Mutare pastor releases album

Mercy Ngwebvu
A  Mutare Baptist Church pastor is finding his feet in the music industry after releasing his first eight-track album.
The album entitled “Just as I am” is a stable launch pad from which the man of cloth will mark his entrance into the gospel music genre.
In an interview recently, Pastor Naison Mangwende said through his album, he intends to bring music back to the level of ministering rather than entertaining.

He said the current gospel music industry has more of entertainers than ministers.
“As we were growing up, music was used as a way of ministering and it remains as such.

“However, nowadays most of the gospel artistes are focusing on entertaining their audiences rather than ministering to them and through my album, I am trying to divert gospel music from entertainment to ministry,” he said.

“Musicians like Mechanic Manyeruke, Brian Sibalo and the Charambas are iconic inasfar as ministering through music is concerned.
“Like them, I want to divert our singing as Zimbabweans from entertaining back to ministering,” he said.

He added that the title track — Just as I am – is a confession of a reformed sinner who is turning to Christ where there is no condemnation.
“The whole album is my ministry to the lives and spiritual needs of believers and the title track is about a reformed sinner who turns to Christ for comfort.

The song “Watch and Pray” is directed to ministers and gospel musicians to continue standing in the Lord, lest they fall into the devil’s snares,” he said.

Asked how long he has been in the music industry, Pastor Naison said he began singing in 1989 when he was still in primary school.
“Music has always been my way of finding solace and I can say I started singing when I was doing my primary education at Warren Park 1 Primary School in Harare“.

Other tracks on the album are Better One Day, Anondida, Chiremba, Call Me Blessed, Makaite Nyasha and Mutoro Wobviswa naJesu.
Pastor Naison said music piracy was hurting the industry.

“Piracy remains a threat to us as musicians because most of the hard work we would have put into our albums goes down the drain. The responsible authorities must intervene so that as musicians we will see the fruits of our hard work.”