Should Gospel Ministers Charge for their Ministrations?

Recently, Pastor Chris Oyakilomeh of Christ Embassy must have stirred the hornet’s nest when he lambasted gospel singers who had seemingly left his Church to sing in other churches, because of their pursuits for money and earthly materials.

While the pastors on their side believe gospel artistes should not charge for their ministrations, some gospel singers would not agree with the pastors noting they also need to spend money to build and develop themselves before they could reach the acceptable standards for those pastors that need them.

It is believed that if you make yourself cheap to the pastors they would not bother to lift you up. Some pastors are even accused of abandoning their gospel singer church members who are yet to make names and go for the high flying popular ones who would help them attract the calibre of audience or congregation they need.

How Many of those Singers are Soul Winners? – Pastor Chris Oyakhilomeh

Pastor Chris, in an interview monitored by PTL News had called such gospel singers names, believing many of them don’t work for God but for themselves.

He had asked, “How Many of those Singers are Soul Winners? They are not soul winners. They lead songs in the Church, when it’s the time for prayers they walk out. They go another Church to do another song. They are professionals, making money from the Church, charging for their singing, pretending they are singing praise to God. It’s all a charade.

“Many of the pastors don’t know that it is the world coming to the Church, and they help to celebrate. I did at the beginning. When I changed they refused to change with me. I had to let them go. It was God that got my attention that that was not the way.

“The church missed its ways, how many of those singers are souls winners? They are professionals charging money for their service, and many of the pastors didn’t know that the world was coming to the church, and they help to celebrate them. I did in the beginning, when I changed they did not want to change. I had to let them go.

“So I came back to tell them that if anybody had come to celebrate you, I did it. I said, now the Lord wanted us to do the right thing from the scripture. Now, they had become too popular, and they were making some money which was not big money, they didn’t know what big money is.  But the little money they were making was too attractive to them. Their hearts were over charged. They didn’t want to follow me in the direction that I go. They made a detour. I hope they all repent, and I told them the direction they were going was a wrong direction, and one day, those churches they go to do special songs for them would stop inviting them once those churches repent and start doing the right thing too, they would close their doors.”

Pastor Chris, of course has his blame for the Church which has been an encouragement to the artistes who have become uncontrollable to the pastors who groomed them from the beginning.

He added, again, “I told you in 2021 how it happened, the Church was playing games, the Church lost their way of worship, the Church was returned to fan places not the place of prayer where God’s word was truly celebrated. No! Everything changed. The music in the church became worldly and the dance itself was to celebrate themselves not God. How many of those singers were soul winners? They are not soul winners.

“I told you what the service of God was to be like, for true worship. Those people going from place to place parading themselves that they are worship leaders, there is nothing like that. They are not worship leaders. That ministry doesn’t exist. The only one who had role like that was fired by God, it was Satan. True praise is in the house of God not some ministers travelling from place to place collecting money and they say they are worship leaders. There is nothing like that. Don’t give him money, don’t pay, that minister will retire quickly. Let us follow the things of the spirit as it taught us. It told us to pray always. True saints of God should give time to pray, they should love to pray, they should be watchful in the spirit. They should be soul winners. They should love the house of God. They should be passionate about the house of God, and be attracted to the things of God.

What we pass through in the hands of Pastors – Artistes

The gospel artistes also have their own stories to tell which has painted many pastors as greedy, selfish, uncaring and show of some wickedness.

A gospel band, has this to say, “If we tell you what our eyes saw in the hands of some host Pastors you will change topic. Do you know how many times we collect many cheques and nothing in the account of the church? Do you know many times we have to start calling friends and relatives to send money to us for us to come back home from ministrations?….Do you know how many times host Pastors will switch off their phones after programmes and no one to attend to us again? Our eyes have seen a lot” lament Arambada Twins.

From this point of view, it was suggested that it would not be out of place for some artistes not only to charge engagement fees but ensure that the charges are paid before setting out.

Artistes Should be rewarded after service – Reactions

In a response, Kingsley Obom-Egbulem, a pastor, media practitioner and a public affair commentator wrote on his social media handle, in response to Pastor Chris’s outburst. “A talent should be rewarded in a way commensurate with that talent. That is the only way to nurture talent, not leaving it to chance and the whim or goodwill of others. There is no debate over this. Performing is how they earn a living and fulfill their career aspiration. Music artistes have a short span to make it big before they fizzle out. So you must leverage your time in the limelight. We should understand that the current Christian practice is not the same as the one done by the early apostles. Early Christian practice did not support sole ownership of churches, where the GO was the lord and master of all. That is the real problem when a man becomes the orthodoxy, unquestionable. That is travesty,” thereby supporting that artistes should be paid for their services.

Also commenting, Abayomi Obabolujo, a business man and an investment analyst has this to add, “The truth is…Everything the musicians do are the lessons learnt from the Pastors. Every tree grows from a root. If you want to know the source of the character or fruits of a tree, look at the root. Don’t the Pastors use these musicians to pull crowd to their church and special programs and in turn, raise the funds to support their luxury lifestyles? If so, they must pay the musicians well. Don’t other Pastors charge? Some Pastors will even demand first class ticket, highbrow hotel and such before they accept to come preach, why not music ministers? Music ministers actually have costs- instrumentalists and back-up singers will always collect money. If the music minister doesn’t charge, how will the supports be paid? Is Pastor Chris saying that these music ministers should go make money out there and come render services free to his church while he reaps all the benefits? He should come off it please. He’s not making any sense.”

Pastors should maintain the balance and their integrity with their gospel music ministers

To others like Oluyinka Gbadamosi  the pastors should maintain the balance and their integrity with their gospel music ministers, basing his arguments on the billing of churches before honouring invites, placing value on their performances and isolating themselves from the program they’re attending, and relegating concern for souls.

He submitted, “It is okay to have standard, it’s probably okay to ask what the host has in stock, especially for those who have been left stranded by hosts in the past. It doesn’t fit the gospel to insist on millions or any fees, specific accommodation, and class of flight before stepping out. It is equally as bad for their hosts to promise an amount and disappoint them. Some churches hope to use the musicians to raise funds from which they’ll be paid. Some musicians have had to hire instrumentalists who were disappointed at the end of the “show”, because the church only handed a full envelope of “bless you”.

Continuing, Gbadamosi further explained, “It doesn’t also feel right to be using secular instrumentalists in gospel music. Some instrumentalists are only in the church for lack of alternative. Those ones can burn the building because of Five Thousand Naira.”

Sharing his own experience, he disclosed, “I anchor events and I see how detached plenty instrumentalists and guest singers are from whatever is going on. They have attitude of “just call me, let me perform and go elsewhere”. I do not judge them, but wish they make Christian gatherings different from other assemblies.”

He recommended that “The church and pastors need to be sincere in their dealings, the “guest artistes” have to prioritize the gospel itself above the business of their talents.”

There is difference between Music Ministry and Music Industry – Nathaniel Bassey

Also sharing his own experienced as a music minister, Nathaniel Bassey, a globally recognized accomplished music minister, in a seminar shared how he also minister and live his life without placing premium charges of his host pastors and church, noting there is difference between Music Ministry and Music Industry.

He explained, “The Music Ministry is about rendering sacred service, first to God and later to His people. The Levites in the Old Testament were called to minister first to God and later to His people. But the Music Industry is about rendering entertainment. It’s different.  In music industry you have celebrity mentality. When you are called as a music minister you have a servant heart.

“The Music Ministry is about Jesus, but the Music industry is about the artiste, the artiste is the one in focus. The Music ministry is about pleasing the Lord, but the music industry is about pleasing the fans. If you don’t understand these things, then you act anyhow.

“In Industry, it’s about your image, your panache, ministry is about God’s name, His name is your brand. Industry it’s about CD sales, the chats, the hits, but in ministry it’s about His glory, the souls of men and the kingdom. How you see yourself determines how you act.

“If you have a celebrity mentality, ‘you have a pay me, I want to charge’ mentality because it is about you, but if you have a ministry mentality you know that you are called, you are a servant, who is called to minister to wait on Him, and to wait on His people. So how you see yourself is important. The strong sense of your calling influences your attitude.”

He later listed out how he has been managing his personal and ministerial life with no one affecting the other, and why he doesn’t charge his hosts.

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