T.E.A.M. Conference 2007: “Towards a Mature Church” was, simply put - AWESOME! This year’s conference marked the fifth and final year of a vision the Lord gave me back in 2001.
I vividly remember the Spirit of the Lord awakening me with a blueprint for a five-year T.E.A.M. (Today’s Emerging Apostolic Ministry) conference series. The Lord desired to use T.E.A.M. to bring divine revelation to the Saints of this region regarding the restoration and function of the five-fold ministry gift of apostle, in the Body of Christ. According to Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV), “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.
I thought that the first T.E.A.M. conference would be held in 2001, but the Spirit of God told me to wait. In 2002, I was also prepared, however; I did not get the release. At that point He directed me to host T.E.A.M. from September 2003 until September 2007! God had a master plan and divinely orchestrated the timing of the conferences.
In January 2007, Apostle Dan White prophesied over Elder Sandra and I that the Lord was giving us a governmental place in the city and that D-LIM (Dominion-Life International Ministries) was going to be uncovered in a greater way to this region. The Lord also spoke that our season of being proven was over and that He was about to release a new season to us. This word was also confirmed by another Apostle a few months later.
In April, Apostle Patrick Isaac of Montreal ministered at our church and prophesied a powerful word over Elder Sandra and I. Afterwards, while we having lunch, he shared the portion of the word he was not released to give publicly. The Lord had shown him that a group of men would form an apostolic team over the city. They would ask me to be a part of it and I should not refuse them.
This past year, God had raised up an apostolic team called Vancouver City of Destiny (VCD) with a vision for reaching the city of Vancouver and beyond. Apostle Isaac did not know that there was already an apostolic team in place. The leader of the team, Apostle George Johnson, had contacted me two weeks prior to request a meeting. We met the week after Apostle Isaac’s visit and I was invited to become part of VCD, which I accepted.
This year, Vancouver City of Destiny was planning to host their first conference in October. I was able to approach them about T.E.A.M., as it would be the final year of our mandate. VCD decided to come on board and assist us in hosting T.E.A.M. 2007. This became a transition year to Vancouver City of Destiny’s CityFest conference.
In 2001, when the Lord gave me the vision for T.E.A.M, this was no where on the radar. The Lord connected us with Vancouver City of Destiny in the final year of T.E.A.M, and raised up another vision for the city to take up from where T.E.A.M. left off; no one could have planned this better. The Lord is truly an AWESOME God!
T.E.A.M. 2007 was held from September 12-16, at Harvest City Church. Four mighty men of God were sent into our midst to declare the Word with boldness and accuracy: Apostle John Eckhardt of Chicago, IL, Apostle Joshua Fowler of Orlando, FL, Apostle Eliseus Joseph of Bridgetown, Barbados, and Apostle Dan White of Jacksonville, FL. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Towards a Mature Church”, the Holy Spirit was faithful to sharpen our understanding, break religious mindsets, and call us up to a new level of accountability and maturity as Believers.
On the opening night of the conference, Apostle John Eckhardt fired us up with a strong word regarding the nature and capacity of the five-fold ministry gifts. When Christ gave apostles, to the Church they were work alongside His prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to the Body; they were mandated to bring forth a mature Church. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:2 (NKJV), “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ”. The five-fold ministers of the Early Church withstood intense persecution, battled apostasy and false doctrine, and laboured faithfully to present the Church to Christ without spot or wrinkle.
The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers of today are also responsible for equipping and perfecting the Church in their generation. Perfection in this context means completeness, or wholeness that will mature over time. God is looking for a people that will submit to His Spirit, undergo transformation and change, break free from religious systems, withstand hardship, and develop the capacity to house His glory. As partakers of the heavenly calling, let us labour with new urgency to present Christ with a mature Church in our time!
As we continue to establish the Kingdom, our focus must remain on eternity. On Thursday, Apostle White brought a strong message of accountability and alignment. God is calling the global Body of Christ to walk in new levels of maturity and obedience. The fathers of faith, in Hebrews 11, looked forward to the time in which they would spend eternity with God. This should also be our focus. We must examine our motives, walk according to the Spirit, and serve the Lord as He has called us to. Our only measurement of success in the Kingdom is our level of obedience to His voice. True servants of the Most High choose to lay down their personal agendas, take up the call to serve others, give God access to every area of their lives, and develop the capacity and character to be sent out as His ministers of reconciliation. Amen!
On Friday, Apostle Eliseus Joseph was on fire from the get-go and we were awestruck by the gifting upon his life. Like a builder with a master plan, he scripturally took us through the need and process of embracing this present move of God, and the liberty and power God’s people will experience in doing so. From Genesis to Revelation, he comprehensively proved the apostolic function of God’s appointed servants. He brought divine clarity and meaning to this present move of God; showing that the Church is apostolic not because of having apostles in it but because the builder is an Apostle - as a matter of fact, He is the Chief Apostle (Heb 3:1). Apostle Joseph went on to clearly demonstrate that a carpenter, because of his profession, builds a wooden house; a mason builds a stone house; and likewise, an apostle can only build an apostolic house!
Apostle Fowler ministered with great apostolic and prophetic grace on Saturday. According to Galatians 3, we have an inheritance IN CHRIST. We receive the blessing of Abraham, through his Seed (Christ), and not the law. When Jesus died, He released His inheritance to the Church. Like a natural heir, we can only obtain our inheritance when we reach the state of maturity determined by the Father (Gal 4:1-2). The Cross brought us into alignment; however, God is waiting for our level of maturity to reach the place where He can release the promise to us. Maturity requires responsibility, servant hood, patience, submission, application of the Word, and faith. Where doubt and unbelief will keep us immature, faith will cause our maturity to increase. Let us continue moving from faith to faith and from glory to glory!
On Sunday night, Apostle Fowler closed the conference with a powerful message on divine identity. Not only is maturity required to access our inheritance in Christ, but knowing our true identity is also essential. We were called to fulfil God’s plan and purpose before the foundations of the earth. God releases our identity to us so that we can know our destiny and receive our inheritance. Apostle Fowler shared how God changed his natural name from Charlie to Joshua to symbolize a change in his nature. Like Jacob, we must be willing to wrestle with God until He gives us our identity, nature, and name. Jacob’s old name limited him, but he was given the capacity to fulfil his destiny as Israel. Abram’s name and nature also needed to change for him to walk in the promise. This is also true for us. As Believers, we need to die to our old spiritual identity and embrace the current move of God. Our inheritance is directly connected to our maturity and identity. We are a people with an inheritance in Christ. Let us choose to continue in the things of God and impact our city and the nations of the earth for the Kingdom!
It would be fitting to liken T.E.A.M. 2007 to the Day of Pentecost – for as we gathered in momentum and great expectancy, God’s power surely did come down – transforming us into men and women ablaze and invincible! Racial, cultural, traditional and religious walls were torn down as theme of the conference – “Towards a Mature Church” was well preached. Over 400 Believers attended some of the sessions, and the Holy Spirit had His way. The apostles functioned in the gifts of the Spirit, bringing divine revelation, understanding, deliverance, healing, encouragement, freedom, and unity to the Body of Christ in Vancouver.
For those of you who missed out on the conference, we highly recommend that you order the sessions. Recordings are available in CD and MP3 format. Contact the D-LIM administrative office at (604) 599-3542 or admin@dominion-life.org for more information.
Thank you all for standing with us and supporting this conference with your prayer and finances. Once again the Lord proved Himself faithful in meeting ALL our financial and other needs, and for this we are humbled and eternally grateful.
For the Cause of Christ and His Body,
Apostle Michael & Elder Sandra Scantlebury
