The Celestial Church of Christ, Sharon Parish, Lagos, has emerged the winner of the second edition of the Oshoffa Memorial Juvenile Music Competition.

The parish won the grand prize of $2,500 after defeating eight other parishes at the grand finale of the competition, which was held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos. Also, CCC Ijaye Olifi and CCC Glorious Children Parishes emerged second and third respectively.

The event, which was organised by True Word in Season, the evangelical arm of Greater Tomorrow Group in the Celestial Church of Christ, was said to have 26 contestants from outset before the figure was trimmed down to the best ten by the judges.

One parish, it was gathered,opted out, leaving nine parishes to compete for the coveted prize.

Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the event, the convener of the event and leader of Greater Tomorrow Group, Brother Demola Bolaji, said the event was to celebrate children of Children’s Day and the legacy of the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Rev. SBJ Oshoffa.

He said:” Last year, we were unable to do some things. This year, there was camping for the children. We camped them for three days. They were tutored and coached. Even the children testified that this is beyond what they thought.

The vision is to improve the musical standard in line with the legacies of SBJ Oshoffa. He was a colonial mastertrained musicologist. So, he understood music. If we begin to raise these young ones in line with the legacy of SBJ Oshoffa, I’m sure we are going somewhere, rebuilding the foundation properly.”

According to Bolaji, the vision of the competition is to rebuild the musical foundation of the church in line with the standards established by Oshoffa, In his opening remarks, Most Superior Evangelist Samson Banjo, expressed optimism about the future of the church, stating that the church belongs to the youths.

Banjo, fondly called “The Doyen of CCC”, described the founder of the church, Rev. SBJ Oshoffa, as worthy of celebration, adding that “ what God has done through him will last forever”.

He said:“For those above 25 years, I will say you are among the most blessed people in the world because the church is going to experience a turnaround and heaven will bless you.

“You are not seeing the true Celestial Church right now; what you are seeing is only a shadow of the church. The covenant of Pa Oshoffa is still with the church.

Banjo added: “Papa promised before he passed on that we have seen nothing yet and that at a particular time, the Almighty would descend His power upon us.

“That promise will surely come to pass and you will witness wonders. It will be so powerful that people will no longer drift away. I want the young people to remain steadfast in the Lord. Be happy and trust in God.” Last year, CCC El Morijah Parish beat other contestants to win the $2,000 grand prize.

Present at the event were Rev. Adekunle Lawal, Assistant Most Superior Evangelist Ebenezer Oshoffa, Shepherd of the National Headquarters of the Church, Assistant Most Superior Evangelist Afis Kiki, Atinuke Abioro, and other prominent members of the church.

Also, wives of the founder of the church, Mother Celestial Odette Oshoffa and Martina Oshoffa graced the event.