Conferences have been a basic part of our ministry since 1990. MorningStar will have hosted over one hundred conferences this coming year, and we have felt a grace on each one to go at least a little higher than the previous ones. Even so, we had sensed that our recent Harvest and Worship & Warfare Conferences were going to be special, and we were not disappointed. Every one of our team and staff that I talked to said they felt that they were the best conferences we have ever had, and we have had some historic conferences.

Even though it seems that each of our conferences goes at least a bit higher than previous ones, there was something special about these. There was something in the air that I have not felt since the early Worship & Warfare conferences. There was something new being born in the Spirit. Now, nearly two weeks after these conferences, this sense lingers strongly. There is a spiritual electricity in the air—a spiritual charge that makes you feel as if the air itself could ignite.

Birth Pangs

Both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul used the metaphor of the birth process to prophesy how events would come upon the world in the last days. The ways that birth pangs, or contractions as they are known today, come upon a woman who is about to give birth are:

1. They usually begin suddenly.
2. The closer the mother gets to the birth, the stronger and more frequent the birth pangs become.

We have been experiencing spiritual birth pangs at our church in Charlotte (now Fort Mill) for many years. A wave of the Spirit would come through and everything seemed charged with a special energy. We've had times when the preachers were drowned out by people erupting out of their chairs with worship they could not contain, even jumping up on their chairs just to worship the Lord with all of their might, and the preaching was not that good! It was not the preaching or even the miracles, it was just a sense of the presence of the Lord that would come in.

When these waves of the Spirit would come, they would usually last from a few to maybe six weeks. At that time, you could come into the building, even when no one else was there, and feel such a sense of the presence of the Lord that you would want to just go to your knees. I know very well that the Lord's temple is no longer one made with hands, but it is His people, and He does still inhabit places at times, just as He always has. When He does, you know it. When this happens, even non-Christian delivery people will talk about feeling something different in the place. You can watch them when they come in—some will get nervous, and some will talk about the peace or the energy they feel there. It is very palpable to just about anyone who comes in.

We have known for many years that a world-shaking revival is going to erupt in the Charlotte area. It is obvious that we are in the first stages of yet another spiritual birth pang or contraction. As the mother gets closer to the birth, these become more intense and frequent, and it is already obvious that this one is going to be even stronger than the others. These are not without purpose, and just as in the natural they help prepare the mother's body to give birth to the life that has grown in her, we can also feel great change coming in our local body. It is not just our congregation, but other local churches in the Charlotte area have been experiencing something similar.

At Heritage it is easy to see a pattern for these birth pangs. I never presume that what is happening with us is happening with the whole church, but I was shown many years ago that at least to a degree our conferences would be a barometer of what is happening in the church worldwide. Our conferences draw people from many nations and denominations, and they are often a reflection of what the Lord is doing in a large part of His church.

One reason why the people attending our conferences tend to be such a barometer is because we attract so many prophetic people. It is often the nature of prophetic people to feel within themselves what the body or those they are called to minister to are feeling or going through. The immature usually take these feelings personally, but this is a gift from the Lord to help His prophets identify with and have compassion for those He sends them to. When prophetic people learn to understand what they are feeling and sometimes going through objectively instead of subjectively, they can be used in a much more effective way. I don't have time to spend on this here, but it is by discerning the state of prophetic people who come to us that we are given much understanding about the needs of the church or movements that they come from. Together, they can be a fairly accurate barometer of the spiritual state of the church.

Right now many see the church as being in terrible shape, in pain, writhing, and disoriented. This is pretty accurate, but why is she in that shape? It is because she is giving birth. In the stages of the birth process, she would be in "transition." In this stage, a mother is usually overly sensitive, overreacting, in confusion, and wanting to quit! This is what many Christians have likewise been feeling, but all of this will soon be over. When this stage is over, a great clarity and resolve comes upon the mother to give birth to her child, and that is coming upon the church very soon. 

The church is struggling to give birth to the last-day ministry, the ministry that will close out the church age and prepare the way for the return of the Lord and His kingdom. Change is coming. How?

During the "transition" stage of childbirth, the mother must fight her natural tendencies to push. To push at that time would actually be counterproductive to the birth process and would only make it more difficult and more painful. As hard as it is during times of such confusion, the best thing the mother can do is just try to rest and relax. As soon as this stage is over and the clarity comes, then it is time to push. We are about to see a major thrust forward in the very near future. A dramatic change in the resolve of the church is coming.  

We know that most of those who come to our conferences are "spiritual carriers" called to help cross-pollinate in the body of Christ. After all of our conferences, we have felt an advance, going higher, and knew that those who had come were encouraged and helped along their way. But there was something different about the recent Harvest and Worship & Warfare Conferences. These had IMPACT all over them—something far bigger than usual was released. They will create waves throughout the body, and though many may not even know what caused the waves, they will be lifted up and helped by them.

Our next conference is our New Year's Conference, December 29-31, in which we seek prophetic direction for the coming year for our ministry. This is usually a conference just for those who are ministry partners and members of MorningStar churches, but there is something building in the Spirit, and this year we are going to open it up to whoever feels called to be here. We can already feel the spiritual energy building for this one, and something significant is going to happen. If you are supposed to be here, do not let anything distract you.

There will be an impartation at this conference, and it will be carried forth by those who are people of impact, or those who soon will be people of impact. If you are a pastor or church leader, consider bringing your key people. There is a bonding that can take place at an event like this that can be greater than what many years of meeting together in regular services accomplishes.  

Both of our recent conferences maxed out, and we are sure this one will too. We are limited in space, so please register ASAP if you feel called to be here. We have all of the rooms open at Heritage now, but they will fill up fast too, so get your registrations in quickly if you want to stay here. We also have arrangements at other local hotels offering special rates for our conference attendees.

To register, or book rooms at Heritage, visit our website, or call our toll free number, 1-800-542-0278. You will not be disappointed, and you may witness something historic.