Vanessa Obioha
Following the decision to host The Experience Lagos — an annual gospel event — virtual, Head Pastor of the Rock Cathedral, Paul Adefarasin, has underscored the importance of technology in a pandemic-riddled year.
According to the convener of the event which is in its 15th edition, the pandemic provided an avenue for the church to globalise the gospel by videography and internet.
“Virtual expression offers us a wider reach to take the message to the uttermost parts of the earth, and also to un-intrusively enter into people’s homes in a private and personal manner where we can speak to them in a private setting. And so the church, though it was locked down as far as public place gathering was concerned, God opened up a church in every single home that tunes into all these messages from various churches that were ready at the time or got ready soon after the pandemic lockdown,” he said during a press briefing recently.
He disclosed that the Rock Cathedral saw a 5,000 per cent increase in attendance during the lockdown period.
“We’re going to see going forward that churches will now become savvy to technology and recognise that it’s an important platform for expressing the gospel, and it helps us to speak the gospel in an accelerated way.”
The clergyman also revealed that he’s been entertaining the thought of having a digital simulcast of The Experience for five years now. With the pandemic disrupting travels, an opportunity to reach a global audience through the digital platform presented itself. Some of the gospel artistes billed for the event holding today, December 11, include Donnie McClurkin, Don Moen, Sheldon Bangera, Chevelle Franklin, Travis Greene, Nathaniel Bassey and Sinach.
