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 From Monday 20th to Saturday 26th November 2006, the imperial LoveWorld Conference Centre of Christ Embassy, Lagos, Nigeria was festooned in royal décor befitting kings and nobles. The event was the 2006 International Pastors’ & Partners' Conference. The array of delegates who travelled from different parts of the world for the conference revealed a people from diverse cultures and earthly backgrounds.However, they Were all unified by a single purpose: the craving for an exciting, inspiring, invigorating, rewarding and life-changing experience in the presence of an awesome God! Visibly expressed in their faces was the excited disposition and demeanor of a people, with an unquenchable zeal to receive from God. The cutting edge teachings, superb music, and impartation of the Spirit combined to make the conference one whose impact and blessings would be savoured for a long time by the attendees. "It was an awesome experience. This year’s conference has catapulted us to another level…we've been ushered into unimaginable heights of divine bliss! We're ready to take the world for Jesus," exclaimed an ecstatic Pastor Joseph Ezire, of Christ Embassy Gombe, north eastern Nigeria. AN EXCLUSIVE ASSEMBLAGE OF THE INITIATED The peculiarity of the 2006 IPPC germinates from the fact that it was “exclusively for the initiated.” Lending credence to this, Pastor Chris in his welcome address during the opening session of the conference declared, "We didn't call it a ministers’ conference… It's a Pastors' conference… meaning that we are specific as to who attends, what kind of a meeting it is, and the direction the Lord is going to be guiding our minds and hearts during this conference." PASTORAL MINISTRY - THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORLD The conference was a special time of reappraisal of vision. Pastor Chris emphasized strongly to the teeming pastors the divine significance of their pastoral responsibilities. He explained that the Bible never referred to Jesus as "the good apostle," "the good prophet," or "the good teacher," even though He functioned as such during His earthly ministry. Rather, Jesus said, "I am the good Shepherd" (John 10:11), that's another way of saying "I am the good Pastor." Thus, Pastor Chris urged the pastors to see themselves as those called of God to the most honourable and noble assignment in the world. In his words, "The pastoral ministry is a highly esteemed ministry in the Kingdom of God because you're taking care of people for whom Christ died. Think about it, what could be more honourable?!" |
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