Applying the Winning Card: A Night of 365+1 Electrifying Hallelujahs.
(A Report from an Outsider)

The story of how God has been using Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran came to many as a surprise. Like the stories of the Apostles in the time past; the generational pilots that weathered so many storms in ministries. And in similitude to the journey of life, packed with twists, turns, flips and spins. The success and the spiritual exploit of this young, energetic, ebullient and multi-talented man of God came to me and many other people with mix feelings. To some, hardly would you find ‘a man of God’ with such a huge success that will not be relying on one ‘demonic power’ or the other. And of course, the reality and the experience of some people in the hands of these ‘so-called men of God’/ ‘Churchpreneurs’ have produced nothing but a justification for such an irritating, filthy, repulsive and horrible experience.
The story of this renowned evangelist also caught his people at home and lots of people around him as a big surprise. Also, judging from their understanding of who He was and his transformation within a few years. And because of his generosity and the unflinching desire to get the needy around him out from the iron cage of poverty, a lot of them; even the beneficiaries of his philanthropic gestures concluded that ‘he must have been using their glory’! And when your success becomes unexplainable and unfathomable to people around you, they simply formulate rumour that suits their fantasies.
So, as an outsider, I decided to take a cursory look at his activity. My own observation was not meant to confirm or refute what people are saying, but to know the secret of his success. However, I know one thing for sure, there is no success without a secret. Every successful man, either in the secular world or in the ministry has one secret or the other. So when I heard about a night of 365 Hallelujahs, I said to myself, I have never heard anything like that in history. Could this be one of his secrets? So I decided to embark on a six-hour journey to Lagos, with the hope of finding answer to my enquiry. Knowing full well that strange and spectacular events produce specific and spectacular testimonies.
But just before I arrived in Lagos, I took the advantage of the internet to see if there is any information on the internet about the event or previous editions. Interestingly, my Google search provided me with a very good insight into the genesis of a night of 365 hallelujahs. From it, I discovered that the event was not just one of the artificially created, crowd-sourcing, crowd-funding and money-making platforms in the street of Lagos just to raise money from the worshipers but a prophetic platform, created by God to provide day-by-day victory for all the participants in the coming year. From the online information that I read, I also got to know that a night of 365 Hallelujahs was a request from God to Pastor Olaitan.
In his words; ‘in 2002, during the December Let’s Go A-Fishing- an evangelical outreach of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, held at the Ikorodu Town Hall and Daddy G.O., Pastor E.A Adeboye, was to minister, but the rug on the podium had lost its honour as a result of age and use. To me, the carpet was misfit and there was an urge within me to do something. I ask my pastor if we could change it, and I left and went to get a brand new rug with the money I borrowed from a friend. After the programme I took the carpet, which became my prayer mat as well as my most prized possession until age caught up with it,’ he stated.
According to the young evangelist, while Daddy G.O., was preaching on the rug, he was praying silently that God should also use him to gather people to praise him, but for ten years nothing happens until God required a gift from him. In his words, “when God said he would require a gift from me, I thought it was monetary until He told me to gather people to praise Him in a single night and shout 365 Halleluiah for each day of the coming year. So, Convocation to Praise is a prophecy fulfilled. The one held last year had mass choir of 800 people and God showed forth Himself, and it was a moment of joy and deliverance for the thousands of worshipers who participated,’ he affirmed.
For me, the statement came with mix feelings! While the story was a fascinating one, the concluding part, which stated that ‘the one held last year had mass choir of 800 people’ seems to me as an ad and public relation stunt. So I asked, could this have been hyped just to bring people to the event? You know, believing what you read on the pages of newspaper is one of the most difficult things for me these days.
With this state of mind, I decided to get to the event earlier than scheduled. And when I entered Ikorodu Town hall, the venue of the event around 1. Pm, I said ‘who is going to sit on all these chairs? As if a nearby worker was hearing how I was interrogating myself, she responded by telling her co-worker that the chairs would not be enough.
At this point, my doubt on the veracity of the online information was beginning to fade away. While I was trying to read my novel while waiting for the event to commence, I saw one of the most popular actors in Nigeria, sweating profoundly as he joined others in putting things together. In admiration and amazement, I said, so both the big and small, the famous and unknown also serve God here! The zeal and passion with which the ushers, protocols and all workers were working to give the event a befitting outlook could best be described as excellent. For the first time in my life, I saw an array of workers who gave their best in stewardship and whose service were unto God and not to the man of God. I said to myself, indeed, these people are faithful servants and not the ‘facefull’ ones.
Finally, the hour came. One after the other, worshipers were trooping in while the mass choirs were also trying to demonstrate how the stage would best suit them. The altar was professionally and aesthetically decorated. Looking at the efforts and money that was put into the event, I said, Pastor Olaitan would need the service of a professional fund raiser to encourage, or inspire these large crowds to donate large sum of money in order to meet up with the operational cost for the event that was streamed live on the internet and on Dove Television. However, to my disappointment, (although a positive one) offering was collected once, and worshipers were not in any way or in any form persuaded or coerced to give special offerings or pay sacrificial vows.
The beautifully decorated stage and the entire venue were set on fire by a group of young, artistic, energetic and spirited dancers known as the ‘Footprints of David’. These young dancers were so vast and knowledgeable in the Hausa dialect and cultural disposition. From their attractive cultural attires to their flawless demonstration of the rich Hausa cultural heritage in praising the lord. They declared the event opened with such a memorable rhythmic dancing step.
This particular section unseated many worshipers as they all struggled to catch a glimpse on these music maestros as they were intelligently manoeuvring bicycle in displaying their dancing prowess. The bicycle ballet attracted a lot of the participants as the Footprints of David unconsciously entangled the audience by exploring the highs and gritty lows of cycling. The choreographic fuse dance and physical theatre with visual spectacles and striking soundtracks transformed the atmosphere from the confines of carnality to that of spirituality.
The children and youth choirs in their hundreds were beautifully and colourfully dressed as they enthusiastically added glamour and glaze to the event. These elegant and chic dancers took us through the names of God in different languages. The uniqueness of the mass choir was another astonishing aspect. They were indeed, the engine room of that event. These talented musical virtuosos, looked absolutely stunning in their native dress that was carefully and moderately cut in modern and trendy styles. From vivacious voices to vibrant vocalisation of sacred songs, the whole atmosphere was lighted by the divine illumination of the power of God. The presence of God was visibly observable. Indeed, God inhabits the praises of his people.
But wait, why the shout of Hallelujah was significant and why the event was different from other praise nights organised by other churches? Even though the world Hallelujah is used every day by virtually all the Christians in the world today, the world Hallelujah only appeared 24 times in the bible. The English dictionary translates it to mean ‘Praise the Lord’. Hallelujah means basically, ‘Praise, You, The, Lord; Halle-Praise, lu-you, Jah-The Lord, portion of Yahweh. This important word is the only word that fully crosses all languages. No matter where you go in the world, the same actual world is used.
Looking at it from the way the world Hallelujah is used in the Revelation chapter 19, Hallelujah is more than just a simple praise word. It is also used to describe the ultimate victory praise when God’s supremacy shines through and defeats His enemies. Looking at it from these two perspectives, Convocation to Praise is indeed, a night of victory and a night of praise. And when it was time for testimony, a lot of faith boosting testimonies were shared. From HIV/AIDS disappearance to the termination of 18-years barrenness. Also, in a short but impactful sermon, titled ‘Busy for Nothing’, the worshipers were also charged to be productive and no just to be busy for nothing.
The shout of 365+1 electrifying Hallelujahs came in five different sections of 73 each with different anointed men of God prophesying into people’s situation. And as Elaine Hussey reminds us, ‘to live abundantly, you have to race toward the future with arms and heart wide open’. As the participants raised their arms and heart to the lord, they are miraculously walking into the New Year with the assurance of victory for the challenges ahead. So, Convocation to Praise was indeed, a night to thank God for what he has done and to declare victory over foreseeable and unimaginable challenges in the coming year.
In conclusion, looking at the large crowd and perfect organisation of the event, a man that was sitting beside me asked his friend in rhetorically disbelieving tone again and again, are you sure this program was organised by a single Zone in the Redeemed Christian Church of God? With more than 50, 000 worshipers and the whole place filled to capacity with thousands of worshipers hanging around nearby streets. It was at this point that I said to myself, assuredly, if the vision is of the lord, its reality cannot be denied by men. And if the instruction is divine, its manifestation will come with living testimonies. As the multitude of people were finding their ways out from the venue of the event, I said, there is no way you will organise this kind of event that God will not visit you in a special way. And for the participants, who have already thanked God for each day of the coming year, God is too faithful to fail them. They have already applied the winning card!

Oluwagbohunmi Aduralere writes from Ado Ekiti.

praise God!