Seated in the arid emptiness and silence of the Karoo one can hardly believe that within days the area will be filled with tens of thousands of men worshipping the Lord God Almighty.
Sitting below a cross planted on a little, rocky koppie overlooking the stage area of the Karoo Mighty Men Conference 2015 (KMMC), Jannie Moolman, coordinator of the event and owner of the farm on which the conference is hosted, says every year he is persuaded anew that the conference is God’s will when he sees the stage being built, showers and toilets constructed, and marquees erected in the still deserted terrain; knowing that it will soon be teeming with thousands of men who appear seemingly out of nowhere.
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‘The hunger out there among men to have a quiet time, resting assured in the presence of the Lord is remarkable and overwhelms me.
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“It is very humbling to know that this barren area, which is only good to sustain not much more than a few merino ewes will turn into one of the most fertile areas in the country for God’s Kingdom on the weekend,” says Moolman.
He explains that six years ago when the KMMC committee were looking at different venues in the area in which to hold the conference they came to inspect this site.
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‘We had visited all the other options, but as the committee prayed together on the koppie, exactly where the cross stands today, it became apparent that this should be the venue and committee members were unanimous in their choice of the site for the conference.
“We all shed tears of joy as we realised that this was the place at which KMMC should be held,” says Moolman.
He reports just that morning one of the KMMC committee members had said that every time he steps on the terrain he can feel the presence of God.
Indeed, there have been many prayers for the sanctifying of the very ground and environment of the KMMC so that those attending will be touched by the presence of the Lord and merely setting foot on the site will have a positive Kingdom impact on them.
These prayers have been reinforced by the KMMC 40 Days of Prayer Intercession team who prayed that for each one who ‘turns aside’ and attends KMMC, God will notice, call to them, and they will have an encounter with God that will change everything for all eternity.
Dave Turner, who is also a farmer, lay pastor in a local church, and on the organising committee with Moolman, coordinated the KMMC 40 Days of Prayer Intercession and encouraged intercessors to pray: “that every person attending KMMC will have a unique God-encounter that causes a shift deep down and sets their life on a new path towards the fullness of God in destiny and purpose”.
He said a God-encounter at KMMC could happen in any number of ways, whether during worship, listening to one of the speakers, sitting in silence up on the koppie near the cross, during conversation with someone else, or even while lying resting in a tent.
Moolman supports this perspective of KMMC.
He says unlike many other conferences it is not necessarily the speakers that are the biggest draw-card, but the entire experience, especially quiet time spent in the presence of the Lord.
“It is essentially about meeting with the Lord out here in the open and fellowshipping with brothers in Christ,” says Moolman.
Rob Simpson, from Port Elizabeth, who will be attending KMMC with a friend, his two sons, and a grandchild agrees with Moolman.
He says the occasion is all about God meeting you at the event; it is about a personal experience with the Lord.
KMMC will take place from April 24 to 26, 2015 on the outskirts of Middelburg in the Eastern Cape on Rusoord Farm.
For more information contact Ruthi van der Merwe at (M) 0828577839 (F) 049 842 3310 EMAIL: info@karoommc.co.zaWEB: www.karoommc.co.za
