Chapter Four: Grace Gospel Church - Its beliefs, practices and opponents
4.2 The origins and development of Church Team Ministries International
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Chapter Four: Grace Gospel Church - Its beliefs, practices and
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to be a spiritual turning point in his life, prompting him to leave the Catholic Church and join the Assemblies of God. He worshipped in the Assemblies of God church for a short period and then, in 1978, broke away from this church with a small group of like- minded individuals and formed an independent Pentecostal church.
The following year (1979) Michel and his wife, Audrey, left Mauritius to attend Bible School at Durban Christian Centre, in South Africa. They studied there until 1982, when Michel was sent back to Mauritius under the “apostolic”233 oversight of Pastor Fred Roberts of Durban Christian Centre. Hardy assumed leadership of the group he had formerly belonged to after leaving the Assemblies of God. This was not well received by all in the group and it divided. The group Michel led adopted the name
“Eglise Chretienne” (The Christian Church) and he started becoming known as “Miki”
Hardy. Eglise Chretienne allegedly experienced strong opposition from other churches and the government but grew rapidly over the next decade.234 This opposition was probably due to Eglise Chretienne’s well-publicised criticisms of other religious groups.
In 1989 riots broke out in Curepipe following Eglise Chretienne making inflammatory statements about Islam.235
Hardy frequently travelled with Pastor Roberts to church groups in Southern Africa and Mauritius and in 1989 they met Basil O’Connell-Jones in Bulawayo. O’Connell-Jones was to become “profoundly impacted”236 by Hardy’s ministry. By 1991 Hardy and Roberts had fallen out over women in eldership roles and the Toronto Blessing
233 This notion of apostolicity is described well by S.B. Addison: “The spiritual gift of apostle is given to individuals to equip the whole church in its apostolic calling. Apostles are called by God, but their calling is to be recognized by the body of Christ. The ministry of an apostle is trans-local and involves both church planting and strengthening existing churches. The authority of an apostle is determined by the apostle’s willingness to be a servant of the gospel and of the body of Christ. Apostles are recognized by their pioneering and trans-local ministry of church planting and church strengthening. Apostles function best as leaders of apostolic bands that are in partnership with local churches.” (The Continuing Ministry of the Apostle in the Church’s Mission. D.Min. Dissertation, 1995), http://www.movements.net/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/ApostolicMinistry-SteveAddison.pdf (Accessed 18/08/12).
234 JOY! Magazine, Volume 15: Issue 5. http://ctmi.mu/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/1-1.jpeg (Accessed 14/04/12)
235 Sharlene Packree , Cult luring Christians. (The Witness, 06/02/2010),
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global%5B_id%5D=35431 (Accessed 07/07/12)
236 Basil O’Connell-Jones, 2000. Amazing Grace. (Hillcrest: Grace Gospel Church), p. 137.
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phenomenon237 which was sweeping South Africa at the time through the ministry of Rodney Howard Browne. As a result of the dissociation with Roberts and Durban Christian Centre, Hardy and Eglise Chretienne no longer fell under “apostolic”
oversight. Significantly, during the early 1990’s, Hardy’s preaching was centred on notion of apostleship and Hardy became increasingly regarded as, and referred to, as a
“father in the Spirit” and “father of the church”. By appealing to a Pauline text such as 1 Corinthians 4:15 (“Even though you may have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.”) he insinuated that, in a similar way to the oversight St Paul had over the Corinthians, he too should be regarded as an apostolic “father” of Eglise Chretienne.
During the course of the 1990’s, Hardy allegedly became disillusioned with what he perceived to be the wider Church’s brokenness, in-fighting, hypocrisy and immaturity.
And “...as he sought the Lord for direction, the revelation of the power of the cross of Jesus Christ and of the grace of God came to his heart.”238 He came to believe that the problems he had experienced in the church were as a result of the state of his own heart, and the solution to them lay in embracing the cross in his own life. This revelation, which occurred around 1996, became a mystical turning point in his life and the foundation for his subsequent ministry.
Hardy realised that if his revelation was to be accepted by others, he would need to live it out in his own life. In doing so, and in sharing the revelation (or gospel) of the cross with others, he claims to have “...witnessed major changes in the church, which included a greater unity among the leaders as well as spiritual growth, stability and peace within the local church.”239
This “fruit” validated the revelation for Hardy and encouraged him to regard it as a message for the Church at large. At the same time, the fact that he had received such a crucial revelation appears to have confirmed in his mind, and in the minds of his
237 Revivalistic movement characterised by ecstatic worship, being “slain in the Spirit”, laughter, shaking, animal noises, and crying.
238 http://ctmi.mu/en/about-us/history (Accessed: 19/02/12)
239 http://ctmi.mu/en/about-us/history (Accessed: 19/02/2012)
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followers, that the apostolic ministry which he had to this time only dared refer to obliquely, had been divinely bestowed upon him. Consequently, in 2001, which was a year marked by ethnic unrest in Mauritius,240 he established Church Team Ministries International (CTMI), with the vision of uniting churches under the revelation of the cross.
CTMI has since 2001 allegedly entered into partnership with churches in 22 countries around the world.241 It claims to unite people from diverse cultural backgrounds who then work in unison to equip and encourage church leaders. Although it refrains from stating this explicitly, CTMI provides an apostolic ministry and oversight for its partner churches. The partnership spoken of is not a partnership of equals – CTMI’s doctrine and polity completely overshadow all partner churches. A loose but useful analogy is the relationship between the Vatican and individual Catholic parishes. In the same way that it would be impossible to imagine individual Catholic parishes deviating from fundamental Catholic doctrine or rejecting the ultimate authority of the Vatican, and remaining Catholic, so it is with member churches and CTMI. Consequently, in order to understand the beliefs and practices of GGC it is necessary to describe those of CTMI.
From this point, where appropriate, the acronym CTMI/GGC will be used, to indicate a belief or practice that is synonymous with both organisations.
The vision of CTMI is described as follows:
To present a living testimony to the Church of the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ that transforms lives, families, churches, and ministries.
To strengthen, equip and help Church Leaders through the message of the Cross and the Grace of God, in order to see the Church restored and established on the foundation of Christ.242
240 The island’s Creole minority, feeling that they were excluded from the benefits of economic growth, access to education and health, and participation in government, launched protests across Mauritius.
241 Inter alia - Mauritius; Paris, France; La Reunion; Harare & Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; England; USA;
South Africa; Botswana; Kenya. http://ctmi.mu/en/about-us/our-network (Accessed: 20/02/12)
242 http://ctmi.mu/en/about-us/mission-vision (Accessed 19/02/2012)
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To hold conferences for Church Leadership
To send teams on follow-up visits after conferences
To establish relationships, equip Local Churches, and build up Teams of Ministries
To provide direction, encouragement, and support to the churches forming part of the CTMI Network.243
The distinct doctrines of CTMI/GGC will be discussed at length below.
Hardy continues to be listed as the pastor of Eglise Chretienne which since 1978 has expanded into a fellowship of over 30 churches in Mauritius and Rodrigues244 and is also one of CTMI’s partner churches. As Eglise Chretienne and CTMI are both led by Hardy, and CTMI has its headquarters in the church, Eglise Chretienne is regarded as the headquarters of CTMI. It is clear that CTMI has provided legitimacy and scope for Hardy’s apostolic ambitions in a manner that Eglise Chretienne never could.