Lagos — Their visit was devoid of the usual media hype. But on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, last week, The Christolyte, a six-member all-girls gospel music group, coordinated by Tim Omotosho, a cleric based in Durban, South Africa, left no one in doubt about the seriousness of its mission.

Not many people had a prior knowledge of their mission in Nigeria neither did many have a clue as to their identity as they walked out of the arrival hall at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, penultimate Monday evening. Only few family members and friends of the former member of the Ebenezer Obey Inter- Reformers band, Tim Omotosho, were on hand to welcome the Durban, South Africa-based Nigerian musician-turned pastor and his six-member all-girls gospel music group, The Christolyte.

As Omotoso walked into the warm embrace of his folks, heaving a sigh of relief and appearing to be saying "home, sweet home," the members of his all-girls South African gospel music group, The Christolyte, who had accompanied him on the trip back home, swarmed round him like bees.

The smartly dressed and good looking girls appeared cute and athletic in their white attire, with dark sun glasses to match. And as they quickly formed an encore with an uncommon harmony, they held their 'audience' spell-bound for about five minutes with melodious songs and accurate dancing steps as they appeared to be passing a message that, though they were in Nigeria for the first time, they were in for a serious business.

With a sense of satisfaction at the brief performance by the girls, Omotoso could not help but open up on their mission." The group is called Christolyte," said the pastor who is also the president of Tim Omotosho Global Outreach." The name is derived from the Book of Revelation in the Bible and it means precious stone." Little surprise, then, that Omotoso calls the girls his daughters and the girls, in appreciation of his role in shaping their future, irrespective of their past, call him 'daddy.'

THISDAY learnt authoritatively that the girls are some of those that had been taken away from the streets as well as those from broken homes or frustrated by circumstances of life and were counseled, rehabilitated and groomed by the Tim Omotosho Global Outreach (TOGO).

However, the pastor would not lay much emphasis on their past and would simply stress on what the future holds for them." Although these girls have testimonies to share, I can assure you that the hand of God is upon their lives and their talents are unique," he told THISDAY, stressing that "South Africans need them spiritually."

Omotoso disclosed further: "We are in Nigeria for two weeks to record a 10-track album and I will be working with ace producer, Wole Oni. God is the central theme of the album and the message is to trust Him. The album is going to be a variety of songs, from classical to rhythms and blues (R&B), while some will be done in South African language. We shall also be performing in some churches in Lagos."

He said as strange as this may sound, moreso, coming at a time many Nigerian artistes are moving into South Africa for their recordings, "I'm a Nigerian and I'm very proud of my country, I want these girls to experience what Nigeria can offer and the interesting aspect of it is that they are going to work with Nigerian instrumentalists."

Omotoso also added: "Though Nigeria may not have all the infrastructure and sophistication, the versatility and ability of our people to excel is not in doubt and that is very crucial."

A great optimist in the potential of Nigeria and her influence in the comity of nations, Omotoso likened the country to the trigger of a gun, saying "if you look at the location of Nigeria on the map of Africa, it's like the trigger of a gun." He added that "Nigeria is the trigger of Africa" and "we make things happen."

According to the pastor, the ability of Nigeria to take the gospel to other parts of the world has never been in doubt and had been proven by the impact Nigerian ministers of the gospel have been making worldwide. "We are the ones to tell the whole world what the power of God is," he said." And this is the experience I want these girls to have during their stay in Nigeria."

Interestingly, Omotoso's ministry, spanning three decades, began in the early 1980s, from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, through to the United Kingdom and on to South Africa where he is currently engaged in cross-cultural missionary work. THISDAY gathered that Omotoso has been preaching the gospel in South Africa in the last nine years and his ministry is also involved in social transformation and reformation.

The bedrock of his ministry is the expression of the power and love of God to all people, irrespective of race or ethnic background. In South Africa, Omotoso has established branches of his church, Jesus Dominion International (JDI), in cities such as Durban, Johannesburg, East London, Sasolburg, Pretoria, Richards Bay, Soweto, Secunda, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Port Elizabeth.

And outside South Africa, the ministry has branches in France and London. His words of wisdom (WOW) are another 'trademark' of his prophetic ministry. Such WOW include 'I don't believe in emotion, I believe in motion'; 'Be patient or you will die a patient'; and 'If you don't think, you will stink'. According to Omotoso, "We have heard and are still hearing the word of God, it is time now to reveal God of the word."

The outreach arm of his ministry operates under TOGO which also airs a weekly television broadcast titled 'power for your zero hour' on WJHJ TV in Virginia, USA.

He also has a multifaceted youth project known as Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), a Christian-based intervention to discover and develop the suppressed talents of the youths and dig out the potential in them.

The first phase is focusing on music, arts and culture. YEP also has a computer training suite in Durban, South Africa. As a man with outstanding musical talent and exposure, he frequently composes songs, and has raised a variety of music groups, including Hosanna Voices, The Chrysolyte, currently on a recording mission to Nigeria, Jazper, Covenant Voices, Mercy Voices, and many more. He believes that divinely inspired music helps to create a solid atmosphere for the move of God.

Omotoso hosts various international meetings every quarter and an annual holy ghost week in South Africa. They are inter-denominational meetings aimed at resuscitating people's faith and exposing the power and wisdom of God. Omotoso is also an author and has written a book titled "How to enjoy health, wealth and longevity" as well as seven prayer books.