While some may have been skeptical of the sincerity of the newfound faith of Kanye West, it is clear that the Holy Spirit was moving at the latest events of the rapper.
According to local newspaper The Advocate, more than a thousand people gave their lives to Christ at West’s “Sunday Service” in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday.
The Bethany Church of the city hosted the West and the Sunday Service Choir on its lawn and attended by thousands of people.
The worship service was started by Jonathan Stockstill, pastor of Bethany Church, with some words of praise to God.
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“Can we hear it for Jesus?” he asked the crowd. “He is king tonight.”
West opened with “Closed on Sunday,” a song from his new album “Jesus is King,” which has recently debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 chart. According to CNN, this is West’s ninth consecutive album to hit No. 1, tying him with Eminem for the most consecutive No. 1 albums.
West sang with his daughter North and son Saint on his shoulders for a few extended parts of the concert, The Advocate reported.
Curvine Brewington, a pastor from Crossroads Church in Lafayette, Louisiana, spoke about his experience at the service on Instagram.
He shared a picture of people raising their hands in response to an altar call to emphasize “the legitimacy or spiritual impact” at West’s Sunday Services to anyone who was skeptical about the project.
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“YES, I said ALTAR CALL.” Brewington wrote.
“Tonight, worship was lifted, the name of Christ was exalted, the Word of God was preached, a multitude prayed together, the Gospel was clearly proclaimed, and an opportunity to respond was given,” he said. “In a crowd of 6,000 people from all walks of life, all ages, and all races, i witnessed over 1,000 people respond to The Gospel by raising their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior!
“Say what you want, & think what you want…. But trust me when I tell you – The Spirit of the Living God was indeed present. I danced, wept, stood in awe of God’s redemptive work, & can honestly say that tonight I witnessed a new wave of REVIVAL first hand.”
The Advocate was able to interview a few others at the event about their thoughts on West and his worship services.
“I’m excited that he’s here,” Sierra Scoggins, a 24-year-old elementary school teacher and longtime West fan, said. “It’s really good for the Baton Rouge community to be here and lift up Jesus’ name.”
“He has always lifted up God’s name,” she said. “I’m excited that he’s reaching a multitude of people.”
“I was interested because he said he was going go completely Christian,” insurance salesman Frank Manguno said. “I was, like, ‘Well, this is crazy. Let me see about this.’”
West started holding the events in January and has since gone on tour around the country, holding Sunday Services in states such as Ohio, Georgia, Illinois and California.
