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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Arts Reporter
It was all glory, success and praise at the “Worship Summit” held at Rainbow Towers over the weekend where local gospel musicians shared the stage.

The free-entry gospel event, which was fully packed, was hosted by founder and senior pastor of Tabernacle of Grace Church, Apostle Batsirai Java.

The summit saw some of the country’s current stars in the gospel scene who include Janet Manyowa, Minister Michael Mahendere, South Africa-based Takesure Zamar Ncube and Spirit Praise putting up good performances. There were only four acts as advertised on the day.

First on stage was the enthusiastic youthful outfit Spirit Praise worship team who put up a stellar performance, proving that they indeed had been in camp preparing for what is arguably their biggest gig to date. Singing praise and worship songs, they showed that with time they will surely be a force to reckon with in the gospel music fraternity.

After their good slot came award winner Minister Michael Mahendere who proved that he is the “Outstanding Male Minister of Excellence”, an award he scooped a fortnight ago in Kenya at the Maranatha Gospel Music Awards.

The musician and his team, who looked angelic clad in their all-white outfits, made the whole auditorium energetic as people danced and sang along to their songs. Mahendere engaged the audience with ease creating an electric atmosphere of praise and worship.

He left the crowd in awe.

Janet Manyowa came prepared to leave lasting impressions. It was a busy day for her, having earlier performed at the Culture Week launch ceremony at Glamis Arena. However, it was not a good idea to have her on stage after renowned performer Minister Mahendere who had set a high bar.

She would probably have got a better response if she had come on stage earlier, but the assignment at Culture Week delayed her arrival at the venue and she had to get that slot.

Despite the challenge at hand, she did her best on stage. She proved that she has the energy and can take huge strides in the industry to make a big name in the near future.

She dished out songs like “Nyasha Nengoni” and “Zadzisa” making the whole auditorium sing along.

Manyowa put up a spirited performance that showed she is maturing and ready to throw her name into the hat of top gospel singers.

Credit also goes to her backing vocalists who did a splendid job with outstanding choreography.

South Africa-based Zimbabwean gospel sensation Takesure Zamar brought his foreign notes on stage to prove his mettle.

Zamar shut down the event with his exciting music and he connected well with the crowd.

Everyone was on their feet as Zamar did what he knows best. He also took people into worshipping mood with his inspirational songs.

Speaking at the sidelines of the event, Apostle Java said he was happy with the turnout.

“We got what we wanted. Worship is power and gets the job done. That is why we chose the theme ‘worship summit’. We should gather our resources for more editions. We need to sacrifice for this, we had a team of 33 people who made this possible. God must be praised and that is why we made it a free entry event,” he said.