Aderemi Dabiri, the founder of Celestial Church of Christ, Land of Goshen, Lagos, says he invited singers Pasuma and Portable to their event to win souls for Christ.
In November, the Lagos-based church came under fire after Portable and Pasuma were announced as the headliners for its praise night scheduled to be held on December 15.
Reacting to the backlash, Olatosho Oshoffa, leader of the church’s international headquarters, said he had informed Dabiri not to allow the musicians to perform at the event.
However, Portable revealed that he received N5 million from the church and insisted that he would perform at the event.
In the heat of the controversy, Dabiri said the decision to have the artistes perform was a strategic move to attract “unbelievers”.
He also said he had previously welcomed several new members with this evangelism style.
“It is not our first time inviting guest artistes. We have been doing it without a problem and I can give you a series of instances,” he said.
“I noticed that there are some notorious boys who cause trouble in the community, disturbing the authorities and engaging in cultism.
“I wondered how can we draw their attention so that they would have a change of heart. We have gone to places where they are and they ended up beating us.
“Most of the members of my church are new converts and it was through that pattern that I converted them.”
He said he prefers secular musicians over gospel artistes because they are “more respectful”.
“Some gospel ministers are rude. If you talk to some of them, they respond rudely, but the day I called Pasuma, he sounded respectful on the phone and also agreed with my stance,” he said.
While acknowledging concerns raised by the church’s task force, Dabiri said he is committed to reducing the “excesses” of the performers, particularly Portable.
“We will tell Portable not to dye his hair and he should not sing vulgar songs but to sing gospel music. We will also caution him not to dress inappropriately or climb the speakers,” he added.
“We will also warn him not to allow his boys to smoke here. We have invited close to 30 military personnel to man the event.”
Dabiri also appealed for support from the larger Celestial Church community, stating that he wanted to continue this evangelism style to grow the church.
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