Eben’s hugely popular song ‘Alpha And Omega’ is given an acoustic rendering here by Graciah in her own unique and evolving style. Enjoy, share, and remember to subscribe to her channel!
Category: News
56 Kids Rush Out In YES!
February 16, 2018, Educare Chosen High School, Jos, Nigeria. 80 minutes spent sharing music, games, drama and a short message with the kids, and we were glad we went.
Sometimes, when I see these kids stepping out in excitement to say Yes to the Lord Jesus Christ, I do wonder if they really understand what it means. But I know they do. I was like them when the Lord touched my heart back in 1976 and I submitted to Him. Besides, even though we go as creative as we can get in communicating the Gospel, we also strive to make the message as plain as possible. More importantly, it does seem that the Holy Spirit is ever eager and waiting to tie it all together in their hearts, making up for our deficiencies. So, today again, I see kids who were earlier too shy to volunteer for roles in simple games, rush out now as the invitation is given to come accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 56 at the last count!
There’s a hunger in the heart of some kid out there that only the saving Christ can satisfy. Our business is to go out there and present Him to them. Thanks for coming with us!
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“When Will You Come Again”
Global Influence Academy is a small private school nestled amidst the forays of rocks and boulders that define Kunyi-Katse, a northern-fringe community of Jos City. On Friday January 19, the Alternorm Team went over to visit with the kids. Gospel-toned music, drama and games were what we went with. Keeping to the time allotted to us, we were done in about 90 minutes, and while we got busy packing up our stuff, several students and members of staff came by to ask: ‘When are you people coming back?’ Going by the looks on their faces, ‘Maybe soon’ did not seem a very satisfactory answer.
Yes, maybe soon we’ll return again to Global Influence Academy. Meanwhile, we’ll be praying for those kids: that the ones who received Jesus Christ as Lord on that day will grow to know and love Him truly; that the seed sown in them through the music, drama and games will sprout and blossom indeed.
But there are many other schools waiting to be visited. Some kid somewhere is waiting to hear a song that lifts, a story that inspires, an invitation into an exciting relationship with the Father.
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Graciah – Messiah by Solomon Lange (cover)
This is Graciah’s vibrant acoustic cover of Solomon Lange’s song ‘Messiah’ – Number 2 in her Acoustic Worship Series. Easy strumming style that calls you to join in and worship. Enjoy, share, and don’t forget to subscribe to her channel for more
Graciah – Na You Be God by Tim Godfrey (cover)
And so begins a new video series ‘ACOUSTIC WORSHIP WITH GRACIAH’. Expect 1 new video every week – please SUBSCRIBE to her channel! Enjoy this first, and share!
69 Kids Said Yes!
God must be very eager to save the unsaved. Just about any excuse would do to throw open His door of Salvation, believe me!
So, last month I sent a letter to this school requesting permission for my team to come play with the kids on October 1, Nigeria’s National Independence Day. Permission was granted. On the given date, after ministering with our band at a church service in a different part of Jos City, I drove us off to the TCNN school in Bukuru where an excited crowd of young folks awaited us. Determined to keep to allotted time, we set up our stuff as quickly as we could. By 3.15 pm we were ready, and the Band took the stage.
No, they didn’t sound great to me. Maybe partly because they were hungry. I couldn’t afford to buy us all lunch today – I had some honorarium from the morning’s ministration, but I needed to hold tight to that for transportation and other needs – so we just pushed on. And then an amplifier that repeatedly tripped off and back on did not help matters either. But our musicians – Mayowa, Patrick, Breakthrough and Kennedy – played, and the trio of Grace, Favor and Abraham sang a few songs and did their best to engage the kids massed into the expansive hall. And then we had a ‘Charade’ game it seemed the kids enjoyed somewhat, after which the band sang a few more songs, followed by a drama sketch we had stripped and re-stripped to suit a 2-cast team. Tunde and Evelyn did their best to project through the sketch, but with the far-from-perfect sound situation, I did wonder if those students actually followed the story.
And then I picked up a mic and rambled briefly about how and why we all need Jesus Christ as our lord and savior – to make us strong and able to keep from souring up our life-soups like the girl in the short sketch they just watched. And if anyone wanted to come over to Jesus, to receive him as lord and savior, I told them to be fast about it. No, nobody was going to shut their eyes to make it easy for the shy or the self-conscious. “If you’re too shy to declare publicly for the Lord Jesus, you may stay where you are,” I announced.
One brave little fellow was the first to head out. And then they began to stream out.
We were done by 5.00 pm, and we had 69 precious decision slips filled and returned – 54 boys and girls saying Yes to Christ for the first time, and 15 others who came out to rededicate themselves to the Lord.
Just how many other young souls are out there waiting to be let in?
And God, He seems more than eager to use any opportunity we are willing to generate or seize, as an excuse to get someone saved!
WINGS Edition 3: The Lord Was There!
Sunday September 24, 2017. Joe Ifah and the Alternorm family hosted the 3rd edition of the Wings concert series in Jos, Nigeria, at the Reo Devotion Hotel. And again, the Lord was there! Not even the apparently ill-timed rain that went on and on could dim the reality of God’s presence as Joe and the Alternorm Team of Graciah, Soundalive and Lighthouse Troupe ministered, alongside the day’s guest artists Mfon Abigail, Tony Mbah, Omo A and D Angels Dance Crew.
Supplemental Theatre Auditions – 2017
There’s Still Room Here!
In our quest to draw in gifted Christians who have a passion to serve the Lord with all they are and have, Alternorm is enabling supplemental theatre auditions for membership into the Lighthouse Theatre Troupe. If you fit, or you know someone who does, then call 08033483519 to schedule an audition or for further information. You could also visit our office at No. 10 Secretariat Road, GRA, Jos (Joi7 Studios). Browse our website for more information about Alternorm Ministries and its teams.
Open Roles:
Actors/Actresses
Scriptwriters
Directors
Production Hands
Troupe’s Mission:
To mirror life and society, explore conflicts and subtleties, and offer Christ-honoring options in the process.
COLLABO, Short Sketch from the Lighthouse Theatre Team.
In Collabo, a short sketch performed by Alternorm Ministries’ theatre troupe Lighthouse, a strong and clear message is conveyed: to survive and to move forward, it is often necessary to lay aside our pride and prejudice and connect with others in a mutually beneficial spirit of friendliness. Neighbors of habitual antagonism and belligerence discover that a combination of one’s flour taken with the other’s soup (and even a bottle of fruit juice from another) was all they needed for a great Collaboration lunch. Enjoy and share!
Even The Devil Would Have Danced!
[Note: This story was written 12 years ago, but the circumstances still apply!]
We’ve just stacked back our equipment into the bus. Another edition of SKOOP, our schools outreach program, has just come to a close. Only a few of the students are still seen around, some of them hanging back to chat with members of the Alternorm team. As we check to make sure we didn’t leave any piece of equipment in the hall, I hear Daniel, a member of our theatre group say “Men, those kids really enjoyed themselves.”
“Yeah,” agrees Benjamin. “See how they danced!”
“They just couldn’t resist the music; it was too powerful,” adds Innocent.
“Men, even the devil would have danced!” says the new team member who says his name is Harmony. Everyone laughs.
But I know he’s wrong.
The devil couldn’t have danced. True, the music was powerful. We have a good music team. Harry is a good drummer. Yemi, the multi-instrumentalist who serves as my band coordinator, is a professional musician, a fine singer, songwriter, music producer and sound engineer with a music degree in his pocket. David, the bassist, is an old hand; he so easily pumps thick pulsating sound out of his instrument. And I still manage to strum well on my Ovation guitar as I sing. And when I have Bolanle, my wife beside me, there’s no telling how inspiring things could get. Add to this combination the presence of a guest artiste like Orji Olugu doing his peculiar bit, and the resulting music could be powerful indeed.
But the devil couldn’t have danced.
True,the kids got so excitingly expressive as we played and sang, and many of them crowded out into the front of the hall in dance; but I guess even the devil knew we didn’t come here merely to excite a dance. That’s why after all the stomping and wiggling and sweating, after all the rib-cracking laughter generated by the drama sketches and jokes, the kids were given a chance to decide for Christ. And 41 of them said yes to the Lord.
Now we’re on our way back home. As I squeeze the 25-seater bus through the school’s narrow gate, I notice the sheets of decision slips in my wife’s hands. She sits there beside me wearing a little smile and browsing through the sheets of paper. Before I can ask what she finds so amusing, she says, “This is one of my best moments; when I read through the kids’ decision slips.” And she holds the slips like some precious treasure.
“But, you know, we’ve got to do better at follow-up this time around,” I say, remembering the many hundreds of past SKOOP converts we couldn’t muster enough resources to follow up.
“Yes,” she agrees.
As the bus gains speed and Simplicity Commercial Secondary School vanishes from view, I tell myself, ‘Yes, we must do better this time. We will keep in touch with these kids. We will write to them and send them Christian growth material. We must ensure that they are helped to stand and grow in their new life. Concerning these 41 souls, the devil must not get a chance to dance!
And I wonder just how we would do what we must do if we don’t get some help.
You Definitely Want To Count! Support Alternorm Ministries!
SKOOP – Christian Royal College Jos – Sun May 7
As part of Alternorm Ministries’ SKOOP project, Joe Ifah and his folks (Soundalive, Lighthouse Troupe) step out again with a three-fold goal: dish out real fun to the students of Christian Royal College Jos, exemplify unashamed representation of Christ, and communicate the fact that everybody needs Jesus. If you can, please pray for the team – and for a SCOOP of young souls!
For more about the SKOOP project, please go HERE
Wings Maiden Edition Was A Blast!
Sunday March 26 was the date. The main event hall of Reo Devotion Hotel, Jos, came alive as Alternorm Ministries hosted the maiden edition of the WINGS concert series. There was no dull moment from about 4 PM when the event commenced till it was brought to a close about 7.30 PM. There was music, there was dance, there was drama – fun all the way!
Here It Comes: WINGS!
Alternorm Ministries’ long awaited concert series Wings debuts in Jos next week with a shining array of artists. March 26 Sunday comes with an evening of great music, drama, dance and poetry carefully and lovingly packaged to inspire and uplift, and to grant you wings to soar into the next Quarter! Our very own Joe Ifah, Graciah and the Soundalive band will be ministering alongside anointed must-hear artists like Wordsmith, Polite, AP (Andrew Patience), Dave Azi, NuGroove, Crix Forrest, Sampraise, D Angels and others. You haven’t seen something like this before! Even if you don’t live in Jos, take a trip there: it will be well worth it!
The event, scheduled for 4.00 to 6.30 pm on Sunday March 26th, will hold at the Main Hall of the Reo Devotion Hotel, Sparkleen Junction, Dadin Kowa Area, Jos, Nigeria. Tell someone dear about this!
For more about WINGS, go HERE.
Graciah’s Album ASTONISHING GRACE Hits Stores Worldwide
Music Minster at Alternorm Ministries, and recording artist with Sanctee Records, Graciah (Grace Ochoga) launched her maiden album last October. The sweet 12-tracker has since then been spreading around. Graciah’s ASTONISHING GRACE is at this time available in the following and other online stores:
Graciah Drops Maiden Album: ASTONISHING GRACE!
Graciah (Grace Ochoga) joined the Alternorm Ministries Team in 2013 as a vocalist with the Soundalive Band. Endowed with a powerful voice and a beautiful soul, she has remained a great asset to the team, and has since risen to become Band Leader. And while waiting to join the next NYSC batch, this graduate of Office Technology & Management from the Plateau State Polytechnic currently works full-time as Music Minister with Alternorm – an arrangement that has enabled her to benefit from the facilities and Gospel music promotion agenda of the organization. The result is a brand new audio album scheduled for launch on her next birthday: October 23, 2016!
For Graciah, this is a dream come true, and she considers it a manifestation of God’s grace at work. Little wonder she has titled the album ‘Astonishing Grace’! Friends and well-wishers from Plateau and other parts of Nigeria will be converging at the Strong Tower Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Miango Road, Kufang, Jos, on Sunday October 23 to celebrate with her and to enjoy great music as she releases this loaded sizzling 12-tracker. She will be supported by a number of guest artists including Dave Azi, Sampraise Abu (Kogi State), Barnabas Alayande (her pastor) and the Worship Experience Team.
The album is produced by veteran Joe Ifah for Sanctee Records. Arrangements are on-going for nationwide and online distribution. Interested physical distributors may contact Sanctee by mail: sanctee1@gmail.com.
For more about Graciah, please go HERE
Auditions!
Targeting gifted Christians who have a passion to serve the Lord with all they are and have, Alternorm has scheduled theatre and music auditions for the 12th and the 14th of July respectively. If you fit, or you know someone who does, then note: Audition time is 1 pm at Joi7 Studios, 10 Secretariat Road, GRA, Jos. For more information about Alternorm Ministries and its teams, visit our website.
