"The Outpouring Lagos was not a concert, it was a gathering of people redefining the concept of hunger"
“The promise is to everyone” is what The Outpouring Lagos heralded by Dunsin Oyekan unequivocally reiterates.
The mission of The Outpouring is to usher in the glory of the Lord into the city and to manifest The will of the Father throughout the city without fail.
All road led to Onikan stadium on the fifth of November 2023 for the largest congregational extension of this worship experience. It was a one of a kind meeting with the threefold cord prerequisites of revival, worship and prayers.
It wasn't the announcement of the venue that intimated how important the meeting was going to be; The annual ‘Experience’ by Paul Adefarasin's ‘House on the rock’ is held at the Tafawa Balewa square and is always filled to the brim. It was the lineup instead.
For how did a lineup of Dunsin Oyekan, Poju Oyemade, Nathaniel Bassey, Isaac Oyedepo, Victoria Orenze, Micheal Orokpo, Daniel Olawande, Chioma Jesus, Theophilus Sunday, Lawrence Oyor and a surprise announcement of Pastor Adeboye not imply that this was more than a concert, but an exchange between two generations?
The crowd at the outpouring Lagos was so mammoth and intimidating, you could hear it in the whispers from local bystanders and peers of interest from drivers/passengers turned onlookers.
For on a very hot Sunday afternoon, youhad mostly young people standing in an excruciatingly elongated queue from TBS BRT park to the main gate of the stadium. And this was about 2 hours to the start of the event.
Some people were ushered to the centre of the pitch where white plastic chairs were arranged. It offered the advantage of proximity to the stage, but came at the cost of intense rays of sunlight. But this meant little to them- umbrellas in hand or not. That's the hunger worth talking about.
Even the white seats were not enough, people had to find solace with greener pastures - sit on the green turf. Some had to stand in(be)side the goal posts.
The show started a few minutes past 4, with an opening performance from worship leader Femi Okunuga, followed up by Pastor Daniel Olawande who led a prayer charge. This was followed up immediately by the energetic, and slightly traditional Chioma Jesus, swaddled in a white dress and trademark turban.
Dunsin Oyekan would come up next for his first out of about five stints of performances; to usher in Pastor Adeboye, Theophilus sunday, Nathaniel Bassey and close the show.
Lawrence Oyor was welcomed with rapturous cheers and round of applause linked to appreciation and longing, merged prayer charges and a crowd engaging recital of some of his choruses.
The patriarch Pastor E.A Adeboye in about 15-20 mins gave a charge about the dignity in worship and destiny retention.
Victoria Orenze was the next emissary to fire Onikan stadium into a marathon of excited squeals, highly pitched spirit-filled intonations, and vigorous movements.
Pastor Poju Oyemade delivered in about 12 minutes the concept of the sound of worship. All these were accurately sandwiched in between Dunsin Oyekan quick fire sessions.
The next batches of performances were that of the highly anticipated Min Theophilus Sunday which left more people wanting more. Pastor Isaac Oyedepo with a very commanding aura was the next person on schedule. His charge was a little more technical - tilting towards the concept of preservation of a revival.
Dunsin Oyekan and Natahniel Basey would(as expected) be the men to close the show. With utterances of prophecies, an ‘impromptu’ healing session - backed up by live testimonies, a surprise birthday celebration courtesy of the outpouring team for Dunsin Oyekan.
Sound was a let down occasionally, during the event. but it didn't seem to matter to this teeming crowd. It was like telling a hungry man that the food is slightly cold. It doesn't matter to him, all that matters is that either his over bloated stomach registers appreciation or the belch from his mouth does.
Crowd control, operations management and show production was beyond impressive considering the amount of crowd. It was obvious that excellence was an unspoken watchword.
The humongous resources deployed for this event which was free has to be referenced and designated for future references. Free buses were provided to-and-fro. There was a prayer chain running from a day to the event and throughout the entirety of the 7 hour long event.
The most important facet of The Outpouring Lagos was the crowd. How can you best explain this hunger? Parents running with their children to an event, people who didn't mind standing for long stretches provided their spirit men would benefit, people denying the fleshly pursuit of rest, but coming for an infilling.
It was like Elijah crying out to God about how he was the only prophet remaining in the land and the Lord corrected that notion with proof that he had even more soldiers.
People are out here hungry for the defining presence of God. You just have to be out to experience it.
Culturally, the PR has been about people thirsty for the desires of the flesh, but The Outpouring Lagos has proven that there are (young) people hungry for God. And they will not be few. They will be many.
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