Ghanaian gospel music minister and legend, Rev. Tom Bright-Davies, last Saturday marked 25 years in music ministry courtesy a special worship experience dubbed ‘A Night with Tom’ at the Kama Conference Centre. The event was graced by high profile guests from different spheres of professions, the gospel music circuit and friends in ministry including Pastors Andy and Helen Yawson, Rev. Eric Kwapong, Danny Nettey and many more. The worship event was creatively put together to profile Rev. Tom Bright-Davies- a brief walk through his 25 years of mentoring, training and raising of music leaders and pioneering the development of music in the church. It began with brief testimonials by individuals about the impact Rev. Tom had made in their lives and that of others before the celebrant was called to stage to take patrons down memory lane. Rev. Tom took everyone through some gospel classics back in the day and gave picturesque description of how gospel music evolved over the years and the part he played. He did the above with supporting choreography and amidst intermittent inspirational footnotes while ministering songs such ‘Oh Magnify the Lord’, ‘Jesus is the Answer’, ‘Jehovah Jireh’, ‘I Don’t Have to worry’, ‘One Direction’ and ‘To God be Glory’. The drama interview section perhaps was the creative highlight of the entire night as a ‘wanna-be’ gospel superstar was taken through the rudiments of gospel music as a ministry rather than showmanship. Three mentees of Rev. Tom dedicated a couple of ministrations to Rev. Tom and patrons offered a congregational prayer for him before curtains were drawn for the end of great night. A pastor, singer, songwriter, worship leader, multi-instrumentalist and recording artiste and engineer, Rev. Tom Bright-Davies is one of the most creative music producers and arrangers of our time. He has penned many books on music and leadership including: ‘Singing Made Easy’, ‘The Ministry of Worship’, ‘Music Director’s Guide’, ‘Functional Leadership’ and ‘Sound Engineering for Musicians and Engineers’. Rev. Tom has also mentored hundreds of music prodigies both locally and internationally, prominently Ghana’s contemporary gospel music great, Minister Danny Nettey. A lover of creative arts, Rev. Tom has been a voice for quality and creativity to be associated with gospel music and its presentation well over two decades now. He has also graced many pulpits and conferences in many churches and schools in and outside Ghana as part of his soul winning mandate and rallying for Christian service among the youth. His humility, friendly personality and burning passion for God many say are among factors that set him apart and have contributed to his achievements.
Being the first to pioneer and start a professional Christian Music training facility in Ghana, it is understandable why most worship and music ministers regard and relate to him as their mentor, father and role model. From the inception of his music school in 1987 to date he has trained more worship ministers and musicians than any other, numbering some 7,000 and over. This robust and proactive stance to training has been achieved through strategic innovations in the training programs where consistent mini-workshops and seminars are used to augment the courses run by the regular school.
Come this Saturday, 3rd December, at 3pm, Rev. Tom begins another phase of his ministry with his 3-hour monthly Word and Worship event tagged ‘the Godlife Encounter’ at the Redeemed Gospel Church, near Mr. Biggs, Dansoman, Accra. You need to be there and experience the grace upon a David of our time.
