After serving four of his six year third term, Rev Chienda was replaced by Rev Dr Kawale as General Secretary of the Nkhoma Synod. He was consequently moved to Kongwe in Dowa District, to pastor a congregation he had pastored in the 1960s as a young minister.
At that time Kongwe, as a congregation, had reached a very low ebb - the membership was low, the giving very poor and the morale had hit rock bottom. Suddenly, the former General Secretary found himself in a manse that had no power, despite all the other surrounding houses having been connected to Escom power. In the 1960s the same manse had been on the local power grid fed from a mini hydro-plant on the Lingadzi River.
The reverend wasted no time in getting to work. He got the rewiring in he manse finalised to Escom standards and used his personal initiative and contacts to get Escom to connect the manse to the national grid. In terms of pastoral work, he embarked on extensive door-to-door visitations of the congregants.
Kongwe is a hilly place, and a number of villages lie in areas inaccessible by car. The former General Secretary did not hesitate to engage in some cycling to get to these areas. on the average he would spend three to four days away from home (without returning) per trip.
Slowly life started to come back to Kongwe. The membership picked up, the giving tremendously improved.
Reverend Chienda seemed to be followed by centenary celebrations wherever he went. Kongwe celebrated its centenary in 1994 during his tenure as pastor. The main event of the celebrations took place in August 1994 and was attended by the then Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, Hon Justin Malewezi, himself an alumnus of Robert Blake Secondary School at Kongwe.
A young man then working at the Dowa District Hospital became friends with Rev Chienda, while the latter was at Kongwe. The young man was so influenced by the veteran reverend that he decided to join the ministry. He is now a full minister of word and sacrament. His name is Rev Chilindeni Nthara.
