In 2012, the church had about 150 clergy serving over 500 congregations with 100,000 members in Malawi, and was governed by a national Synod meeting bi-annually.
[2] The Industrial Mission movement in Africa arose in the late 19th century because many missionaries considered that European mine-owners, planters, and traders treated Africans mainly as a source of cheap manual labour, and did not want them educated or trained beyond what was necessary to perform routine tasks.
The aim of Industrial missions was to help Africans live successfully in their own society, not as wage labourers or sharecroppers dependent on European businesses.
He left home aged 14 and, in the following years, educated himself through extensive reading which led him to adopt radical ideas about politics, economics and society.
[1] Despite the death of his wife, he left Australia with his two young children to start his missionary career, choosing to work in Africa.
As the mission needed to become self-supporting, Booth decided to locate it close to the existing commercial centre and market of Blantyre.
This became the site of the 'Michiru Estate' of Zambesi Industrial Mission which stretched from the Mudi to the Likabula rivers with its headquarters at Mitsidi Station atop Sanjika Hill.
The failure of the others was often caused by lack of finance, natural disasters or deficient personnel, factors Booth could not control.
In 1930, its British board ended its status as an Industrial Mission and it then largely relied on funding from Britain.
[18] Nevertheless, it was not until 2010 that Malawians were appointed to the ZM roles of field director (with overall responsibility for the mission's work in Africa) and projects coordinator.
[19] The headquarters of Zambezi Evangelical Church still has the name Mitsidi but is now located near the village Sigelegi after the mission was obliged to relocate in 1971 to make way for the new presidential palace.
[21] In 2012, it was reported that several Zambezi Evangelical Church congregations wished for greater autonomy from ZEC headquarters and unilaterally broke away when this was not conceded.