Posted by Vanguard on
Benny Hinn, a world renowned evangelistic cleric was in Nigeria for a miracle healing crusade which held recently at the Holy Ghost Congress ground along Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.
Benny Hinn, a world renowned evangelistic cleric was in Nigeria for a miracle healing crusade which held recently at the Holy Ghost Congress ground along Lagos -Ibadan Expressway. The crusade enjoyed lots of support by notable Nigerian gospel singers as they lent both their voices and their talents to make the historic event a huge success, reports Isaac Daniel.
At the colourful inauguration of the Benny Hinn miracle crusade central working committee (CWC) of the just concluded crusade early this year, one disturbing challenging area before them was the musical aspect of the crusade. Bishop Lanre Obembe, the National co-ordinator of the crusade and his subordinates were faced with the huge task of presenting an international standard music performance which the world-renowned evangelist's musical team usually dishes out with ease at his crusades around the globe.
Quite intimidating to the central working committee was the fact that Pastor Benny Hinn's musical team comprises almost the best Gospel musicians in the world. The esteemed likes of Grammy award winner, Donnie McClurkin, multiple award winning Marvin Sapp, Helen Baylor, Ron Kenoly, Alvin Slaughter and Don Moen, the king of praise worship music among others. To all concerned, raising a formidable team in Nigeria capable of matching the class and musical prowess of these world acclaimed musical icons was more or less a mirage. However, undaunted Bishop Obembe was not discouraged. He rather threw the challenge to Nigerian Gospel musicians to prove their mettle. He backed them up believing that with God nothing is impossible.
With initial contacts a distinguished array of Gospel artistes were assembled and co-opted into the music sub-committee. The musicians admitted that they were equal to the task ahead after being hinted of their inevitable role in the crusade's success. The Gospel musicians vowed to amaze Pastor Hinn and his team in Nigeria. "After all we performed very well during recent international crusades of great Pastors such as Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Bishop T.D. Lakes, Bishop Poiiee, Dr. A.K. Paul and a host of others, where we were successfully in-charge of the music unit here in Nigeria. Therefore, Benny Hinn's crusade will not be an isolation", Joe Tu-Nekaro, the ex-choir master of "Reinhard Bonnke l0 million Lagos Crusade" declared on behalf of his colleagues while accepting the challenge from the CWC.
In a landmark bid to ensure that Dr. Benny Hinn's historical visit to Nigeria for the widely advertised and epochal "Miracle Healing Crusade" makes global impact, Nigerian Gospel Music stars resolved to work together and to produce world-class music compositions and performance in Nigeria at the three day evangelistic event - the sophisticated type that inspires the American man of God during his worldwide crusades. The Gospel musicians were led by Rev. Ekpenyong Bassey of the legendary "Karis Band," Onyeka Onwenu, Joe Tu-Nekaro, Kunle Ajayi, Paul Adams, the popular Kunle of the rested "Checkmate" hit soap opera. To this end, these Gospel musicians pooled their resources, intellects, skills and talents together to achieve this herculean task.
They worked as a united front under the "Benny Hinn crusade music sub-committee". Other outstanding gospel musicians who massively supported their highly welcomed vision across the country included Sammie Okposo, the wellu-wellu exponent, Anne Inyang, Melody Emmason, the "nightingale", Dupe Olulana, Aity Dennis Inyang, Edward Orobosa, Johnny Bassey, ace producer-cum-sound engineer, Isaac Akuchie aka "Galilee Boy", the immediate past chairman of National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) of PMAN, Debbie Ajayi and Margaret Abara.
The Benny Hinn sub-committee, which was made up of over seventy, accomplished and up-coming Gospel artistes within Nigeria was the first feather in their cap of honours. The Sub-committee founding members used all their networks to mobilize the crème de la crème in the Nigeria music industiy to be part of the Sub-committee. That was how the sub-committee was enlarged with dedicated and industrious artistes within a month.
This sub-committee worked around the clock to raise the 5,000 Mass choir as mandated by the Central Working Committee headed by Bishop Lanre Obembe. The mass choir was under the able hands of Joe Tu-Nekero the Music Director of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) worldwide. Nekaro, the award-winning producer was the hit maker behind Broda Martins all time blockbuster - "Mushin Olosa". Since inception over two months ago, the Mass choir had several successful rehearsals both night (vigils) and day in preparation for the world-ranking crusade. They mastered all the songs sent in by Dr. Benny Hinn from the United States of America. This they performed creditably well at the crusade. Pastor Benny Hinn was impressed and incessantly commended the Mass choir. Infact, Dr. Marvin Sapp, the celebrated Gospel music superstar who led Pastor Benny Hinn's musical team from the US marvelled at the Mass choir's excellent rendition of the "imported" songs during their joint performance throughout the crusade.
The music sub-committee also auditioned and trained a "Praise Team", it was the "Praise Team" that led the multitude in praise and worship during the crusade. Onyeka Onwenu, Nigeria's lady of songs, coordinated the affairs of the Praise Team, which has a numerical strength of about 50 distinctly selected spiritual singers and worship leaders in Nigeria today. The Praise Team was the "Power house" that charged the spiritual atmosphere with sacred songs which drew down the presence of God before the visiting man of God mounted the pulpit for his ministrations.
God completed this spiritual exercise with stunning miracles, healing, salvation and deliverance as Dr. Hinn appealed to Him with prayers.
Besides this, the dogged music Sub-committee also recorded a masterpiece theme song for the crusade. The theme songs bad fantastic inputs from all members of the sub-committee. The established and budding artistes were fully involved in the project.
This uphill task took the committee over two months to cook. According to Rev. Bassey, who described it as the most herculean task in his 30 years of Gospel music ministry, said that this was as a result of their decision to use their God's given talent to compose original songs, instead of lifting songs as the vogue in Gospel music these days directs. The final work was done at Eko Reel-Mix studio Ikeja Lagos. The theme song entitled "Heal Our Land' was on air as the promotional tone for the crusade within and outside Nigeria. It was also beautifully performed with thunderous applause from the congregation .