Missionaries that you're talking
about, missionaries, yeah, andyou know it's like, wow, we've
got leaders in this country who,with a little training and a
few resources, can, you know,really do something significant.
So that opened the doors forthis program we call the
fellowship, where we bring youngleaders from, started primarily
with young leaders in Malawiand then it's expanded to other
(08:08):
African countries.
But they come, they spent twoyears with us in the US.
We helped them get a master'sdegree in nonprofit leadership
and during that two years theyincubate and kind of, you know
envision what they want to dowhen they go back, and it's been
wildly successful.
We've trained probably 150 nowthese fellows over the last, you
(08:31):
know, 19 years.
In Malawi alone.
They've gone back to start 13independent ministries, and
these are schools and women'sempowerment programs, farms,
medical clinics, orphanages allstarted by, you know, indigenous
leaders, and so that's that'show a little ministry in Camden
(08:56):
ends up in, you know, malawi.
Jeff Bills (08:58):
Sounds like a God thing right.
Bruce Main (09:01):
It can't be anything else.
I, you know like how, how doesyeah I.
I, you know like how, how doesyeah, I mean you think about, I
mean you've been a part of urbanpromise in Camden since the
beginning and you think this,this little nonprofit, uh, now
is reaching, you know, allacross the globe.
Jeff Bills (09:19):
It's.
It's such an amazing story andand such a God story and say
enough about it, which is why webring you every year to say
more about it.
So fast forward.
You now have these ministriesin Malawi that are doing great
(09:42):
things for young people and, asyou've told the story, you have
students graduating high school.
You have students graduatinghigh school, but there's no
(10:07):
opportunity beyond that inMalawi because of the limited
space in colleges anduniversities, and country from
college or high schools that you, your fellows, have created,
have no place to go.
Is that right?
Bruce Main (10:19):
Yeah, that's, you're spot on.
We have seven high schools nowin Malawi, I think.
Collectively between them we'reprobably educating about 3,500
kids a day.
We're about to add two new highschools, probably in the next
year.
I know one for sure is openingthis September.
(10:40):
So you know that number is goingto increase and these are
really good high schools, likethey're graduating kids, and I
think I heard recently from oneof our leaders there there were
3,000 seats available foruniversity across the country
(11:01):
this year and the population ofhigh school graduates in the
country is somewhere north of50,000.
So you know the seats arelimited and so we're graduating
700, 800 kids between our highschools each year and you know
only a fraction of those will goon.
So really felt like okay, youknow, hey, it's great to get
(11:26):
these kids to 12th grade, butthen what?
And a lot of these kids weregoing back to, you know, their
villages, subsistence, farming,lives of real struggle and real
poverty.
So it just seems natural andappropriate that the next step
(11:47):
would be to create anotheropportunity for these young
people.
Jeff Bills (11:53):
So let me ask just a practical question.
It's a question that I knowfolks have, whether they voice
it or not.
I've heard from some folks aswe've been raising this vision
Aren't you concerned that themoney that we're raising to
(12:18):
build this university in Malawiis going to be taking funds from
other ministries, whether it'sin Malawi itself or in the US?
So it's the question of are weoverextending?
Bruce Main (12:34):
Well, that's a great question and nobody feels that
more than me, I'll bet.
But let me give you an example.
Okay, so when we started UrbanPromise International, we
actually incorporated it as anentity in 2009.
(12:56):
Our first budget for UPI, theinternational portion, was
$250,000 annually and about thattime the budget of Camden Urban
Promise was about $3.2 million.
Okay, so that's in 2009.
$3.2 million Okay, so that's in2009.
So, fast forward to today, youknow 2024, the UPI budget, the
(13:27):
international budget, we wereabout 3.2 million and Camden's
budget is now like 5.1 million.
So you know, again, like thoseare the numbers.
That same question was beingasked to me in 2009.
Why are we starting aninternational branch?
Isn't this going to cannibalizefunding for Camden?
(13:47):
It's done the exact opposite.
You know it's.
Both organizations have growntremendously and I think there's
a deeper kind of like there'sresources out there, Jeff, yes,
you know, like America is awealthy country and there's a
lot of, you know, wealth andthere's a lot of good people
(14:08):
that are looking for good thingsto give to, that are really
making a difference, and so andpeople give to vision.
You know people, and and notjust vision, but also when they
see results and they seeorganizations that are really
fulfilling the mission thatthey're articulating.
Um, people give and you know II mean I I run into people that
(14:34):
have a lot of money and they sayyou know, the hardest thing is
to give it away because, like,like, I just don't know what to
give it to.
Jeff Bills (14:43):
And so I want to give you my email address after
this is over.
Bruce Main (14:47):
So we're, you know we're, but you know, I mean,
does that?
Yeah, absolutely.
Jeff Bills (14:53):
It's you and I have talked about this over the years
the abundance versus scarcitymindset.
And so when people areconvinced that there's a limited
number of resources, and youknow there's only so much to go
around than you, hold on to whatyou have.
(15:17):
But we know from Scripture andfrom a lot of experience that,
to your point, when God isinvolved and people catch the
vision, there are resources thatwe had no idea were available
and were out there, and I'mabsolutely convinced that's
(15:37):
going to be true here as well.
Bruce Main (15:40):
Yeah, you know one other thing too, jeff I find
that a lot of people, you know,they want to give domestically
and they want to help you knowthings that are happening in
their own backyard, but theyalso they're also concerned
about the world.
And you know, uh, we havepoverty in the U S, granted, but
(16:02):
we also have poverty, and youknow, in other countries, and
and severe poverty, and so Ithink, you know, I I see this
with churches, I see it withindividuals.
It's like, yeah, I want to doboth, and it's not one or the
other, and I think that'ssomething that sometimes people
miss.
Jeff Bills (16:19):
Let's talk about Langezou University.
Can you describe for us thevision for Langezou when it's
fully functioning?
It's you know it's.
The buildings are up andstudents are coming.
What do you envision Longezulooking like?
Bruce Main (16:38):
Yeah, well, a couple of things, you know.
One is we want to create, youknow, a top school, like a good
school and a beautiful school.
We want a beautiful campus.
We've purchased 60 acres ofland.
We've already dug a couple ofwells on that land.
(16:58):
We're farming that land.
Right now it sits just outsideof the city.
It looks at this beautifulmountain and so you know all the
architecture is going to besort of facing the mountain.
So it's, it's going to bebeautiful and we want, you know,
these kids, jeff, I meanthey're coming from.
I mean a lot of them live in,uh, you know, mud huts with no
(17:24):
running water, no electricity.
Uh, you know they're, they'recoming out of real, you know
real, impoverished.
You know situations.
So you know we want a placewhere young people can come and,
you know, sleep well and eatwell and have access to
(17:45):
resources that kids with moneyhave access to, kids with money
have access to.
So it's a Christian university,so that we want it to be.
People have said, well, whydon't you just everything's
going online?
Why don't you just make it anonline school?
(18:06):
And part of it, jeff, is againwhen kids are living in the
conditions that they're livingin.
You know there's no light atnight to study with, you know
there's no reliable electricityor Internet, and so part of this
is like bringing young peopleto a campus that not only
(18:28):
develops them intellectually butalso develops them spiritually
and provides, you know, trueformation of the whole person,
and I think that that's growingmiddle class, which I think in
impoverished developingcountries, that's really
critical, and so those kinds ofthings are the sorts of things
(19:06):
that we hope to see at thisschool.
Jeff Bills (19:08):
That's pretty exciting and you've given me a
sense of where we are now.
So right now you've got land,you're beginning to develop some
things on the land, somefarming and wells and so forth.
Do you have an idea of when youanticipate the first class to
get started?
Bruce Main (19:28):
Yeah, well, it depends who you talk to.
Jeff Bills (19:32):
Best case scenario.
Bruce Main (19:33):
Yeah.
So right now, two things.
One is we look to break ground.
We're hoping to break ground onthe first buildings in April,
this April, okay.
So you know we've got enoughmoney raised so far to build
some classrooms and build a dormand some other support
(19:54):
facilities.
So we need more money becausewe, you know, we want to build a
dining commons and a studentcenter and but our first sort of
buildings are going to be, youknow, again, classrooms,
dormitory, laboratory and someother facilities.
(20:15):
So the best case scenario isthat if those get built,
starting in April, that maybe webring a freshman class on in
September.
That would be pretty ambitious.
So we do have right now 135graduates of our high schools in
(20:38):
a program called the LongesoScholars Program.
So these are real kids thathave graduated from our high
school.
They would just be sittingaround for the year.
So what we've done is we'vecreated a program where each
week they get about 10 hours ofsupplemental education and then
they also do about 10 hours ofsupplemental education and then
they also do about 10 hours ofcommunity service.
(21:00):
So these kids have been engagedsince last June of 2024.
And so the hope would be isthat they would be our freshman
class, and so we've got the kidsready to go and they've been
doing again some sort ofpre-college kinds of, you know,
academic enhancement things andso, and we've been building kind
(21:27):
of a culture within this groupof kids so that they would be
coming onto campus, you know, Ithink a few steps ahead of most
of the high school graduates inthe country.
Jeff Bills (21:41):
Such a smart program .
That's awesome.
Hey, we're tight on time, but Idid want to ask another
question.
We've got, as part of our Hopein Motion campaign, we're
sending a team of Hope folks toMalawi.
So I think we have a team of 14being led by Pastor Rick Court
(22:03):
and Pastor Dave Falcone, and sothey're meeting now and I know
they've met with you and somemembers of your team.
But for our listeners who won'thave the opportunity to go,
could you give us a sneak peekinto what is our team going to
see?
What are they going toexperience during their week or
(22:25):
10 days in country?
Bruce Main (22:27):
Yeah, well, here are my hopes for the trip.
One is for them to see whatUrban Promise International is
doing in Malawi.
And I think you know, until youreally get on the ground and
you see what these leaders manyof those leaders have been in
your church, yes, you know, overthe years.
You know when we come inJanuary and they've shared about
(22:50):
what they were going to do whenthey get back to their country.
And now to have a group ofhopesters come to Malawi and
actually see what these leadershave done, I think will be super
inspiring.
And so I'm looking forward tothat.
Just introducing them,reintroducing them to the
leaders and having them sort of,you know, walk the campuses,
(23:12):
meet the kids, so that willhappen.
And then also campuses, meetthe kids, so that will happen.
And then also, you know, I hopeto have them do some manual
work on the new campus,absolutely Put them to work.
My hope is that the classroomswill be built and that you know
your group would come and maybedo some of the final touches,
(23:35):
maybe painting and some of thelandscaping, those kinds of
things.
So it'll be a mix of things.
And then I think, just also,you know, when you take groups
on these cross-cultural sort ofexperiences, just the time
together and processing anddebriefing you know what you see
, what you hear I think it justhas such a deep and lasting
(24:00):
effect on people.
So I think people are going tocome back really excited about
what they've experienced and Ithink it'll be a real blessing
to the congregation as a wholeblessing to the congregation as
a whole.
Jeff Bills (24:21):
Amen, and I you know , just like we did with Haiti
and Cuba, we'd love this tobecome a ongoing relationship
and that other teams of folks inyears to come will also have
the opportunity to go and visitMalawi and be on the campus of
Langezu, and we'll see thisthing literally from the ground
up and the amazing things that Iknow God is going to do through
(24:44):
this, what is now a vision,what will soon become a fully
functioning Christian universityin Malawi.
So, Bruce, blessings on you,man, You've done great things
for the kingdom of God andobviously the Lord's not done
with you yet.
(25:05):
Well not yet, we'll see.
Hasn't put yet to pastor yet.
Bruce Main (25:14):
No, but you know it's been just such a gift, jeff
, to work with you.
And you know, I mean I rememberwhen that corner, where your
church is now, you know it'sjust a piece of dirt and you
know to see what it's become andit's not just the building but
it's what happens inside of itand this is an outpouring of
(25:35):
your leadership and yourinvestment into the lives of
your people over the years.
And to be part of that, likeyou said, I mean I remember the
first time I preached at yourchurch we were in a little
junior high and I think you hadme setting up chairs before I
got up to speak.
(25:58):
Anyway, but to see what itbecomes and again just to be
part of those kinds of things inMalawi and other countries
where you just remember walkingthe dirt and now it's a vibrant
campus with hundreds of kidslearning and growing.
It's really, really special tobe part of that and very
(26:18):
life-giving.
Jeff Bills (26:19):
Indeed.
All right, brother.
Okay, you have a good day.
And to our listeners, thanksfor tuning in to the Meet Hope
podcast.
If you want more information,you can go to our website,
meethopeorg, and we have a Hopein Motion page and there'll be
(26:41):
more information there aboutLangezu University for you to
check out.
So have a great day and we'llsee you next week.
Intro/Outro (26:52):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope our world forthe sake of others.
Ashley Black (00:30):
Welcome to Hope.
Hello listeners, we are so gladto be in your ears today.
Today's episode is the last ofa four-part series we've been
doing about Hope's capitalcampaign for 2025, called Hope
in Motion.
If you haven't listened to allof them, please go back and do
so.
Each one is informative interms of what each part of the
campaign entails, but also givesyou an opportunity to hear from
(00:51):
our incredible team of leadershere at Hope who do their very
best each day to make churchwelcoming, accessible, fun,
inspirational and meaningful toevery person who comes in the
front door or finds us online.
Today, we are excited to sharewith you that, because of your
generosity, we are halfwaytowards our goal of $125,000.
(01:15):
And the campaign has only beenlive for a little over a month.
We're encouraged and inspired bythis community's desire to see
hope in motion for generationsto come, locally and globally.
If you have not already done so, now would be the perfect time
to give to Hope in Motion.
Pastor Jeff has specificallyasked the Hope community to
(01:37):
consider giving 10% more thanyour regular giving this year.
We also know that that is notpossible for every individual or
family, but please know thatevery gift matters and that no
amount is too small To give.
Go to meethopeorg slash motionand click the give button.
You can also send your donationto HOPE at 700 Cooper Road,
(01:58):
Voorhees, New Jersey, 08043, or,if you are in our lobby, drop
your gift in one of our givingstations.
Please be sure to include anote or memo that says Hope in
Motion when you do so, so weknow to include your gift in the
campaign totals.
As we listen to today's episode,know that even your decision to
listen right now, to spend 20minutes of your time connecting
on this podcast, means somethingto this community.
(02:21):
We are grateful for you.
As a listener, as a communitymember, as a volunteer or any
other way.
You are a part of HOPE.
Thanks for listening and now wehope you enjoy this
conversation between Bruce Mainof Urban Promise and Pastor Jeff
.
Jeff Bills (02:36):
Hey friends, welcome to the Meet HOPE podcast.
I'm Jeff Bills and I'll behosting today and I am really
excited to be here with our goodfriend, bruce Main from Urban
Promise.
Bruce, how are you?
I'm great, jeff.
How are you?
Doing good?
(02:59):
Doing good, if you've beenaround Hope for any time at all.
We have a great relationship,have had a 35-year relationship
with the good folks at UrbanPromise in Camden.
We have seen volunteers workthere.
(03:19):
We've been contributorsfinancially to the work.
They've been contributorsfinancially to the work.
We've watched it and celebratedits growth from a ministry in
the city of Camden alone tocities around the US and now
international there's a UPinternational.
(03:39):
So what a great story.
And we're always excited, bruce, when you come and bring folks
from your organization to Hopein January.
But today we're talking aboutsomething very specific.
So, as our listeners know, weare in a time right now where
(04:03):
we're raising funds in acampaign.
We're calling Hope in Motionand we have three priorities and
one of the priorities is tohelp support Urban Promise
International in the developmentof Longezu University in Malawi
.
And Bruce, you've told us thatLangezu is a native word in
(04:29):
Malawi for promise.
So we'll call that PromiseUniversity, and so I just wanted
our folks to get inside yourthinking and the vision for this
.
So let me just begin by askingthe obvious question how does a
(04:51):
ministry in Camden end upinvolved in Malawi?
Bruce Main (04:57):
Well, great, great question.
You know, and I've shared thisstory before, but I'll I'll
share it again Cause I thinkit's relevant.
Uh, you know, we were prettycontent with what we were doing
here in the U?
S and especially in Camden, youknow, just trying to keep a, a
local grassroots nonprofit,alive and growing here locally.
(05:19):
Uh, was was, you know, plentyto handle?
And uh, again, I was sitting inmy office about 20 years ago, 19
years ago, and, you know, knockon a door.
I look up, there's a young man.
You know who are you?
My name's william neasulu.
Okay, where are you from?
Malawi?
Uh, where's that?
(05:41):
And uh, you know, he describedthat it was, you know, sort of
the southeastern Sahara portionof the continent.
And you know, and I was like,well, why are you here?
And he said, well, I'm here todo my internship.
And I'm like, well, did youapply?
And he's no, I said, well, youknow, I'm just curious, how did
(06:04):
you end up in my office?
And he, you know, he said Ibumped into a friend of yours in
South Africa at a Bibleconference and he said go to New
Jersey and meet Bruce.
So anyway, long story short, youknow, he starts an internship
with us and a couple of monthslater comes into my office and
says you know, we, we need thisin malawi.
(06:25):
Uh, and I, I said we'll puttogether a little proposal and,
and you know, tell me what youwant to do, how much it's going
to cost.
And so he comes back with thisproposal.
He wants to start a summer camp, after-school program and a
little orphanage for boys, andknow it's going to cost about
$12,000 for the year and I'mlike you can't do that for
(06:47):
12,000.
And so we raise a little moneyand he goes back and he starts
an organization called YouthCare Malawi.
And about a year later I go overand I'm amazed at what this
young man's done.
You know he's got a summer campof 350 kids and he's rented a
(07:10):
house.
He's got 12 boys that wereliving on the streets of the
Capitol and now they're back inschool and they're getting two
meals a day.
And you know they've got a safeplace to sleep.
And you know, and again he'sdoing all this on, you know, a
couple hundred bucks a month.
And you know, and again he'sdoing all this on, you know, a
couple hundred bucks a month.
Jeff Bills (07:42):
So you know that Jeff just really kind of opened
my eyes and said you know, whyare we sending Westerners to
Africa, to, you know, costhundreds of thousands of dollars
?
Bruce Main (07:46):
send a family Missionaries that you're talking
about, missionaries, yeah, andyou know it's like, wow, we've
got leaders in this country who,with a little training and a
few resources, can, you know,really do something significant.
So that opened the doors forthis program we call the
fellowship, where we bring youngleaders from, started primarily
with young leaders in Malawiand then it's expanded to other
(08:08):
African countries.
But they come, they spent twoyears with us in the US.
We helped them get a master'sdegree in nonprofit leadership
and during that two years theyincubate and kind of, you know
envision what they want to dowhen they go back, and it's been
wildly successful.
We've trained probably 150 nowthese fellows over the last, you
(08:31):
know, 19 years.
In Malawi alone.
They've gone back to start 13independent ministries, and
these are schools and women'sempowerment programs, farms,
medical clinics, orphanages allstarted by, you know, indigenous
leaders, and so that's that'show a little ministry in Camden
(08:56):
ends up in, you know, malawi.
Jeff Bills (08:58):
Sounds like a God thing right.
Bruce Main (09:01):
It can't be anything else.
I, you know like how, how doesyeah I.
I, you know like how, how doesyeah, I mean you think about, I
mean you've been a part of urbanpromise in Camden since the
beginning and you think this,this little nonprofit, uh, now
is reaching, you know, allacross the globe.
Jeff Bills (09:19):
It's.
It's such an amazing story andand such a God story and say
enough about it, which is why webring you every year to say
more about it.
So fast forward.
You now have these ministriesin Malawi that are doing great
(09:42):
things for young people and, asyou've told the story, you have
students graduating high school.
You have students graduatinghigh school, but there's no
(10:07):
opportunity beyond that inMalawi because of the limited
space in colleges anduniversities, and country from
college or high schools that you, your fellows, have created,
have no place to go.
Is that right?
Bruce Main (10:19):
Yeah, that's, you're spot on.
We have seven high schools nowin Malawi, I think.
Collectively between them we'reprobably educating about 3,500
kids a day.
We're about to add two new highschools, probably in the next
year.
I know one for sure is openingthis September.
(10:40):
So you know that number is goingto increase and these are
really good high schools, likethey're graduating kids, and I
think I heard recently from oneof our leaders there there were
3,000 seats available foruniversity across the country
(11:01):
this year and the population ofhigh school graduates in the
country is somewhere north of50,000.
So you know the seats arelimited and so we're graduating
700, 800 kids between our highschools each year and you know
only a fraction of those will goon.
So really felt like okay, youknow, hey, it's great to get
(11:26):
these kids to 12th grade, butthen what?
And a lot of these kids weregoing back to, you know, their
villages, subsistence, farming,lives of real struggle and real
poverty.
So it just seems natural andappropriate that the next step
(11:47):
would be to create anotheropportunity for these young
people.
Jeff Bills (11:53):
So let me ask just a practical question.
It's a question that I knowfolks have, whether they voice
it or not.
I've heard from some folks aswe've been raising this vision
Aren't you concerned that themoney that we're raising to
(12:18):
build this university in Malawiis going to be taking funds from
other ministries, whether it'sin Malawi itself or in the US?
So it's the question of are weoverextending?
Bruce Main (12:34):
Well, that's a great question and nobody feels that
more than me, I'll bet.
But let me give you an example.
Okay, so when we started UrbanPromise International, we
actually incorporated it as anentity in 2009.
(12:56):
Our first budget for UPI, theinternational portion, was
$250,000 annually and about thattime the budget of Camden Urban
Promise was about $3.2 million.
Okay, so that's in 2009.
$3.2 million Okay, so that's in2009.
So, fast forward to today, youknow 2024, the UPI budget, the
(13:27):
international budget, we wereabout 3.2 million and Camden's
budget is now like 5.1 million.
So you know, again, like thoseare the numbers.
That same question was beingasked to me in 2009.
Why are we starting aninternational branch?
Isn't this going to cannibalizefunding for Camden?
(13:47):
It's done the exact opposite.
You know it's.
Both organizations have growntremendously and I think there's
a deeper kind of like there'sresources out there, Jeff, yes,
you know, like America is awealthy country and there's a
lot of, you know, wealth andthere's a lot of good people
(14:08):
that are looking for good thingsto give to, that are really
making a difference, and so andpeople give to vision.
You know people, and and notjust vision, but also when they
see results and they seeorganizations that are really
fulfilling the mission thatthey're articulating.
Um, people give and you know II mean I I run into people that
(14:34):
have a lot of money and they sayyou know, the hardest thing is
to give it away because, like,like, I just don't know what to
give it to.
Jeff Bills (14:43):
And so I want to give you my email address after
this is over.
Bruce Main (14:47):
So we're, you know we're, but you know, I mean,
does that?
Yeah, absolutely.
Jeff Bills (14:53):
It's you and I have talked about this over the years
the abundance versus scarcitymindset.
And so when people areconvinced that there's a limited
number of resources, and youknow there's only so much to go
around than you, hold on to whatyou have.
(15:17):
But we know from Scripture andfrom a lot of experience that,
to your point, when God isinvolved and people catch the
vision, there are resources thatwe had no idea were available
and were out there, and I'mabsolutely convinced that's
(15:37):
going to be true here as well.
Bruce Main (15:40):
Yeah, you know one other thing too, jeff I find
that a lot of people, you know,they want to give domestically
and they want to help you knowthings that are happening in
their own backyard, but theyalso they're also concerned
about the world.
And you know, uh, we havepoverty in the U S, granted, but
(16:02):
we also have poverty, and youknow, in other countries, and
and severe poverty, and so Ithink, you know, I I see this
with churches, I see it withindividuals.
It's like, yeah, I want to doboth, and it's not one or the
other, and I think that'ssomething that sometimes people
miss.
Jeff Bills (16:19):
Let's talk about Langezou University.
Can you describe for us thevision for Langezou when it's
fully functioning?
It's you know it's.
The buildings are up andstudents are coming.
What do you envision Longezulooking like?
Bruce Main (16:38):
Yeah, well, a couple of things, you know.
One is we want to create, youknow, a top school, like a good
school and a beautiful school.
We want a beautiful campus.
We've purchased 60 acres ofland.
We've already dug a couple ofwells on that land.
(16:58):
We're farming that land.
Right now it sits just outsideof the city.
It looks at this beautifulmountain and so you know all the
architecture is going to besort of facing the mountain.
So it's, it's going to bebeautiful and we want, you know,
these kids, jeff, I meanthey're coming from.
I mean a lot of them live in,uh, you know, mud huts with no
(17:24):
running water, no electricity.
Uh, you know they're, they'recoming out of real, you know
real, impoverished.
You know situations.
So you know we want a placewhere young people can come and,
you know, sleep well and eatwell and have access to
(17:45):
resources that kids with moneyhave access to, kids with money
have access to.
So it's a Christian university,so that we want it to be.
People have said, well, whydon't you just everything's
going online?
Why don't you just make it anonline school?
(18:06):
And part of it, jeff, is againwhen kids are living in the
conditions that they're livingin.
You know there's no light atnight to study with, you know
there's no reliable electricityor Internet, and so part of this
is like bringing young peopleto a campus that not only
(18:28):
develops them intellectually butalso develops them spiritually
and provides, you know, trueformation of the whole person,
and I think that that's growingmiddle class, which I think in
impoverished developingcountries, that's really
critical, and so those kinds ofthings are the sorts of things
(19:06):
that we hope to see at thisschool.
Jeff Bills (19:08):
That's pretty exciting and you've given me a
sense of where we are now.
So right now you've got land,you're beginning to develop some
things on the land, somefarming and wells and so forth.
Do you have an idea of when youanticipate the first class to
get started?
Bruce Main (19:28):
Yeah, well, it depends who you talk to.
Jeff Bills (19:32):
Best case scenario.
Bruce Main (19:33):
Yeah.
So right now, two things.
One is we look to break ground.
We're hoping to break ground onthe first buildings in April,
this April, okay.
So you know we've got enoughmoney raised so far to build
some classrooms and build a dormand some other support
(19:54):
facilities.
So we need more money becausewe, you know, we want to build a
dining commons and a studentcenter and but our first sort of
buildings are going to be, youknow, again, classrooms,
dormitory, laboratory and someother facilities.
(20:15):
So the best case scenario isthat if those get built,
starting in April, that maybe webring a freshman class on in
September.
That would be pretty ambitious.
So we do have right now 135graduates of our high schools in
(20:38):
a program called the LongesoScholars Program.
So these are real kids thathave graduated from our high
school.
They would just be sittingaround for the year.
So what we've done is we'vecreated a program where each
week they get about 10 hours ofsupplemental education and then
they also do about 10 hours ofsupplemental education and then
they also do about 10 hours ofcommunity service.
(21:00):
So these kids have been engagedsince last June of 2024.
And so the hope would be isthat they would be our freshman
class, and so we've got the kidsready to go and they've been
doing again some sort ofpre-college kinds of, you know,
academic enhancement things andso, and we've been building kind
(21:27):
of a culture within this groupof kids so that they would be
coming onto campus, you know, Ithink a few steps ahead of most
of the high school graduates inthe country.
Jeff Bills (21:41):
Such a smart program .
That's awesome.
Hey, we're tight on time, but Idid want to ask another
question.
We've got, as part of our Hopein Motion campaign, we're
sending a team of Hope folks toMalawi.
So I think we have a team of 14being led by Pastor Rick Court
(22:03):
and Pastor Dave Falcone, and sothey're meeting now and I know
they've met with you and somemembers of your team.
But for our listeners who won'thave the opportunity to go,
could you give us a sneak peekinto what is our team going to
see?
What are they going toexperience during their week or
(22:25):
10 days in country?
Bruce Main (22:27):
Yeah, well, here are my hopes for the trip.
One is for them to see whatUrban Promise International is
doing in Malawi.
And I think you know, until youreally get on the ground and
you see what these leaders manyof those leaders have been in
your church, yes, you know, overthe years.
You know when we come inJanuary and they've shared about
(22:50):
what they were going to do whenthey get back to their country.
And now to have a group ofhopesters come to Malawi and
actually see what these leadershave done, I think will be super
inspiring.
And so I'm looking forward tothat.
Just introducing them,reintroducing them to the
leaders and having them sort of,you know, walk the campuses,
(23:12):
meet the kids, so that willhappen.
And then also campuses, meetthe kids, so that will happen.
And then also, you know, I hopeto have them do some manual
work on the new campus,absolutely Put them to work.
My hope is that the classroomswill be built and that you know
your group would come and maybedo some of the final touches,
(23:35):
maybe painting and some of thelandscaping, those kinds of
things.
So it'll be a mix of things.
And then I think, just also,you know, when you take groups
on these cross-cultural sort ofexperiences, just the time
together and processing anddebriefing you know what you see
, what you hear I think it justhas such a deep and lasting
(24:00):
effect on people.
So I think people are going tocome back really excited about
what they've experienced and Ithink it'll be a real blessing
to the congregation as a wholeblessing to the congregation as
a whole.
Jeff Bills (24:21):
Amen, and I you know , just like we did with Haiti
and Cuba, we'd love this tobecome a ongoing relationship
and that other teams of folks inyears to come will also have
the opportunity to go and visitMalawi and be on the campus of
Langezu, and we'll see thisthing literally from the ground
up and the amazing things that Iknow God is going to do through
(24:44):
this, what is now a vision,what will soon become a fully
functioning Christian universityin Malawi.
So, Bruce, blessings on you,man, You've done great things
for the kingdom of God andobviously the Lord's not done
with you yet.
(25:05):
Well not yet, we'll see.
Hasn't put yet to pastor yet.
Bruce Main (25:14):
No, but you know it's been just such a gift, jeff
, to work with you.
And you know, I mean I rememberwhen that corner, where your
church is now, you know it'sjust a piece of dirt and you
know to see what it's become andit's not just the building but
it's what happens inside of itand this is an outpouring of
(25:35):
your leadership and yourinvestment into the lives of
your people over the years.
And to be part of that, likeyou said, I mean I remember the
first time I preached at yourchurch we were in a little
junior high and I think you hadme setting up chairs before I
got up to speak.
(25:58):
Anyway, but to see what itbecomes and again just to be
part of those kinds of things inMalawi and other countries
where you just remember walkingthe dirt and now it's a vibrant
campus with hundreds of kidslearning and growing.
It's really, really special tobe part of that and very
(26:18):
life-giving.
Jeff Bills (26:19):
Indeed.
All right, brother.
Okay, you have a good day.
And to our listeners, thanksfor tuning in to the Meet Hope
podcast.
If you want more information,you can go to our website,
meethopeorg, and we have a Hopein Motion page and there'll be
(26:41):
more information there aboutLangezu University for you to
check out.
So have a great day and we'llsee you next week.
Intro/Outro (26:52):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
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