Hands were lifted, feet were moved, voices were drowned in joyous praise and souls were won to Christ. This was the sum effect of the man who needs no introduction to gospel music ministry and captivating performances, Joe Oscar Mettle.

In a fashion very typical of him, he wowed the mammoth crowd which gathered at the 2nd edition of ABNTV Gospelfest at the Trinity Baptist Oasis House in Croydon, London.

ABN TV Gospelfest started last year as a flagship thanksgiving gospel concert to celebrate the goodness of God and foster community worship within the London Christian fraternity.

This year’s event saw a return of one of Ghana’s most celebrated gospel music icons, Joe Mettle, together with Nigeria’s heavyweight Gospel great Sammie Okposo, Afrogospel star performer Andrew Bello and the sensational gospel girl band Shekinah.

Patrons also had the opportunity of witnessing some new upcoming gospel artists alongside the main ministers for the evening.

In an interview with red carpet host Akosua Dwomoh Fokuoh, Sammie Okposo who opened the evening with an electrifying worship and praise from his popular repertoire said, “ African Gospel Music had come of age and I am excited that ABN is pushing the frontiers with Gospelfest”.

Sammie started off with ‘Yaweh have your Way’ a soul inspiring worship song then got the crowd into a spirit filled frenzy with ‘Marvellous thing and Everybody look”. After him new acts Adwoa Armah, Daniel Dadson, Joseph Matthew and Checko Ankrah took turns to bless patrons for the evening. Shekinah was at their very best with a performance of their two new singles ‘Change Me’ and ‘I will wait’. The evening was changed into a new gear with Andrew Bello’s electrifying performance that had the old and young dancing.

The evening was crowned with 2 hours of eclectic performance from the headline for the evening Joe Mettle, who took the crowd on a journey of worship, praise, anecdotes, encouragements, testimonies and more. With his vast repertoire, the crowd worshipped, cheered and danced.

The auditorium erupted with excitement when he performed his current hit track ‘Bonoo ni’. The highlight of the evening was when Joe shared his testimony on how he was prevented from travelling to the UK at 16 years by his God mother Apostle Lyanne Koffi and the profound impact the decision had on his growth and ministry. Joe Mettle prayerfully weaved in an altar call, which saw 8 people give their life to Christ.

Some lucky patrons also took home prizes which included A free air ticket to Ghana, 50 inch 4K TV set, Samsung Galaxy Note9, Hamper from sponsors and many more. A VIP reception with Joe Mettle was held for premium ticket holders who had an upclose and personal time with the gospel music icon after the event. ABNTV Gospelfest was supported by Ria Money transfer, World Remit, Tropical Sun, LifestyleBids.com, Koalpot Catering, Miss Edivine, ORS, Bespoke Binney and JVK.

Social media was full of commendation for the event as captured by some patrons and sponsors. Reginald Larry-Cole of Lifestyle Bids said “Congratulations ABN you lead where others follow! Lifestylebids was glad to be part of your celebrations”. Y Aaron of Facebook wrote “it was a truly stunning event, we had such a lovely time”.