Rain, rain, rain…but Mighty Men Joburg managed to shine

The first Mighty Men Conference Johannesburg tested Victor Lemmer and his team’s faith and determination as it rained non-stop for 10 days before the event, creating havoc with their preparation of the campsite on open land south of the city.

“We needed to cut the grass that was 1.2m tall and we just never had a chance. We could not scrape the roads and with all the rain the road just got worse and worse. We needed to build the showers but we could not do anything in preparation for this event,” he said.

Then at 4.30pm last Wednesday, just over a day away from the start of the event, Dawie Liebenberg, one of the MMC committee members, took the committee to an equestrian centre not far from their waterlogged campsite. The centre has an indoor arena that can seat 1 500 people.

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“We spoke to the owners and they said we could use it with pleasure. Everything just started working out and things started falling into place,” he said.

Lemmer said the MMC, from Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 9, was “the most amazing event”. The first campers arrived at 8.30am on Friday. That evening Danie Botha led the first session, taking the MMC to “a new level”.

“It was so uplifting and afterwards 29 guys gave their lives to the Lord,” he said.

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“Even through the rain, the guys just kept on coming in. Although we were only 224 guys on the Friday we just experienced His [God’s] presence all the time.

“On Saturday Afrika Mhlophe was magnificent.The reports that we received on Afrika’s session were great. That afternoon we worshiped with Arno van Wyk, and the anointing was incredible. The Lord called on guys who felt that this conference was their last resort and they were in a hole and did not know where to turn to. 23 guys came forward and the Lord spoke to each one of them and filled them with His Love and Spirit.

“Then Francois du Toit ended Saturday Evening for us with an awesome message. Sunday was for the whole family and Franna Benade wrapped it up telling us stories through worship and the Word.The whole weekend Louis Brittz and Franna Benade and their Band took us to new spiritual Levels with their awesome worship.”

Lemmer said the experienced team from the Karoo Mighty Men Conference supported him and his team “from the word go” and only left late on the Sunday afternoon. He was also blessed by the support, prayers and encouragement of the convenors of the Karoo MMC and Bushveld MMC, Jannie Moolman and Francois Brits, respectively.

“To Angus Buchan, Ronel, Bruce and Jilly from MMC Headoffice, for your input, support and prayers – thank you. We could not have done this without you guys.The support was just amazing and everybody just pulled their weight. The MMC Joburg Committee was just great and with very little sleep we pulled through. What a great bunch of guys!”

Lemmer said the committee received a testimony from Gieljam Johannes Roux, one of the neighbours of the MMC Joburg campsite. He said:”To each and every man that attended the MMC Joburg – You guys are amazing!! I was skeptical when I was informed that the MMC will be held literally next to my plot, but you guys really restored my faith in the men of our country….Proof that good men are still around!!”

Commenting on what the faith journey meant to him, Lemmer said: “We serve an awesome God. What a journey. Dealing with all the challenges made me realise again that this event was never in our hands. This event was God’s event from the start and we are so blessed to have been part of it. I believe that faith is not something that can be underestimated and I know that organising this event, we walked on water and every time we lost focus we started sinking, just like Peter did In Matthew 14: 29-31. And every time this happened the Lord Lifted us out of the water.

“I know that we serve a living God and He just showed every man during this weekend that he wants us to be the Prophet, Priest and King of our families.”

Lemmer confirmed that there will be another MMC next year. But he said the name of the event will change to MMC Gauteng.