The Inaugural Midlands Men’s Convention in KZN kicked off as 3 local CESA churches, Pietermaritzburg, Hilton and Howick, cooperated to give birth to a Bible teaching convention that would inspire and encourage men to live for Jesus Christ. The conviction that Christian men had to be challenged to rise up and take their responsibility to lead their families as well as their communities – within which they lived – motivated the genesis of this Convention. For this to happen, men desperately need to be firmly grounded in their Christian faith. There is such flood of filth and corruption, prevalent within our modern godless society, against which Christian men need to take a stand for Christ. So to strengthen Christian men to have a firm grasp on God’s word and to enable them to live for Christ – rather than just for themselves – this convention began. Christian men must be committed to Christ, with an ambition to please God above all and also to love one another with purity of heart, to be godly in lifestyle, and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

The 1^st Midlands Men’s Convention was held on Saturday 16^th August 2008 at Grace College, Hilton with Michael Schafer as the speaker. He taught the Book of Revelation in 4 clear Bible talks, entitled “Come, Lord Jesus”, explaining how this last book of the Bible ought to be understood,  and helped unravel this extremely relevant message for today. Nearly 150 men, young and old, attended on a bitterly cold day to soak up the Bible teaching. The consensus at this first Convention was that this event was well-worth repeating and to establish it as a premier annual event on the church calendar for men.

The 2^nd Midlands Men’s Convention was again held at Grace College, Hilton, on a magnificent sunny Saturday, the 15^th August, with Grant Retief as the main speaker. He clarified the often misunderstood role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, in 4 talks entitled “Life in the age of the Spirit”. These talks were clear and concise, and showed how the Spirit is at work in the life of believers in Christ. He showed, from the Scriptures, that there’s no reason for any believer to feel intimidated by anyone or anything as God’s Spirit lives within us and is at work in us. Sam Groves presented a special session dealing with the sensitive, yet problematic, issue of pornography in a clear and challenging fashion to help men struggling to be godly in the realm of their sexuality. Nearly 200 men from all over KZN attended this Convention and many confessed that they’d benefited greatly from the Bible teaching as well as the fellowship together with “the manne”. Next year’s date has already been set for 21^st August 2010. This is a date to diarize so as not to miss out!

The talks of both Conventions are available on double DVD’s at a reasonable price of R100 per set for each year. These can be ordered directly from Johan Greyling (JY Video Productions on 0828566601 or at jmgreyling@gmail.com).

Our conviction is that God will establish men firmly in their Christian faith as they’re taught His word; this will then encourage them to live for Christ as God’s Spirit transforms their lives into the likeness of Christ.