Why gospel ministers must promote God’s kingdom, not running after material wealth – Kaywonder

Kayode Solomon Eludiwura aka Kaywonder speaks on his journey in the gospel music and offers advice to his colleagues on what should be their role.

I began my music career long before I got into the ministry. I was into both secular and gospel music. It was only a divine calling that got me into full gospel music. And I have never had to regret my decision. The first album was released in 2012 titled ‘His Excellency’. But my first hit was the ‘Flood Gates of Heaven’ featuring Oni Kokoro Orun, Gbani gbani, Ore t’ẹṣe and lots of other tracts. Many regarded the album as my first but it wasn’t. But it no doubt brought me into limelight.

The journey has not been easy but when God is your compass, He makes it easy for you to whether your storm. He roundly has been awesome and faithful.

One critical challenge faced in gospel music has been the issue of sponsorship. Only a few sponsors are willing to support the course of the gospel unlike the secular music where sponsorship is more frequent and regular. Companies, corporate establishments and individuals usually tend to support and sponsor secular music because of its appeal to the public.

Music and songs in general are meant to entertain, communicate, inform and influence the society in certain direction. But in a state of moral depravity and spiritual decadence that we witness today, there is a need for social re-awakening and spiritual re-engineering to reconstruct our society with standardized values and reconnect us back to God. This is what our songs and music seek to do. The church through the gospel music must be at the vanguard of this movement by becoming a beacon of light in the midst of darkness. The church needs revival to be attuned to God – we need to turn to Jesus – the foundation and bedrock of this desired change we crave in our society and our nation.

Whatever achievements we have made, none could have been possible without God. He is our source and strength. Sticking to this call wouldn’t have been possible if He had not given us the grace to do so. But more importantly is knowing who has called. My conviction is grounded in the fact that faithful is the one who also will do it. He never has failed us. He has always shown Himself strong. We as well believe in His promises just like Abraham did.

It is absolute truth that no man is perfect. We all strive towards it. However, there are certain pitfalls we gospel ministers must be conscious to avoid. The scriptures admonishes us to look unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. He is our source and provider. This is why our goal should be to promote the kingdom of God and not in the quest for just material possessions and fame. All these other things are what the Bible says will be additions if we follow His lead. Gone are the days when the world would come to the church to learn new ideas. These days, the church goes to the world to learn new ideals to be infused into the Gospel. We must strive to to reverse this trend.