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How exciting to be together again for this 19 th International conference; the annual gathering of CTMI's extended family. During these last weeks the elders in all the churches, and particularly those in Mauritius , have been preparing the people of God for this time. Prayer meetings and home cells have been a time for everyone to prepare their hearts. What will prove to make this conference such a success is the growing expectancy in the hearts of all the brothers and sisters, mixed with great excitement to hear the pure gospel.
Delegations from 21 different countries make this special trip to Curepipe, the home of CTMI. Four hundred delegates, including 30 pastors, have come from overseas to hear what the Lord has for His church, and are all accommodated in the homes of families in the local churches. For the first time, a small group of pastors who have been touched by the Gospel, have decided to come at their own cost… from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, France and Malawi.
This year a large group of young people have come en masse from Durban, illustrating once again the special call that the Partner Churches have for teenagers and young adults. The conference also brings us a chance to catch up with the parts of our family that we see less often, like our brother Neil Martin who looks after of a local church in California , with his wife, Brenda … they have come with their 3 children, Kristi, Shaun and David. It is so wonderful to see them again!
The Lord has linked our hearts together in such a special way! As pastor John Katimba from Blantyre admits, speaking of the team of elders in Malawi , “…in the past we were divided, each of us living for himself; we were completely unable to love each other and to work together...” Now, though, by simply looking around us, we can see the fruit of this gospel! Eugene, the elder from Harare , sings so beautifully of this in the wonderful praise song: (“From every nation”) “from every nation, from every tongue…” everyone can rejoice with him that every colour, every race, and every culture here are united by the same love for the gospel. Alleluia! The parade of the different delegations brings home this reality in a striking way… A total of 87 representatives from 21 foreign delegations come up one by one onto the platform to represent their countries in traditional dress; hats off to France, Reunion Island and Kenya for their beautifully colourful and original costumes.
Some of those coming from abroad choose to stay longer, making the most of times of fellowship with brothers and sisters; so as to be equipped and restored before they go back to home. Whatever the effort, whatever the sacrifice, it is impossible for many even to consider missing out on this time! Some brothers are ready to stop at nothing in order to share in this time of fellowship… One of them, Simon Makgale, a pastor from South Africa, touched during the meetings in Tsakane last November, was going to borrow the money to pay for his air ticket, but the Lord blessed him in a totally unexpected way, with an out of the blue refund for tax overpayment just enough to pay for his ticket! The Lord is faithful in rewarding the hearts of those who want to serve Him!
Following on from the 2005 conference's theme of “Revival” , this year's conference theme was “Revival and Sound Doctrine” . The vision of seeing a restored and revived church before the return of Jesus has been one of the main subjects of prayer throughout CTMI's network of churches during the past year. Faith for revival is a living hope that has taken the hearts of the people, and the Lord has united our hearts in faith for the restoration of His servants, and also of disillusioned Christians, of whom there are so many… whether they are backslidden, or simply tired and discouraged… but whom the Lord has called to serve Him in these last days.
In this vein, Pastor Neil Martin shares on “Waiting for the Time of the Lord” . Stephen Gachengo from Kenya , also encourages the people to “Be Ready for the Return of the Lord” .
Pastor Miki Hardy's four messages (including the Sunday morning meeting), showed clearly that it is only through sound doctrine that we will experience the revival that will herald the return of the Lord. There is fire in his veins as Brother Miki is speaks passionately on the vital importance of being a vase of honour, and sons and daughters begotten in the gospel. The gospel is being preached with authority and all those present listen with rapt attention.
Miki Hardy explains clearly what revival means, and goes on to clarify the parameters within which the pure gospel lies, in order to show that anything that falls outside of these parameters is false doctrine. Everything that is connected with the flesh is false doctrine. The messages come as a powerful challenge to all those who want to give their lives to serve the Lord, whether they are leaders with positions of responsibility in the church, or simply part of the flock. “True sons are not just content to be in the ministry, they live the gospel and their lives are a demonstration of what they believe. You are my letter, ” he declares to the church. “The gospel of the cross is not simply a belief, it is you with Him” . The speaker makes pertinent comments on the state of the church today, “the church has lost ground; we hear preachers but do not feel God's anointing in their messages; like in the days described in 1 Samuel 3: ‘… the word of Lord was rare; and there was little revelation '. The lack of apostles in the church is the reason why it is in a defeated state. There are so many believers who have no confidence in their leaders… They need true role models, but the church is full of hirelings!” Miki denounces the gospel of prosperity vehemently, showing up the hypocrisy of men of God whose ministry rests on this belief: how can they believe and preach something that many of them aren't even living themselves? (Despite what they preach, in Africa , most pastors are poor. Although there is no shame in being poor!) The love of money gets the flesh going, and this is where the doctrine of prosperity comes from. “If your life is not founded on sound doctrine, your flesh will ask you for things, and the end result will be false doctrine – because man wants money and possessions to satisfy his flesh. The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Miki denounces other areas of error, such as divorce and the well known, yet hypocritical belief in ‘the God of the second chance' . Miki confronts the brothers present, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church; Jesus lost everything for the Church. How can I, as a servant of God, even consider getting divorced? The gospel takes me on a road where I must lose my life for her.” Error and false doctrine come from the flesh. And there is only one thing that can deal with man's flesh… and that is the Cross. God's plan for marriage is for it to last forever. “If a preacher decides to get divorced he is disqualifying himself.” It is only when we share in the sufferings of Christ that we share in the Kingdom life.
To finish, Miki denounces the pride of those who carry a title, but who do not give their hearts or lives for their ministry, “In the church today, we need true apostles and prophets to denounce false doctrines and error. But there are many false prophets, apostles, teachers, pastors trying to imitate what God is…” challenges Miki.
“Being broken by God is the last thing a Christian leader wants to hear about, although that is where everything begins,” Miki shares with passion. The gospel of the cross does not need anything else other than sons and daughters who are ready to pay the price and lose their lives for the flock. In the hall ‘Alleluias' and ‘Amens' can be heard as hearts open to the Word. A platform has been established. The people of God realise and appreciate the richness of the gospel being shared.
Each evening a team of cameramen film the meetings. The videos which are then put together during the night are on sale, beautifully packaged, the following day. The complete series is still available for purchase. For more information, please contact media@ctminetwork.org .
Many unforgettable memories fill people's hearts at the end of this week of conference. Testimonies from the African pastors, like Genesis Tinshu from Cameroon , demonstrate how CTMI's messages spreading the gospel of the cross are bearing fruit in God's people, through the restoration of His servants in Africa . “It's a miracle from God that brought me into contact with this family. The message I hear here is so different from what is shared in my country and what I myself share,” confesses Brother Genesis! We can but thank God for this wonderful brother who came into contact with CTMI through our website!
The evening meetings during the week include testimonies of healings that have taken place in the course of the year. No one could forget the touching story of Christelle, who was healed of a degenerative spinal problem; or of Elizabeth healed of osteoporosis. From this point of view, Friday evening stands outs during the week. Time is given specifically to pray for the sick and many are touched in their bodies as well as in their hearts. A great number crowd to the front and many brothers and sisters are healed through the prayers of the elders, from all kinds of illnesses such as psoriasis, joint and back pains, and even diabetes… The Lord visits his people powerfully!
The days are spent in times of rich fellowship amongst brothers and sisters. Whether it is during the lunches (2750 meals in total are served), or around a cup of coffee at the Fundraising Stand, everyone departs having received something special at the end of the week. Everyone receives something… just the joy in everybody's heart is a present in itself for all the brothers and sisters who have come from so far. Pastor Pierre Tshamala from France and his wife Jeannine, told the CTMI team, “ We have been profoundly touched by what we have heard here. We have seen this week what we had never seen before in all our years of serving the Lord. We have never known the truth of the gospel in the way we have seen it here. Brotherly love is a reality and we really feel at home in this family. ”
With the super T-shirts bearing the CTMI logo that the Fundraising department produced specially for the occasion, and better than that, the DVDs of the conference, we will be able to wait until next year for the next conference… all the while knowing that we are a part of a great team!
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