Praise and Worship BW calls for entries
Spira Tlhankane | Thursday January 28, 2016 18:00
The project manager, Gugu Mavuma, told Showbiz the reason for all this is that gospel artists in Botswana have been neglected. “These artists struggle a lot because they are not given the same opportunities as others,” he said. Mavuma said they want to turn things around for gospel in 2016 and start at grassroots level.
“It is going to be one of the biggest concerts in our country and it will also be a competition that will give back to churches,” he said. Mavuma said churches are not united despite serving the same God. He said the event will bring together all churches and at the same time uplift the praise and worship teams.
He said the participating teams will be given three songs.
“The first one will be a song of their own choice, the second will be chosen for them and they have a chance to rehearse it. The third one will be a random song chosen by the judges so the team should be spontaneous enough to perform it right there,” he said. Mavuma said scouts from outside will be there to spot outstanding individuals who show passion for gospel.
For his part, Samuel Kealotswe of Grembo Security said the event is advantageous because it is not restricted to certain people. “Anyone can come and you can even bring the whole family,” he said.
Kealotswe indicated that they want to come up with a team in the end. “We want to build a team that can travel the world and become like Spirit of Praise and Joyous Celebration,” he said.
Mavuma added that the group will be called Bots Praise and Worship International. “It will be a group that we are all proud of, a team that can inspire our children,” he said.
Mavuma highlighted that they want to sit down with churches and inform them about the whole process. He said at the moment they are open to any number but on the night only 20 churches will perform and the winner will be crowned. “There will be a process to narrow it down and the public will be engaged to help,” he said. Kealotswe was quick to advise churches to refrain from hiring music experts in the name of winning. “We want churches to use their own members because it can also help them grow rather than hiring someone from outside,” he highlighted.
Mavuma said after registering, the main judge, Lesole, will guide the teams. “They will be looking at stage presence, attire, creativity, passion,” he said. He said they are not excluding any church as long as they have what it takes. “We don’t allow anyone to play for different churches,” he said. Mavuma said gospel is in different forms but they are leaving churches to outdo themselves.