By Adeola Ogunlade
The need for the church to be intentional in mentorship and discipleship of content creators so that their works can glorify God came to the fore at the maiden edition of Creators Nexus held recently at DayStar Christian Centre in Lagos.
Creators Nexus is a special gathering designed to bring creatives, influencers, and content creators together for a day of networking, collaboration, and connection. It featured panel sessions, word rendition, interactive sessions, and prophetic impartation.
Speaking at the event, Nigerian comedian, and on-air personality, Woli Arole said that the need for the church to arise and mentor today’s creatives is imperative so we don’t lose new and emerging creatives to the world.
He said, “We have a wide margin of youths and creativity is the language they speak. We need to resonate with them, and engage and mentor them so their content will glorify God”.
“We need more kingdom influencers. We need more good, ethical, reasonable, and sensible content. There is a lot of energy among our youths that we need to channel it right”.
Arole, who started his craft over a decade ago, said that his desire as a young man was to be the light in his generation, adding that he was very intentional and got mentored by revered men of God which helped him to toe the path of grace and godliness.
On his part, an Assistant Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Ayorinde Adebello stressed that the church must acknowledge the fact that creativity is not just a gift but a ministry, and thus, the church should create a department, ministry, or a platform within the body of Christ so that we can give the youths a voice and they can be heard.
He noted that the creatives can pass the message of their gifting in a way that pastors may not be able to.
Earlier, in his words, the Resident Pastor of Celebration Church International, Ibadan, Pastor Tomiwa Immanuel said that the creatives need a hold on discipleship in a local assembly so that they don’t stray and find themselves with a strange form of inspiration that brings strange kinds of content.
Also speaking at the event, the Managing Partner/CEO of SwiftThink Limited called for effective collaboration among players in the creative industry so that they can forge a formidable force for greater impact.
He cautions Christian Creatives against using their skills for entertainment, saying that their gifts were given to them by God and thus, they must use them to glorify his name at all times,
In her opening speech, the Convener of Nexus Conference, Moromoluwatiketike Abolaji, said Creators Nexus aims to create a space where like-minded individuals gather to share ideas, exchange experiences, and forge meaningful connections.
“We are building a community of strong Christians and reminding each other that we are not alone in this race but we can lean on each other shoulders. Distraction is one of my biggest concerns and is a burden I share and we have to address it”, Abolaji said.
She added that the church remains a safe space for the creatives, noting that the church should encourage creatives, support them with funds, and pray for them at every given time.
She charged the creatives to belong to a local church, serve there, and stay focused on the God-given mandate for their lives.