Simon and Miriam Desborough

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Sent from Gateway Church, York

Simon and Miriam are serving Antananarivo, Madagascar, after having studied Biblical and Intercultural Studies at All Nations Christian College. Before this, Simon was a secondary school teacher, and Miriam was a nurse.

Before moving to serve in Antananarivo, Simon worked with AIM’s Diaspora ministry in the East Midlands, and Miriam volunteered alongside him. Taking the good news of Jesus to Africa’s hardest-to-reach people does not always mean a move to Africa. Today, millions of Africans live outside Africa. Reaching out to these populations is called diaspora ministry. AIM’s Diaspora workers serve in strategic communities where significant populations of ethnic Africans live, and we seek partnerships with Christ-centred, biblically-based churches.

Now in Madagascar, as of January 2023, the Desboroughs’ primary role involves mobilizing Malagasy Christians for God’s mission. They are convicted of the need to invest in Malagasy churches in the capital and encourage them to send missionaries to preach the holistic gospel of Christ in other areas of the country and overseas. By developing partnerships with various churches and organisations, they aim to raise awareness of the need for mission. It is vital to ensure that churches and prospective missionaries have high-quality mission training and that their deployment is well facilitated.

A core tenet of AIM is to minister among Africa’s least reached peoples, therefore they are resolved to engage the unreached Gujarati people that reside in Madagascar. Through business, the Gujarati have amassed a large proportion of the wealth in Madagascar. The Desboroughs hope initially to network with existing Christian businesses in order to connect and develop relationships with the Gujarati, seeking creative ways to proclaim the gospel.

With her healthcare expertise as a nurse, Miriam aims to serve vulnerable women in Madagascar. Working with existing charities, she intends to offer the hope and restoration found only in Jesus to many women struggling to support themselves and their families.

Could you partner with Simon and Miriam in this work?

Latest Prayer News

18 March 2026

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, encouraging and equipping the Malagasy church for mission, and reaching out to vulnerable women. Praise God that they have been able to formalise their partnership with the primary Baptist denomination in Madagascar, and for the opportunities this opens up to train local church leaders through their missions’ programme. There have also been encouragements in Miriam’s work with vulnerable women, as she has been able to facilitate a return to school for some of their daughters. A recent creative therapy session also provided opportunities to talk about love, hope and freedom and the possibility of a changed life. Please pray that these women would experience more of the love of Jesus and take hold of the hope that he holds out to them.

6 February 2026

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, encouraging and equipping the Malagasy church for mission, and reaching out to vulnerable women. Pray for effectiveness in helping vulnerable women find hope and freedom. Ask the Lord that their new Support Worker would settle in and be an asset, and that they can employ a Business Manager who can help set up the central business.

6 January 2026

Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, encouraging and equipping the Malagasy church for mission, and reaching out to vulnerable women. Pray for wisdom as they process missionary candidates for AIM membership, and pray for the training to be effective and for churches to be mobilised.

Madagascar

Madagascar. The world’s fourth biggest island boasting flora and fauna that exist nowhere else on earth. 92% of the population exist on less than £2 per day. 41% of the population identify with Christianity, 7% with Islam, the majority follow Traditional African Religions.

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