God-orchestrated MMC set to draw Soweto residents

Historic event expected to build unity and reconciliation in SA

A Mighty Men Conference (MMC) will be held in Gauteng near Soweto next year as a result of a rapid-fire series of prophetic events.

Excited convenor of the breakthrough MMC, Pastor Karabo Molefe, said although he saw people of all races at the Karoo MMC he attended in April, the MMC conferences still had a reputation of attracting mainly white men.

However, he believes that hosting an MMC in the Soweto-Sebokeng-Vereeniging region of Gauteng would not only be a huge benefit to township residents, but promote racial integration at MMCs and reconciliation in South Africa.

Molefe hopes that men of all races from Sandton to Soweto will flock to the historic Christian men’s gathering in September 2017.

Chain of events
The chain of God-events that led to the decision to hold the Gauteng MMC began at an Eight-Days-of-Prayer event at Bloemfontein, which Molefe, who leads the Bethel Christian Centre in Sebokeng, was helping to organise.

A colleague at the prayer event, Dr Elijah Maswanganyi, prophesied that Molefe, who has a heart and calling to promote unity in South Africa, would attend an MMC where the Lord would make it possible for him to speak with MMC movement founder Angus Buchan.

“Dr Maswanganyi said it would be a good thing if Oom Angus [Angus Buchan] could bring an MMC to black people, especially with the challenging circumstance that our nation is going through,” says Molefe, who is the son of Bishop Phillip Molefe, one of the founders of the Evangelical Movement of South Africa and a pioneer of the gospel having planted 120 churches across Africa.

Molefe had never been to an MMC but he was aware of them, having read about them and having seen reports on television.

Invitation
Shortly after receiving Maswanganyi’s prophetic word, Dr Arno van Niekerk, one of the speakers at the Karoo MMC 2016 invited him to attend the event.

“At the time, I was tired due to helping with the organisation of the ‘Eight-days-of-Prayer’ and a lot of travelling between Sebokeng and Bloemfontein. I was looking forward to a time of rest at home.

“However, when I was invited by Dr Arno to go with him to KMMC 2016, I never hesitated to accept as it was on my heart that it was the Lord’s will I attend the conference,” he said.

“At KMMC I met Bishop Joshua Lwere [of Uganda] who was one of the speakers. He also impressed on me that I should take MMCs to the black communities, which was another confirmation for me.

“After Oom Angus’ service on the Sunday morning an usher came to call me because Idi Amin’s son wanted to speak with me.

“While speaking with Jaffar Amin, I didn’t realise that Oom Angus was nearby. Our eyes met and he greeted me saying, ‘Where do I know you from?’ I replied that I had seen him at the #PrayforRainSA event on the 30th January in Bloemfontein.

Meeting
“Oom Angus gave me a hug of such energy that we nearly fell over and right there he said to me: ‘Young man, I want someone who can make the arrangement for me to come to Soweto’.

“I replied: ‘Do you know Dr Elijah Maswanganyi?’ He said: ‘Yes’. I told him that Dr Maswanganyi had prophesied that God would make it possible for me to meet and speak with him about bringing an MMC to the black community.

“Oom Angus called Jannie Moolman, coordinator of KMMC, over and said he should work with me to make it possible to hold an MMC near Soweto.

“I was so excited after that meeting. I was praising God, because I never thought it was going to happen so quickly — just like that,” said Molefe.

Only the beginning
When he got back home, he immediately phoned Maswanganyi and told him that his prophecy had come to pass.
Maswanganyi said: “I knew that if you were obedient, God was ready to do it. So thank you for going, because I just want to tell you that Soweto is only the beginning. South Africa needs these great meetings.”

He said a site was available on a farm near De Deur, which is home to the Gospel Fire Family Church of Reverend T A Ralekholela. The farm is almost equidistant from Vereeniging and Meyerton south of Johannesburg.

“The De Deur venue is in the heart of south Gauteng and will draw residents from Jo’burg, the Vaal triangle incorporating Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg, Heidelburg, Meyerton, Sebokeng, Orange Farm, Vosloorus, Jo’burg, Springs on the East Rand, and as far as Potchefstroom in the west and Bloemfontein in the south,” said Molefe.

Strategic location
Rev Ralekholela said the venue was strategically located and an excellent site to host the conference as it had easy access to the N1, N3 and N12 highways making it convenient for people from throughout Gauteng as well as from the Free State, Mpumalanga, and North West Province.

Molefe said that a preliminary meeting had already been held among interested parties who were all excited about hosting the event. However, he was more than excited — he was on fire about the prospects for hosting an MMC in De Deur.

Molefe was invited to return to Middelburg after KMMC 2016 to attend the post-conference debriefing of the organising committee during which each division explained to him how they operated and reported on the outcomes of the event.

He is scheduled to attend more of the KMMC organising committee’s meetings in the build-up to KMMC 2017, as well as the event itself, to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of hosting the event.

God’s timing
KMMC convenor Moolman said he believed it was God’s timing for an MMC to be held near Soweto.

“Although the racial make-up of KMMC has changed over the six years of hosting the event, we have always prayed that the demographics of the conference would more-closely reflect the demographics of South Africa.

“A conference near Soweto would be wonderful to spread MMC founder, Angus Buchan’s message for men to practically live the messages of the Bible by taking up their rightful roles as prophets, priests and kings in their homes, in their work places and in the nation,” said Moolman.

Van Niekerk, author of Enough! What is the plan, said the easily accessible De Deur venue for the proposed Gauteng MMC, together with Molefe’s wholehearted drive for the event was extremely exciting.

“I believe the conference will encourage not only different denominations, but different cultures, races and classes to come together to seek the face of the Lord.

“We need to create opportunities to bring people together to unite as children of God. Many of our perceptions of people from different cultures, languages and classes are merely perceptions.

Unity in Christ
“Once you spend time with fellow believers over a weekend you realise that you have a unity in Christ, which is far more than skin-deep. This discovery is key to bringing the nation to a turning point, because once we take hands in our shared identity in Christ, we will become a voice of unity in the nation,” said Van Niekerk.

Molefe said that with the current state of racial division in the nation, he was confident that a Gauteng MMC near Soweto would be a blessing for South Africa, because politics had not brought about reconciliation and neither had attempts at economic transformation reconciled South Africans.

While he did not dismiss political resolution and economic empowerment initiatives, Molefe said he believed the solution lay first in spiritual reconciliation through Jesus Christ that would bring down the strongholds dividing South Africans.

Molefe said that the fellowship and unity in God’s Word, which was experienced among men at MMCs would contribute greatly to breaking down racial and cultural divisions, because part of the whole experience of attending an MMC was being away from home and camping together, enriching friendships and forming new friendships.

Authentic reconciliation
“The nation is hungry for something beyond lip-service for reconciliation — the nation wants something that is lived-out practically in people’s lives, that will restore faith, hope and love, that will restore our reliance on God for reconciliation in our land, instead of our reliance on ourselves, our politics, or our economics, for our salvation comes from God.

“MMC will grow in South Africa as the ministry for the prophetic revealing and teaching of the Lord’s Word. This is the right time for the MMCs to grow among township residents and encourage the nation to serve our Almighty God as one without regard for denomination, race, culture, or language,” said Molefe.

Maswanganyi said that Angus Buchan was a great spiritual force among men in the country and there was a need for men of all races and ethnic groupings to be exposed to his teachings.

“I believe that if men of God can influence South Africa’s men to live by the right vision, values, goals and purpose for life, we would have a better country, continent and global village for all.

Identity in Christ
“An MMC in the Soweto-Sebokeng-Vereeniging region would make a big contribution to South Africans living together peacefully as brothers and sisters through our identity in Christ.

“The fact that we do not define ourselves by our identity in Jesus Christ is one of the biggest problems, not only in South Africa, but the world, that results in us living according to self, which ranges from self-centredness to self-hate. And whenever, people do not love themselves, they do not love others and blame either people of other races or government.

“I believe that coming together as brothers in Christ will contribute to reconciliation in our country better than politics is able to, because our identity in Christ is not realised through psychology or conditioning, but through the transformation of our hearts by the power of God, which is what we need in this country,” said Maswanganyi.