The Experience is a phenomenon that has come to stay! Hosted by House On The Rock (HOTR) church in Nigeria, in partnership with other ministries including The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Daystar Christian Centre, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Christian Association of Nigeria, Guiding Light Assembly, Global Harvest, media house - HiTV and many others.
The first in the series of this first-of-its-kind event was held on Friday, 1st of December, 2006. According to the convener of this epoch in Christian concerts in Nigeria, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, only twenty thousand worshippers were expected to be a part of that first edition, which eventually attracted about eighty thousand people. The second edition which was held on the 30th of November, 2007 brought more people than the organisers could have wished for as the number rose to two hundred and fifty thousand!
It was only wise that the organisers re-arrange the venue to accommodate more people as more and more Nigerians heard about the event and planned ahead of time to be there, even when they had to travel several hours by road! The Experience 3 played host to about five hundred thousand worshippers and that number was not depleted in spite of the heavy rains that came sometime after midnight and lasted till a few hours before day-break. The resilient spirit of Nigerians was on display for the world when men and women cleared their chairs, rolled up their sleeves and trousers and got dancing in committed praise of the Most High. The Experience 3 held and was successful in spite of the rain.
2009 came, and the mammoth crowd that gathered at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), the event venue, for The Experience (number 4) was more than could be numbered. It was indeed a carnival of sorts as the main-bowl of TBS was filled to capacity, and the cricket pitch served for the overflow. The organisers of the event had made arrangements for big screens to be placed everywhere with the feed from cameras that covered the stage and large parts of the venue.
The vision of The Experience was birthed in House On The Rock when a group came together with a burden for a gathering of Nigerians to serve the purposes of contemporary praise, worship and warfare for our beloved country, Nigeria. The choice of TBS as venue is borne out of the sentiment of its place in Nigeria’s history as the home of its independence.
Some of the local and international artistes that The Experience has played host to include Donnie McClurkin, Kurt Carr, Midnight Crew, Kirk Franklin, Bebe & Cece Winans, Tye Tribbett and Dekunle Fuji. Bishop T. Dexter Jakes has also been a part of The Experience.
The most recent edition, The Experience 2010 (number 5), has no doubt set a new standard for concerts all around the world. Its chronicles are given below:
As at 5pm, 60% of the seats in the main-bowl of TBS had been completely taken up, yet the entrances had large numbers of people passing through them – and in orderly fashion too! A good number of volunteers under the aegis of the Rock Foundation Force (RFF) lined the streets of Lagos Island around and about the venue to ensure orderliness of pedestrians and automobiles, and provide direction for attendees. Men of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) were also on hand to give their support. The sound of whistles and vuvuzelas came from all angles and could only be drowned by the occasional blasts of the speakers during the sound-checks by the guest ministers.
By 6pm, the arena was bursting with energy and was almost packed full - but the queue of people entering was endless still!
At 7.05pm, the voice of Victor Oladokun came through the speakers to charge the people further, as Rev Victor Adeyemi led the opening prayer. Then came Chosen Treasures, led by the duo Nikki Laoye & Timi Dakolo, taking Kurt Carr’s “In the Sanctuary”, and Cece Winans’ “He’s a Wonder”. IK Osakioduwa’s voice was something of an interruption as he chose to remind the crowd of the “crew on-board The Experience’s flight”.
At 7.28pm, Minister Lionel Peterson came up to take the worship further with numbers such as “Peace” and “Lift Up Your Eyes”. The Experience crowd was whao-ed when Peterson sang Nigerian “Kabi O osi”. It was the turn of singer-cum-comedian Gordons and Yaw to interrupt the flow session about 17minutes later with the introduction of Sammie Okposo.
A small test of patriotism was raised when Okposo began singing the 2nd verse of the Nigerian national anthem. He then led The Experience in a series of indigenous songs, some of which are his.
The first session of prayers was held after the leading of Anglican Bishop Joe Musa and Barrister Emeka Nwapa for Electricity, Infrastructure and Power.
The sound of traditional drums – gangan and bata – along with the shekere being swung by the backup lady singers marked the beginning of Mike Aremu’s session. His mastery of the saxophone was the juice for the Afrocentric session which lasted about 20minutes.
Pastor Anselm Madubuko & Baptist Pastor Amos led the second session of prayers, praying for the unity of the body of Christ and against denominational barriers.
It was 8.47pm when the voice of IK brought upstage a man who is arguably the father of ‘gospel’ music in Nigeria, Minister Panam Percy Paul. ‘Apostle’ Paul then led the church in some of the songs that have been used in God’s praise in Nigeria for many years. For 28minutes, the sight of young and relatively old people alike climbing on chairs, and hands waving in the air is all there was to behold as the sound of singing filled the air.
The convener of The Experience, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, made an early appearance on in the night as he was called upon to receive the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola. Fashola commended the efforts of the host church and partner churches in the logistics and security put in place for the event.
Micah Stampley brought his unique touch of vocal pitch in musical warfare at 9.30pm with “War Cry”, and then to the prophetic with “Heaven On Earth”. That pitch went on to a higher level of worship in “Take My Life”.
Stampley’s ministration paved way for an address by Bishop John Francis of Ruach Ministries, London on “The Law of Agreement”.
10.12pm marked time for Jamaican Chevelle Franklin to put the reggae in Nigeria’s national anthem. She proceeded in the Jamaican style with “Days of Elijah”. House On The Rock’s Onos Bikawei enjoyed her moment of fame when her hit song, “Dance”, was performed by her with Franklin’s band with a reggae twist. Next, the lady whose voice was on Shabba Rank’s “Mr. Loverman” did a medley of “Oseiye”, Midnight Crew’s “Igwe” and got The Experience singing “Good Shepherd: You laid down your life for me”, “Be Glorified” and “Thank You” as she exited the stage.
It was an energetic Pastor Taiwo Odukoya who climbed the stage at 10.46pm to lead a prophetic session of prayers for LIFE for families. Dr. Felix Omobude then prayed that reproach, shame, disgrace and sickness would be far removed from Nigeria.
It was 11.04pm when Fred Hammond came in with “Awesome God” off his “Love Unstoppable” album. “Spirit of David” came next, but it was only a teaser, and intro to an undiluted rock version of “He Lives”. Worship then took The Experience from “Lord, How I Love You”, to “Agnus Dei”, “How Great is our God”, “No Weapon”, and a funkified “You Are the Living Word”, ending in a solemn cry of “Jesus”. Freddie signed out with his remake of traditional “This is the Day” and a medley of “Blessed” and “Glory to Glory”.
The prelate of Word of Life Bible Church, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor was called afterwards to lead a prayer for peace and unity in Nigeria. This he did while reading the riot act to the enemies of peace in the nation.
A media presentation followed on the multimedia screens with seasoned ministers and church leaders advocating for Christians to register and participate in the 2011 voting exercise.
Pastor Paul Adefarasin was back at 12.11am to recognise and celebrate the efforts of the 5,000-plus volunteers who with the HOTR team & collaborating churches and pastors made varying degrees of sacrifices to make The Experience a reality. Pastor Paul then called his four siblings as they honoured their 86-year old mother, Mrs. Hilda Adefarasin for her years of ceaseless prayers which made them all and prepared ground for The Experience.
A beautiful rendition of Nigeria’s national anthem by Phil Driscoll, Onos Bikawei & Micah Stampley heralded the appearance of the nation’s president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the multimedia screens. He congratulated the organisers on putting together the biggest concert in Africa. After the address, Pastor Paul expressed the willingness of the president to have come in person, but that he was dissuaded on the grounds of the negative impact his security detail could have had on the attendance of the event.
At 12.40am, 63-year old international trumpeter, Phil Driscoll’s 51 years on the instrument came to bear on “Amazing Grace” and “Majesty”, with an extempore rendition, ending with prayers for Nigeria. Driscoll’s session ended with “Lord, You’ve been so good to me” and “I Exalt Thee”, which his son, Jamie’s, trained voice joined him in.
TREM’s Bishop Mike Okonkwo took the next prayer session, praying for the Niger-Delta region while Voice of Adonai’s Collin Adeboboye prayed for the persecuted brethren in northern Nigeria and the forthcoming elections.
At 1.30am, Judy Jacobs came up-stage with “Lift Up the Name of Jesus”, “Turn Around”, Rain Down” and a season of worship with “Here I Am to Worship” & “Spirit of the Living God”. Judy peaked with “Days of Elijah” before exiting the stage.
Victor Oladokun briefly defined leadership as “the use of influence to take people on a journey they would/could otherwise not have taken” before calling on the senior pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, whose prayer declared the end of an era and the beginning of a new one devoid of corruption, and filled with vision & integrity.
The president of The Rock Foundation Ministries, Damilola Oluwatoyinbo, came up next to lead the youth to pray for Nigeria’s future. Oluwatoyinbo prayed through the words of the 2nd verse of the Nigerian national anthem, but only after acknowledging the words and efforts of the “fathers” and “mothers”.
At 2.21am, the voice of IK introduced Ron Kenoly, who came with “Hallowed be thy name”, “Jesus is Alive” and “Ancient of Days”, bringing back memories of his best-selling album, “Lift Him Up”. A reggae fusion of “Jesus is a winner man” and “I’ve Got My Mind made up” came next. And then Kenoly became a Nigerian as he took “You are the Pillar that holds my life” and “I just want to say, ‘Baba o E se’”. For the first time, Ron Kenoly shared the stage with Israel Houghton when he took “Jehovah, You are the Most High” which culminated in “Alpha & Omega”, to end the session.
It was at this point that the mammoth crowd was informed that the event was being broadcast live by HiTV and streamed online as well.
Gordons and MC Abbey then came to crack a few jokes while the stage was being set for Don Moen and his crew. The worship leader’s voice came through at 3.04am with “Our Father”. Don Moen looked ever so young as he swung into a prophetic moment of healing, singing “I AM the Lord that healeth thee”. Then the row of “Thank You, Lord”, “Lord, I offer my life”, “I just wanna be”, “Arise”, “I Will Sing”, “He Never Sleeps” and “Still”. He picked a moment to pray for Nigeria with Isaiah 43 before singing “God will make a way”.
Shock came the way of Don Moen when one of the strings of his violin snapped, just as “God is Good” was to start. When the time came for the violin solo, his guitarist and bassist were so magnificent as to fill in for the violin, as was the maestro, Tom Brooks, who killed the moment in a few seconds of sheer excellence. Alas, the violin could still produce the required notes, so Don Moen played the well-known solo.
Bishop Tudor Bismark, head of Jabula – New Life Ministries, Zimbabwe, was brought up by his host at 3.50am. Bishop Bismark’s message was a declaration of restoration of kingdom government, kingdom finance and kingdom inheritance.
‘All the doors came open’ at 4.02am, as Rev Victor Adeyemi gave the altar call alongside Pastor Paul Adefarasin, who recounted how his drug-abusive life came to an end 27years ago when he made the decision to accept Jesus Christ.
At 4.21am, Tina & Erica Campbell (nee Atkins) hit the crowd with “In the Morning”, “Heaven”, “Something Big Done Happen to Me”, “Can’t Give Up Now”, “Yesterday” and a MaryMary arrangement of “Amazing Grace”. Upbeat “God In Me” & “Shackles” came only after Tina had done justice to Fred Hammond’s “No Weapon”. And MaryMary left the stage.
Friend-of-God Israel Houghton came next, singing “Here I Am to Worship”, “Lord You Are Good”, “All around”, “Trading my sorrows” and “Rejoice in the Lord Always”. Then came raga-styled “With Long Life”, and declarations of ‘You will live’, ‘His report says you are filled’ and ‘You have victory’. Houghton relived primary school memories for many when he sang “I have decided to follow Jesus”, leading up to “Moving Forward” and a thick Arabian infusion in “Not Forgotten”. Israel then took an early exit, leaving his band members to finish off at 5.45am.
The comedians were back, helping to crack a few ribs and putting a few chairs out of place as a result of the uncontrollable laughter of many. This preceded the introduction of Papa San at 5.55am. And the morning was opened up to a free-flow of reggae and raga for another 30-sum minutes, ensuring a full session of a rewarding Experience.
Some of the Nigerian dignitaries at The Experience 2010 are Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, Mrs. Adebisi Sosan, Mrs. Bisi Alao-Akala, Mrs. Julie Amaechi, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, Hon. Justice Adefowope Okojie, Professor & Mrs. Aboaba, Bishop Lanre Obembe, Rev. Yomi Kasali and Mr. Ben Akabueze.
