A Sunday at Daystar Christian Centre

Sundays are without any doubt, referred to especially in this part of the world as the day of the Lord. Many Nigerians see it as another opportunity to either gather together to thank God for the week just past, pray for the week to come, especially if they are expecting a big miracle during the new week, listen to the word of God which is being preached or socialize and unite with their friends in church and in the course of doing so, show off their new clothing. Whatever the case may be, if there is one church that boasts of people who come to fulfill all these purposes, it is Daystar Christian Centre.

One of the stand-out qualities of the church is that it has within the space of ten years become what many describe as the church of the youths in Lagos. This is why every Sunday it hosts thousands of youths and young individuals who come from all over the state to worship God.
For the very few individuals, most likely those who belong to the aged population, who may not have heard of the Church Daystar Christian Centre before, it is located on Ikosi road, very close to 7up Bottling Company, where all the young people you see along that axis on Sundays in particular, throng to.

 
Long before now, I had always asked myself what Daystar was offering which has endeared it to most of the teeming youth population in Lagos that most other churches are not offering. Each time I asked the question, I never got a befitting answer.  For everyone I knew who attended the church, it was a just wonderful experience worshiping in Daystar Christian Centre. Some even went further to say that a visit to the church is unforgettable and will compel anyone to stay.

 
However, all they said were never enough to satiate my curiosity. Hence, I decided to visit the church to have a first-hand experience of what it is like to worship in Daystar; and see maybe I will never leave the church as some of those who spoke to me claimed.
Very early on this fateful Sunday morning, as early as 6:30am, I was on my way to the church. As soon as I arrived, I made way straight to the front so I can get a vantage view of whatever was going to happen that day. As soon as the first service started, I began to observe the awesome manner in which the service was organized. From the pastor who came to declare the service open to the way the choristers rendered their melodious tunes, it was obvious that there is something extra ordinary about the church. I began to see why it has become the hub for the teeming youth population in Lagos.

 
The first major thing you notice is the array of the young, elegant, beautiful ladies the church parades in their very skimpy gowns and skirts   Of a truth, the presence of those ladies, some of whom sandwiched me, to my right and to my left, can make even the most concentrated man lose concentration even in the most serious of circumstance.

 
However, one major thing I discovered is that it seemed as if I was the only one that got distracted at the sight of the beautiful ladies. Every other guy I could see around me seemed glued on what was going on in church, hence, I decided to stay focused on the service.
As soon as I got a fill of my eyes, I focused on the service. That was when I truly began to see what makes Daystar thick. Without any doubt, it was a Heaven on Earth experience which cannot easily be forgotten. Everything about the service that day was short, interesting, enticing and quick.
Incidentally, that Sunday was the church’s Children’s Sunday, to mark the children’s week. By the time the children began to perform for the congregation, it just seemed as if even the children have been taught the art of being the best at what they do. They made no mistakes in their music presentations and were faultless in their drama presentation. They simply could do nothing wrong. They performed excellently while at the same time exposed the fact that they were children under the age of 4 years old.

 
By the time the Pastor climbed the pulpit to preach, we had already gotten good value for our time. The message which was titled “Living in a Changed World” was another master class delivered by Pastor Adetumbi, one of the Pastors in Daystar Christian Centre. He delivered the word of God that day in a manner like no other. From his message, it was obvious that he is a man who knows his onions. It is clear that Pastor Sam Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor and founder of Daystar Christian Centre is a man who not only has a clear picture of where he is going, but has also been able to instill in his pastors that picture in a perfect way, so much that they can also run with the vision.

 
During the message, the pastor spoke at length on the expectations of the new government from its citizens, while stressing the need for the Nigerian citizen to also embrace a new attitude that would bring about the Nigeria we want to see and live in.
Within 30 minutes, the message was over and the choir gave a rendition that can only be described as heavenly, to close the service. By the time I looked at my wrist watch, we had just spent an hour and thirty minutes for the first service, and yet it seemed as if the service should not end.
I quickly asked the beautiful lady who sat beside me if there was going to be a second service and she said yes. I then decided to wait for the second service. The experience of the first service was something I wanted over and over again.

 
That Sunday, I attended four out of the five services the church holds on Sundays. As if that was not enough, the next Sunday, I was back again to Daystar, hoping for a repeat of my experience the previous Sunday, which I got to the fullest.
Now I know better, why a single visit to Daystar Christian Centre is all you need to make you stay and never leave the church. Just like those who tried to explain the experience to me and could not, finding the right words to aptly express my experience and the ambience of the mood in the church, has proven difficult. Words, for the first time, are simply not enough.