Spiritual hunger rewarded, unity advanced, during Kingdom Come SA conference

By Breakthru Life Church Media

Army of empowered believers prayed for sick — and miracles abounded

There was much anticipation for Bill Johnson’s first ministry trip to South Africa and the nearly 3 000 conference delegates at Acts Church in Midrand were not disappointed. The spiritual hunger was palpable from the very first song as Sean Feucht (Bethel Music, and The BURN 24/7) led the gathering into times of deep worship.

Bill Johnson opened up the Scriptures in a revelatory style of expository preaching as he built session by session on the key building blocks of the Kingdom – the renewal of the mind. Jesus launched His ministry with the call to “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” and this is an essential requirement to see the Kingdom of God more actively advancing in and through our lives. The revelation that God is good, that our minds need to be renewed to see life through the lens of Kingdom, that true faith is recognising the power of walking out the commands of Jesus in humble obedience, and that the wisdom of the Spirit will bring us into our true calling and identity as sons and daughters of the King.

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The large crowd gathered together from 9th to 11th February came from all corners of South Africa. Numerous denominational leaders, Ministry leaders, Church Network leaders and a host of pastors from a wide spectrum of streams and church backgrounds were under one roof, which gave rise to a sub-theme of unity in the wider Body of Christ. While many had previously been exposed to some of the teachings on the Kingdom of God, at times the room was in a state of holy hush — you could hear a pin drop — as people sat on the edge of their seats processing the profound truths being shared.

As with the ministry of Jesus, whose teachings were accompanied by a demonstration of the power of God, so the various sessions were followed by times of prayer, impartation and healing. Wheelchairs being emptied, pain disappearing, metal rods and screws dissolving, mobility being restored to locked joints, hearing restored, cataracts and other eye conditions healed – all these had the conference on their feet with shouts of praise and thanksgiving. Notable during the event was the fact the the platform speakers only physically prayed for a handful of people, but rather it was the equipping of the attendees who did the praying for the sick. An army of mobilised and empowered believers was the result of this life-changing event.

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Paul Manwaring, until recently the international overseer of Bethel’s Global Legacy, brought two powerful messages to the conference. One of Paul’s messages addressed the need for creating the right cultural environment for the Kingdom paradigm to be established in the lives of ordinary believers. The second address covered the major distinctives of Bethel Church which has experienced an ongoing revival for more than 20 years.

Teachings will be online for free
The organisers of the event, Breakthru Life Church, led by John Crumpton have agreed to make all the teachings available in MP3 and Youtube format on their website for free. This is to encourage the spread and assimilation of this message to all believers across the nation. Next week Gateway News will feature an exclusive interview with Bill Johnson as he shares his perceptions on what the Church in South Africa is facing in this season.

At the conclusion of the event a review session was conducted by Paul Manwaring with the Apostolic Team of Foundation Ministries International (the backing organisation for the event). Several positive conclusions were reached, including the realisation that a grassroots movement has been started.

The prophetic nature of the Kingdom Come SA 2017 Conference was not lost. The most obviously significant moment was the declaration that while Parliament was gathering for the State of The Nation address, God had gathered representatives from His Body to hear the State of the Kingdom address.

Furthermore the passing of the baton from Derek Crumpton, organiser of the 1977 and 1980 SA Renewal Conference, to John Crumpton the current convenor of Kingdom Come SA was conducted through a powerful tribute and standing ovation from the younger generation towards the older generation of spiritual pioneers.

The question on everybody’s lips at the end of the conference was, “will Bill Johnson come back to South Africa next year”. The answer is… “watch this space!”