The theme for this year’s conference was entitled, “Redeemed to Worship”. Much of that teaching can be found on our website at edlacyministries.org. However, I also added four new sessions, which was specifically written to confront the false ‘health and wealth prosperity gospel’, which has been contaminating much of the evangelical church in Africa. Dear friends our Lord and God, once again worked mightily in the lives of those hundreds of pastors and spiritual leaders. One pastor told me that he and his wife had travelled over 1,000 kilometers on an old bus to attend the conference.
They testified that, “we would not miss this annual conference, no matter how far that we must travel! This is God’s spiritual food for both our lives and ministry”!
It was quite an amazing week of ministry! The Spirit of God was powerfully applying His truth in every session. There were literally hundreds of testimonies, of the Spirit of God mightily applying the Word of God into the minds and hearts of these leaders! We even witnessed the attendance of a Catholic priest, who had been invited by one of the evangelical pastors! In the opening session, I was teaching the spiritual truth that, “everyone in the world worships something or someone; even an atheist worships himself as the center of his own universe”. I continued to state that, “If an individual is not worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ, (as He is revealed in the scriptures), then that person is involved in blasphemous idolatry against God”! I began to give multiple illustrations of the countless idolatries, which unconverted sinners are involved in. I commenced by employing the idol worship, which permeates the various “counterfeit world religions”. Since I am a former Roman Catholic, I spent quite a bit more time laying out the blasphemous idolatries, which permeate that “false, sacramental and works-based religion”! I laid out the evidences of the soul-damning lies of "the false gospel and false christ of that world religion”. I had no idea that a Roman Catholic priest was sitting on the back row in this audience of over 600 attendants. (Of course, I would have spoken the truth anyway!)
However, the amazing reality is that the priest did not get infuriated and storm out of the auditorium. As a matter of fact, he stayed on the back row for the entire day of teaching. And to our amazement, on the second day
of the conference, he moved from the back row to the 4th row! This priest’s entire life had been invested in this system of a “salvation by man-made ceremonies”.Oh, but the Spirit of truth and the Word of truth were opening the eyes of his mind and drawing him to the Lord Jesus of the scriptures. As you will read, in just a moment, he later testified to one the directors of this conference that, “He had been converted to the true Christ, during those 18 hours of teaching the Word!” Dear friends, I could literally write a book which would be overflowing with the personal testimonies of what God has done and continues do in the lives and ministries of these hundreds of pastors! But instead, I desire to have my dear friend Dr. George Wafula, the Director of Kenya Ministries Training Institute, give his personal perspective on this year’s conference. Dr. Wafula, is also the precious brother who is the interpreter for every session in all of these conferences; as well as, one of the key organizers and directors of the annual conference at the KMTI center.
Brother George testifies, We just concluded a power-packed and life-transforming conference at KMTI! I am so grateful to the Lord for all that He accomplished in the lives of all of those spiritual leaders who were in attendance. Allow me to share just a couple of the hundreds of testimonies. Pastor Joel Nandokha from Sirisia, Bungoma attended this conference for the first time. He testified to me passionately that, ‘He has attended many seminars and conferences which have been hosted by different ministries in his ministry life; but he has never (in his entire pastoral life) attended a conference, which the Lord has so powerfully opened his eyes and illuminated his mind to see the truth.’ He further confessed that, ‘all that he had been teaching about the life of Job had been false doctrine! Moreover, he asked the Lord to forgive him for all of the error that he had been teaching to others.’ Pastor Joel also confessed to me that ‘he was going home to pour the truths, which he had received in these days, into the lives of his church members.’ There was another pastor’s wife who was being accommodated at my house, because she was due to have a baby in two weeks. For this reason, she couldn’t sleep on the floor with the other women for 4 days. This lady was also attending the ‘Ed Lacy annual conference’ for the first time, because of the tremendous testimony of her pastor husband, who has been attending the meetings since 2014. This pastor’s wife had planned to attend the conference for only one day and then return to her home, due to the condition that she was soon to give birth! However, after listening to Bro. Ed preaching the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, she decided to stay for the entire 4 full days of teaching. This dear sister, who is called Critchen, had been through so many health challenges and trials in recent months. She had sadly reached a place in her life, in which she was becoming bitter with God and giving up on God. Oh, but the word of God came to her in mighty power! She testified to me that this particular teaching had removed a veil from her eyes, concerning all of the health crises that she had been passing through.
She came to the personal realization that God is totally sovereign in all things in her life, (including the bad things that had been happening in her life). She further came to the personal understanding that, ‘the devil’ can do nothing in her life, unless God allows it! And if God permits it, then He has a sovereign and wise purpose for allowing it. This truth became a life-changing truth for this sister. She saw the truth of the word of God in such a new and living way, that her mind was radically and permanently renovated. She testified to my wife, Joy and I for many hours. She passionately declared that, ‘God had personally planned this conference for no one else but her!’
Also, there was a Roman Catholic priest who was in attendance this year! This man had been invited by one of our pastors, who has been attending Ed Lacy conferences from the beginning. On the first day, this Catholic priest came in and sat right at the back of the hall. He was listening keenly to every word from Bro. Ed’s mouth. On the 2nd day of the conference, I noticed that he came in very early and sat quietly on the front chairs. At the end of each day of teaching, he would come to me and confess that the word of God had blessed his life in a powerful way. The last day before he left, he came and grabbed my hand and said, ‘Thank you for allowing me to attend this meeting; it has radically changed my life. I will never be the same again!”
It was amazing to see the hundreds of pastors and senior overseers, who were taking ‘2 Inch mattresses’ and sleeping on the hard floors, in both our teaching hall and our guest houses, for 4 full days! These pastors slept on the floor joyfully, because of the truths, which they were hearing from the fruit of Bro. Ed’s study of the Word of God. I know of many conferences in Kenya and Uganda, where pastors and overseers are promised to be accommodated in nice hotels and guesthouses. However, not many of these pastors are excited to attend, because they get nothing of spiritual significance from these meetings. But friends, I am grateful to the LORD for the favor that He has given to our brother, Ed Lacy, to come every year to teach us the word of God. I truly believe that our Lord continues to grace Bro. Ed with the word that the church in Africa needs today. I am forever thankful to his wife, Dianne, and all those who pray for him and support his ministry. The church in East Africa is being enlightened and edified through this ministry.” George Wafula - Director of Kenya Ministries Training Institute