Despite the tardy starting (6.30 p.m as against the scheduled 4 o'clock), and the microphone acting up at the beginning, the evening proved an exciting one. It turned out to be a unique blend of the secular and the spiritual with the two meeting in a manner rarely seen.

But why would the church, an institution known more for its staid, orthodox ways want to give honours to actors and musicians, those whom society regards as best, as mavericks and non-conformists?

Bishop Lawrence Osagie, the General Overseer of the church, and the driving force behind the ceremony in his opening remarks, said:

"This service is about celebrating excellence. Let's celebrate that which is good and then turn our backs on those things that are bad." He pointed out that Nigeria had more to offer than all the negative things being said about her and that it was time to do away with that image. The bishop added that the entertainment industry was one of the best in the world today and it was the role of the church to encourage excellence, "and that's the purpose of this service we've put together. We have come to have fun. So, relax and have fun!"

And everyone in the tightly-packed church hall that evening (so full the crowd overflowed into the upper gallery) really had a swell time. The combination of musical acts such as the Mamuzee twins, whose energetic dance moves have become a trademark, Kenny St. Brown and We Ekelimo singer and award-winning gospel act, Asu Ekiye, thrilled the audience with their music and kept nearly everyone rocking to their music. At a point, Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki to his fans) jumped on the stage to display his dancing talent to loud cheers and applause.

Ace comedians Tee A and Gordons also cracked some ribs with their jokes while the church choir added more excitement with some gospel numbers. Top actor Zack Orji unveiled his musical side that evening when he sang with his wife, Ngozi and the choir.

Though arriving late for the ceremony because of bad traffic, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, who looked relaxed in brown shirt and stripped navy trousers, told the audience that he had to be at the event since he was being" recognised by the Lord's vineyard." "The Lord is a fountain of creativity," he stated, adding," In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth from nothing. And from nothing, Nollywood came up. The Lord put me in the movie industry when there was nothing. I see myself as a role model because some people became actors because they saw me on TV."

The evening was a roll call of the top names in the entertainment industry. These included Justus Esiri, who was regal in a blue agbada, Emma Edokpaye, Alex Osifo who came in with his wife Princess, Tony Okoroji, Charles Okafor, Fred Amata, Sam Uche Anyamele and Lillian Bach. Others were singer Essence, Obey Etuk, Ikenna Igwe, Dickson Iroegbu, Segun Arinze, Emeka Enyiocha, Paul Adams, Paul Obazele, Bobby Michael, Tuvi James and Henrietta Kosoko among others.

The evening's high point was the presentation of awards to the different associations in the industry including the Actors guild, the Nigerian Society of Cinematographers, Screenwriters Guild of Nigeria, Award for Comedians, "these people make us laugh even when you don't want to laugh," said the bishop while giving the award, Movies Reporters Guild, Nigerian Society of Editors and others. Special awards were given to Tony Okoroji (for his effort and contribution to the music industry), Peter Igho, O'Jez entertainment and Jide Kosoko (received on his behalf by his wife Henrietta).

The action-packed evening revealed the other side of the church, that it's not all about sermons and heavenly hymns. It showed that Christians too know how to party and have fun.

Ijeoma Ayira of the publicity department of the church speaking on the event stated, "The first purpose of the event was to honour these stars for the impact they are making in society and secondly to let them know God loves them and in the process introduce the word of God to them."

From what happened at the service, it seemed this purpose was achieved.