Gospel singer, Nathaniel Bassey, has shared his perspective on the ongoing debate about whether gospel ministers should charge for guest ministrations in churches.
Speaking during a recent sermon, Bassey explained: “If a church invites me to come and minister, they are doing two things. They are inviting me to minister to God and to his people. Let me just say this before I trend on Twitter, to my own understanding is when you tell me to minister to God, I can’t charge God to minister to him. How much did he charge me for his blood on Calvary? The blood that is the very reason for my ministry. It’s a personal thing for me and it has worked for me, so why leave what is working?”
Bassey’s comments come after Apostle Lazarus criticized gospel artists for charging fees to perform at church events. Lazarus shared an experience where a singer charged 5 million to perform for his congregation, sparking a debate within the gospel and gospel music communities.
In response, singer Timi Dakolo defended gospel musicians, highlighting the financial investment required to sustain their craft. Dakolo emphasized:
“My dear Christians, a quote/conversation can sound intelligent and deep yet untrue. Just like everyone else. You deserve the very best things life has to offer. You should be paid what you deserve. Studio session, production, and promotion cost a lot. You have a family to feed, you have rent to pay. You have more songs to put out. We should stop all these attacks on people’s work. As much as it is spiritual, music is an art. If you can’t pay people, use your choir members and pay the amount you could have given the guest artist. I doubt the second part.”
