There will be no Mighty Men Conference (MMC) in the Western Cape this year it was announced today but planning for the Bushveld MMC in Limpopo in March and the Karoo MMC in the Eastern Cape in April are forging ahead.
Announcing the Western Cape decision today, Radio Tygerberg CEO and WCMMC organising committee member Hardus Zevenster said it was time for men who had attended previous MMC events to stand on their own and live out the gospel daily in every sphere of society. Seeds that had been sown by MMC should now become deeds that would grow into mighty trees which would provide shade and meet God’s growth expectations.
He said past MMC events had provided a wonderful spiritual injection for men but it had been found that many of them reverted to their old ways until the next conference.
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Passed the baton
After hosting MMC events on his Kwazulu-Natal farm for seven years, from 2004 to 2010 Mighty Men founder Angus Buchan passed the baton on to his group of 100 spiritual sons, urging them to arrange events in different parts of the country. In 2011 official MMC events were held in various centres. About 15 000 men attended the Western Cape MMC on Elohim farm near Paarl in March 2011 and many expected that there would be another MMC in the area in April 2012.
In an interview today, Francois Brits who is hosting the MMC Limpopo on his farm Snymansdrift near Polokwane, said he was “very excited” about this year’s event which will run from March 9 to March 11. Speakers at the event will include Buchan, Piet Jacobs, Riekert Botha and Dr Izak Burger and praise and worship will be led by Franna Benade.
7 years commitment
Brits said that last year he had decided in his heart to host MMC events on his farm for seven years. With six years to go still, he had decided to build a huge, permanent stage on his farm to reduce the high stage and sound costs they had experienced last year.
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He said he believed men needed a place to be spiritually refreshed and he was honoured to make his farm available. He believed that the changes that took place in men’s hearts at such events were “the only hope for our country”.
He said that in his area men of all race groups were enthusiastic about the Bushveld MMC and that their website was creating a lot of awareness of the event.
“This year I have been getting calls from groups of 85 to 100 men wanting to attend,” he said. He said the enquiries were coming from as far afield as Richards Bay, Pretoria and the Vaal Triangle.
Lance Walton, a Port Elizabeth-based member of the Karoo MMC organising team for the event on Rusoord farm, near Middelburg from April 27 to 29 , said he too was experiencing the power of the Internet as he was getting calls from “busloads of guys” from various centres, as far afield as Durban.
The foundations of the Karoo MMC are being prepared in prayer with weekly meetings of the intercession teams, monthly 40-hour chain prayer sessions, and a 21-Day, 24/7 intercession event from 6pm on Friday, April 6 and end at 6pm on Friday, April 27, just before the start of the KMMC 2012. Anyone wanting to be involved in KMMC intercession teams should contact Dave Turner at devlei@vodamail.co.za , 049-8421911 or 0798791848.
Once again Buchan and musicians Retief Burger and Joe Niemand will be participating in the ministry team at the KMMC, where the organisers’ goal is to bring men into right relationship with God and their neighbours.
Meanwhile Buchan’s Shalom Trust released a statement today requesting organisers of men’s events to refrain from branding them with the names “Mighty Men”, “MMC”, and “Angus Buchan”.
The statement, signed by Andy Buchan, on behalf of the Shalom Trust Management reads: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, it has become necessary for us to register the names ‘Mighty Men’, ‘MMC’ and ‘Angus Buchan’, a procedure which is already in progress, and would therefore request that any men’s events you organise be renamed accordingly. There are at this stage no MMC events planned for next year (2013).
“We thank you for your understanding in this regard and pray for God’s blessing on your preparations.”
Clearly there are a number of sensitive issues that are being debated in private as South African Christian leaders grapple with the challenge of building on the legacy of the Mighty Men movement that has touched tens of thousands of families since 2004.
Francois Brits who is hosting the MMC Limpopo on his farm Snymansdrift near Polokwane said it all
“I believe men need a place to be spiritually refreshed and I am honoured to make my farm available. I believe that the changes that took place in men’s hearts at such events were “THE ONLY HOPE FOR OUR COUNTRY”
Shalom Trust Ministries MUST realize that they have started something which they simply cannot abandon!!!
It is for the sake of this country that I beg and pray, in His name, for the leaders to stand up and be counted for.
Its all good and well to say “seeds that had been sown by MMC should now become deeds that would grow into mighty trees which would provide shade and meet God’s growth expectations”
but what about the people/men who did`nt have the opportunity to attend a conference in the past. What? about the men who has fallen by the way side. Are you not as a good Shepard going to leave your flock and go after that ONE lost sheep?
There is a God given responsibility issue here!!
Finally some church leaders are coming around to the Mighty Men Conference phenomena and now wishes to attend so that they can go back to their flock and pass the message forward. Surely you cant open a tap of the Living water and then turn it off when and as you please.
As someone who has had to “register” multiple names and brands in the past, I simply cannot see how Shalom Trust can register the name “Mighty Men” as this is a Biblical phrase and now one can lay claim to it!!!
1 Samuel 22:2 – All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
23:8 – These are the names of David’s mighty men:
Nahum 2:3 – And the shields of his Mighty Men are made red.
I think everybody sees this as a shock. I suppose the reasons for this step can be motivated by Shalom. Be it as it may the calling that each person received from God to hold these evnets must go-ahead. I will not stop until I recieve a message from God to stop, even if the name has to be changed. ALso take note that MMC KZN will take place from Oct 26 to 28 2012. We will not lie down for a name. I have changed already MMC Africa to be ARC Africa which states Africa Revival Crusade Africa. The Gospel does not depend on a name to be Evangelised but on people willing to do so.
Want to know when is the Mighty Women’s conference her e in the Vaal Triangle. A blessed day. Linda
HI Linda,
There is a Mighty Woman’s Conference being held at Malonjeni close to Heidelberg from 7 – 9 September 2012. Please go to http://www.madeinhisimage.co.za for details and bookings.
I for one am very dissapointed with the news that Might Men can no longer be used. This sounds like a typical secular business trying to protect its interest!! Surely the Mighty Men camps that were started with the blessing of Angus and continue to this day should still be allowed to be called Mighty Men. I go to the Karoo every year now that Angus has stopped and my friends and I enjoy the continuity. Will Angus no longer be involved since they can’t use his name either ??
Is Shalom now going to sell the use of these names ??
NOT HAPPY