Ways to make your event the talk of the town, and have your guests attend right on time.

I have some incredible tips on how to make your event the talk of the town, and you end up having an event where your guests come right on time.

Who needs the Oscars when you can throw your own red carpet party at home? Here's how to do it with style.

• If you're not a whiz on Photoshop, enlist someone who is! Create the invitation as if you're hosting an awards show, addressing it with something like: "You are cordially invited to the first annual red carpet party to celebrate the ..."
• With your guests' character traits in mind, think of possible awards categories. For example: "biggest lip gloss addict", "funniest person" or "best dressed". Choose five nominees for each category (remembering to include everyone at least once) and ask guests to fill in a ballot when they arrive at the party.
• Being a red carpet party, dress code should be black tie. This means suits for guys and long dresses for girls. If you can't afford to hit the shops, visit a formal wear hire store, or check out your local Vinnies for retro gear. You might want to organise a hair and beauty bar in your bedroom for your close friends to get ready in together before the party. If the event isn't being held at your house, you could even chuck in with your mates to hire a limo to drive you to the party — how rockstar is that?!
• Create a handout instructing guests on what will be happening during the night, such as when the awards will be presented and when the food will be served. You may want to organise a friend to sing, or a band to perform.
• Choose a few friends to act as presenters, nominate an M.C (read: the host) and a trustworthy friend to count the ballots (and place notes with the winning names into envelopes for the presenters). Ask siblings or parents if they'll act as photographers and DJs.
• Think of what you can use as trophies — chocolate Easter bunnies and toys (such as action figurines) might work. Consider buying some silly goodies from a joke shop (think: whoopee cushions, plastic snakes) and let the winners do a lucky dip. And don't forget the goody bags! Fill mini carry bags with sweets, and anything else you can rustle up (think: sparkly pens, stickers, silly knick-knacks, a CD of the tracks played during the night).
• Ask one of your friends if they're up for hosting an after party, or organise to hold it at somewhere fun where guests can change into their casual clothes and let their hair down.

 

In all you do let your guest feel honoured. If you still need more help on your red carpet event, call +2348035731303, or send a mail to jayzevents2013@gmail.com.

Above all, you cant be a host and not attract all eyes. You just have to look good.

CLICK AND KNOW WHY THE MEDIA LIGHTS ARE ON 'ERA OF ERRORS' BY HUMPREY ERUMAKA

SIDE VIEW BY DIMGBA IGWE OF THE SUN NEWSPAPER ON THE BOOK 'ERA OF ERRORS' WRITTEN BY BISHOP HUMPREY ERUMAKA OF WORDBASE ASSEMBLY.

 

If there is any verse or two that directly captures the substance of a new book by Bishop Humphrey Erumaka, ERA OF ERRORS: Rumbling in the Temple, which I happen to have reviewed, it will probably be taken from Paul’s letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, which states: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy…” (1Timothy 4:1-2) Surely, the Nigerian church or a substantial section of it, has come to a point where there is a spiritual warfare between the Biblical Christianity and a hodge-podge of strange and weird spiritual practices perpetrated in the name of Christ.

It is these spiritual and doctrinal deviations that Bishop Erumaka seeks to tackle frontally in a highly engaging epistle to the Nigerian churches.
My friend, Mike Awoyinfa, whom I usually describe as Nigeria’s best headline caster alive, read the advance copy of the book and declares that it should have been entitled, EPISTLE TO THE NIGERIAN CHURCH.

I agree, recalling that some of Paul’s powerful epistles like those to the Corinthian or Galatian churches or John’s vision for the Seven Churches in Asia Minor were usually responses to permeation of spiritual errors in the churches.
But watch your back, Bishop, for in our clime, emotionalism often trumps truth and accuracy in these matters. Some are going to throw stones first before they even get a chance to read the book and when they read – if they ever do – some may do so with thick religious and commercial blinkers on.
It is, perhaps, important to note that Bishop Erumaka and this writer belong to Pentecostal churches and, therefore, had nothing against Pentecostalism.
I thought I should enter the above caveats ahead of time before the introducing this explosive book. ERA OF ERRORS, published by Global Epistle Communications & Printing Limited, is a book of 205 pages made up of 14 sizzling chapters. The author is no new comer to the trade, having written nine other books – enough to acquire the necessary gravitas to separate between the wheat from the chaff.

The author starts by exploring the dynamics of faith and prayers, drawing out models from the life and examples of the early patriarchs, including heroes of faith like Abraham, David, Solomon, to prophets like Daniel, then Jesus and the early Apostles.
From the examples of these saints, the author sets in proper perspective what prayers and faith are all about, what motivates the saints to prayers, how these heroes of faith prayed even in the extremity of challenging circumstances and the secrets of answered prayers.

The author recommends their models for our examples, substantiating his views with deep and incisive insights that validate his calling as a great teacher of the Word. Set against these excellent biblical models, the viral pervasions, distortions and deviations from Biblical Christianity that now loom prevalent in so many of our churches come into sharp, tragic and comical relief.
If Paul or any of the early Apostles were to attend some supposed prayers sessions, sermons and sundry practices in some of the new fangled churches in Nigeria today, they may be so stunned or amused to learn that these are presumed to be part of the church that Jesus Christ died to save! But in Nigeria, things are falling apart in many of our churches in terms of doctrinal rectitude. Indeed, Bishop Erumaka’s book easily spotlights “a sea of wrong doctrines and unfathomable fables” that has seeped into the modern church.

The parlous state of our economy seems to be breeding army of acute pseudo-believers, seeking either emotional catharsis or for easy scapegoats to unleash their anger and frustrations on, and some ignorant or unscrupulous spiritual merchants are exploiting such psychological traumas and feeding their failures with imaginary enemies to fight against.
Prayers are turning into psycho-dramatic physical exertions rather than spiritual exercise. Erumaka describes this blight spreading through some churches as “dangerous prayer pattern”, culminating in “an amazing sea of confusion with high tempest of calamity.”
Erumaka describes a spiritual parody whereby some churches have become the “arena where the fishers of men have become killers of men” in the name of prayer. Nothing, the author argues, illustrates this spiritual cankerworm in the Nigerian churches better than the growing popularity of fire and brimstone prayers against an endless list of enemies everywhere.

The author writes: “The fire-for-fire and eye-for-eye phenomenon is now the norm. Forgiveness is eschewed during back-to-sender vigils of hate and acrimony. The numbers of tyrants grow in the name of churches. Here, everybody is considered a suspect.
The older ones are considered witches or wizards outright.” A liturgy of “unhealthy prayer gymnastics” that are at times backed up with symbolic actions that are truly weird and unchristian are now gaining more grounds than the normal prayer models by Christ and the Apostles.
The author cites many examples that range from “Sand Deliverance” where the land is to be delivered or liberated at a good fee, to other variants of “Pentecostal witchcraft” described in the book where people are instructed to fill a bottle with sand and in the middle of the night stand at crossroads, pronounce the name of their perceived enemy inside the bottle, cork it and then smash the bottle while at the same time, invoking the sword of Jehu upon the enemy.
Weird? Well, wait until you attend the “Koboko Night” whereby members go to church with whips to flog Satan and some imaginary enemies and, or “Razor Night” where people spend the night, slashing the air in an attempt to inflict wound on their enemies, among other weird practices.

The author argues that some modern day off-spring of Balaam set on making merchandise of the gospel had created a mushroom industry of so-called “Prayer Warriors” who go about, collecting fees from ignorant families and cities, purporting to be breaking ancestral bondages often hidden in the compounds, waiting to be excavated, breaking yokes and liberating cities from territorial spirits, hovering over them.
The author points out that these practices negate the essence of grace and salvation and in any case, flies in the face of examples of the Apostles like Paul, who won over cities of Ephesus, Corinth and Athens not by staging fights against their territorial powers, like Diana and Apollon, but simply Christianised the place by preaching the gospel and teaching the word in faith.

Bishop Erumaka is worried that the sundry fundamental errors in our churches are breeding negative attitudinal and behavioural Christian culture that totally negates the gospel of Christ where the fruits of the spirit like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, faithfulness and self-control are required.

In the end, the exponents of such brand of Christianity, brewed from a concoction of old traditional African practices, sprinkled with distorted Bible texts, become victims of a siege mentality. In turn, the siege mindset breeds bellicose disposition that contradicts the beatitude of Jesus Christ, which is an eternal model for all Christians.
In such situation, the author writes: “Christianity is practised with incredible hatred and palpable suspicion that has saturated our hearts with murderous tendencies against those that offend us.”
At the heart of this epistle is the author’s effort to debunk the unhealthy and erroneous fixation on “Holy Ghost as a weapon of destruction.” Now, today’s Christianity has a growing culture of “enemy-killing prayer warriors”, sending Holy Ghost on assassination errands to kill perceived enemies – an error that has become so humongous that it has spawned unending vigils of Holy Ghost Fire, turning some churches into a sort of “slaughterhouse against all perceived enemies.”
Even the more sedate orthodox Churches, erroneously thinking such warfare prayers were the secret of the explosion of Pentecostal Churches, are blindly copying these strange practices but these are spiritual aberrations rather than a reflection Pentecostal doctrine.

The author argues very convincingly that the notion of “Holy Ghost Fire” as instrument of individual’s private warfare is simply a gross misnomer, for “God is not obligated to kill anybody for you,” precisely because God “is not anybody’s hired killer.”
The author warns that those who are addicted to such forms of dangerous prayers are dangers to themselves because “a praying man without love is like a naked wire with full voltage that will not bring life but sorrows.” The book canvasses for proper education about the purpose and potency of prayer, arguing that maturity in prayer can only come about by a deeper and organic understanding of the dynamics of prayer.
The author reorients readers with a thesis on healthy prayer, with emphasis on the importance of forgiveness as one of the underlying principles of acceptable prayer. In this wise, Era of Errors, becomes a compass for Christians, who are ‘lost in the wilderness of militant prayer”, to find their way out of the pit of “religion without knowledge,” onto a life of prayer, according to the teachings of Christ.
He counsels that “instead of devoting 12 hours of prayer on Satan-related issues, develop your prayer life towards the sound knowledge of God.”

In place of these errors, Erumaka recommends a return to biblical model of Christianity and pleads with the churches to “back off those errors and go to the Bible for the real Pentecost experience.” In this book, Bishop Erumaka is waging a bold and courageous battle against a tidal sea of errors even in the high places in some Nigerian churches.
Rich in real-life analogies, deep and robust in biblical insights into the Scriptures, ERA OF ERRORS is a veritable mirror into the soul of every Christian for self-appraisal; an invaluable addition to the expanding Christian literature for today’s living and a refreshing epistle to the African church that calls for an inward look and critical self-analysis.

Note: for copies of ERA OF ERRORS, call +2348035731307 or send an e-mail to jayzevents2013@gmail.com
In the next two weeks, extracts from ERA OF ERRORS will be featured here on this blog.

Mike Awoyinfa of The Sun recommends Era of errors by Humphrey Erumaka (you need to know why)

PRESS CLIPS BY MIKE AWOYINFA OF THE SUN NEWSPAPER
ON ERA OF ERRORS
WRITTEN BY BISHOP HUMPHREY ERUMAKA OF WORDBASE ASSEMBLY.

I have been reading an interesting book by Bishop Humphrey Erumaka, the pioneering President of the Epistle Communication Ministries and Senior Pastor of Wordbase Assembly, a fast-growing church located at Okota in Lagos.
The book titled Era of Errors is a letter to the Christian Church in Nigeria where the author points out what he considers ungodly and unchristian practices that are destroying the Christian faith in Nigeria and the whole of the African continent.
“The church is now invaded by false brethren who are armed to the teeth, with falsehood and lies,” he writes. “Day by day they gain boldness, and break fresh grounds. They make mockery of the gospel. Their goal is to make the true word of God scarce. What would be the fate of the church if the nefarious activities of these people continue?”
In the opinion of Erumaka, the peaceful faith propounded by Jesus has been turned into a wartime religion where the Holy Spirit is now a missile fired to kill and burn perceived enemies. Rather than the religion of love and forgiveness that true Christianity is, what we have today is a religion where the Holy Spirit is sent on a mission to assassinate. When people go to church to pray, the prayer turns out to be war where the Holy Spirit is incited to go and kill! But Erumaka says in his Era of Errors that this is an erroneous act that should be stopped.
In a chapter titled “Holy Ghost is not an assassin,” he writes: “The use of ‘Holy Ghost fire’ as a conjecture in prayer has become a great concern to me. The insult is so grave that the Holy Ghost is sent to do all kinds of dirty jobs in the lives of every perceive enemy. Some make statements like: ‘Holy Ghost, I permit you to shatter their brains’; ‘Holy Ghost, I command you to destroy them.’ What a command!”
The author continues: “As I travel round the world, I observe that these statements are prevalent in Africa. But it is gradually spreading as the proponents are planting churches all over the world.”
Beloved members of Press Clips Pentecostal Church (PCPC), today I bring you snippets from Bishop Erumaka’s latest book, “Era of Errors: Rumbling in the Temple” which will be launched on April 9 at Muson Centre, Agip Hall, Lagos.
“The fire-for-fire, and eye-for-eye phenomenon is now the norm. Forgiveness is eschewed during back-to-sender vigils of hate and acrimony. The number of tyrants grow in the name of churches. Here, everybody is considered a suspect. The older ones are considered witches or wizards outright.
“Laptops-carrying native doctors in designers’ wears are fast taking over the pulpit. Ex-robbers have exchanged guns for the Bible. They raise huge money with lying tongues and divide their loot without a modicum of remorse. At this stage of insanity, one needs to attempt an epistle to institute sanity into Christendom else we shall be swallowed up a sea of wrong doctrines and unfathomable fables. Where there are no elders, the children eat vulture as chicken.
“As a teaching Apostle, I believe that the next generations of Christians should receive a baton from our present priesthood. If not better, but a remnant of what the scripture union revival handed over to us from the Holy Spirit.”
Era of Dangerous Prayer
“We are in the era dangerous prayer pattern. The typical warring stance of Christians contradicts the beatitude, Jesus’ message to us, which represents a model for our behavior, spiritual and relational activities. This prayer trend has in recent times dominated the psyche and sense of reasoning of Christians. God’s precept has been jettisoned. Today, Christianity is practised with incredible hatred and palpable suspicion. It has stained and saturated our pure hearts with murderous tendencies against those that offend us. Is forgiveness still part of our Christian virtue?
“This book is just an attempt to address some anomalies in the church. Therefore, it is not a fix-it-all piece but my modest epistle to the African church. It is a call to stop the madness to quit money gospel and the wrong map to the incoming generations.”
“The African church today is so much in error with doctrines that promote hatred, cursing and revenge instead of the Christian charity which Christ and the foundation Apostles of our faith taught. These doctrines have magnified demons, enemies, and have also enhanced suspicion. It is such that everybody is a now declared a suspect and treated like one. It is daily being heated up with murderous tendencies such that Christ’s teachings of the beatitudes otherwise called ‘The beautiful attitudes’ as a virtue of Christian living is now considered a weak gospel. If your emphasis is not on massive and instant destruction of all your enemies via an outpour of imaginary cascading avalanche of ‘Holy Ghost Fire’, you are not considered powerful.
“If you are not insightful in tracing ancestral origins of curses and hindrances, you are considered a weak minister of the gospel. It is a pitiable gospel of bondage that we now preach. Such made Paul ask the Galatian brethren, ‘Who bewitched you to have started in the spirit but ended up in the flesh.’ If my freedom will only be gained by how many times I pay and send a liberation team to my village compound, paternal grandparents, and even in-laws homes for my deliverance, then Christ died for nothing.”
Prayer Warriors?
“It is now fashionable to call some people ‘prayer warriors’ based on the assumption that they pray much longer and louder than others. But, oftentimes, their dispositions do not affirm this impression. Some of them are irritable, quick-tempered, loquacious, selfish, hateful, self-opinionated, to say the least. In the religious pride, they extol themselves too highly above others. These traits are in contrast to what happens in the lives of the holy people who pray.
“People are supposed to be broken at the altar of prayer. But in the era of error, prayer warriors appear aggressive in all things. They approach prayer point with a war-like attitude of ‘kill and bury’. To them, everything is war, no love and no human relational character. Having observed this anomaly over a period of time, I reached a conclusion that heaven now needs more intercessors than prayer warriors.”
There is nothing like Holy Ghost Fire
Today, Christians “now focus on ‘Holy Ghost Fire’ as a weapon of destruction. This is an error. There is nothing like ‘Holy Ghost Fire’ in the Bible let alone its wrong application as per using it for destructive assignments.”
“When Jesus sits at the right hand of the father and looks at the church for whom he died, his heart bleeds because of the state of the believers’ servitude and ignorance. He sees us fighting a fresh battle and living like refugees in our own land of freedom. He sees us doing something extra in pursuit of our freedom for which he had paid the price from a foe he defeated and had placed under our feet by virtue of where we are sitting with him in high places.
“Instead of devoting 12 hours of prayer on Satan-related issues, develop your prayer life towards the sound knowledge of God. It is time to put on the whole armour of God and stand on the liberty wherein Christ has set you free…Beloved, stand and give no place to the devil.”
Conclusion
“This book does not in any way condemn prayer and fasting because I too pray and fast with the right knowledge and motive. I am not anti-deliverance. But I lay emphasis on the word that delivers.” Turn your Bible to Philippians 4:8.

INTERVIEW WITH THE C.E.O OF PLEASANT JAY EVENTS (Mrs. Ajoke Akinola)

INTERVIEW WITH THE C.E.O OF PLEASANT JAY EVENTS

 

J.O.E- Introduce urself.

 

P.E- My name is Ajoke Akinola the MD/CEO of Pleasant Jay Events. I received my Higher National Diploma with upper Credit in Business Administration and Management from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu. I have a wide range of administrative, banking and marketing work experiences.

Pursuing my passion for administration and organizing, I was trained by a UK certified specialist (Mrs Kikelomo of Blooms Designs) as well as other local trainers in the field of Event Planning /management and Catering Services. I started the Event Management Company in June 2010. I am a member of NECA NETWORK OF ENTREPRENUERIAL WOMEN (NNEW) and alumni member of FATE Foundation. I have attended a wide range of seminars, conferences and workshops like the Start Your Business (SYB) organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), YOUWIN business Plan seminar organised by the federal Government of Nigeria, Capacity building for SME organised by the Business Day, Business Networking organised by FATE foundation, 2^nd SME TOOLKIT conference and 2^nd social Sector Dialogue organised by EDC of the Pan African University amongst others.

I have (By God’s grace) successfully planned events for multinational companies like IBM West Africa, Penquin South Africa and others like Rosario Furniture, Netsolution LTD, Rosebuzz Oil &Gas and several individuals.

J.O.E- How long have you been in the event management business?

 

We started out in June 2010. 3 years precisely.

 

 

What inspires you to keep your head up in the midst of the storm during an event?

The Holy Spirit is our major source of inspiration. He directs, and grants us success even in the midst of storms during an event.

Also the passion we have for the job is another source of inspiration. For any event we managed, we handle them as if our whole career depends on them. We give our clients the wow effect, the passion for the job, makes us go the extra mile for our clients. For every event there is something extra for the clients; so at all times the clients always appreciate us.

When was your most challenging moment while planning an event, and how did you handle it?

 

Most challenging moment was when clients provided non dependable vendors, though we advised accordingly but the clients insisted. These so called incompetent vendors arrived late for the event and also forgot some of their equipment. This actually happened during a client wedding ceremony.
What we did was to calm the couple’s nerves when they arrived at the reception venue; we made sure they were comfortable in a separate room, while we were following up on the other vendors that were yet to arrive. We were able to manage the situation perfectly.

When was your most exciting moment in event management?

 

We have found most of our jobs exciting due to the fact that we take pleasure in doing our jobs well and we also work with reliable and professional vendors.

What were your challenges when you started?

 

Some of the challenges we faced were penetrating into the Nigerian market, because many find it difficult to trust that the upcoming entrepreneurs can actually deliver alongside with the so called “big shots” in the industry. Another challenge we face is the human capital, we rarely find committed staffs. Most people are out to make quick money.

How do you cope with event management and the home front?

 

Basically as a career woman, hold my family in very high esteem. In cases where I needed to stay away from home for some days, I make adequate plans ahead of time so as to keep both ends moving. I just don't neglect my family for anything.

What type of attire can be easily seen in your wardrobe?

 

Majorly, you’ll find tops and trousers, they are smart on me and am ready to move at all times

What do you think about event management in Nigeria today, and where do you think it's heading to?

 

Event management in Nigeria has become one of the prominent businesses in our land, and has been able to proffer solutions for many Nigerians, i.e. planners and clients as well.
Though one of the major challenges in the industry is the issue of quack planners; many chose the profession only to enrich themselves at the expense of the clients. They provide scruffy and unprofessional services. But thank God for the immergence of APPOEMN (Association of Professional Party Organiser and Event Managers of Nigeria) to curb all these.

Where do you see pleasant jay events in the next 5 years?

 

We hope to become a household name and the preferred leader in the event industry by creating and sustaining a viable brand in the industry and delivering value beyond our clients’ expectations


How do you intend to give back to society?

We intend to do this by working closely with NGOs and also offering well subsidized training for prospective event managers.

What advice do you have for new and intending event managers?

 

My advice for them is to always put God first, remain focused, be committed and to believe in themselves.

 

Who would you like to appreciate?

Our utmost gratitude goes to almighty God for bringing us this far. Through thick and thin He's been there for us and gave us victory.

Also to my sweetheart, my husband and strength, he's been so supportive and understanding.

My wonderful mentors have been so great to me. To the entire Jayz Occasions & Events team for featuring us on your blog, we feel highly honored.

And to everyone that God has used for us, we say a big thank you.

Website: www.pleasantjayevents.com.ng

Email: info@pleasantjayevents.com.ng

pleasantjayevents@gmail.com

 

Daily Lifters by Chinyere John (proudly Nigerian) A daily devotional, and a must have

BOOK REVIEW

TITLE- DAILY LIFTERS

AUTHOR- CHINYERE JOHN

 

The book “Daily lifters” is a collection of very interesting passages of scriptures and the author’s brief thoughts on them. As the name implies, it seeks to boost your confidence and faith. It seeks to encourage the reader that there’s no cause to fret. The central theme of the book is the portrayal of God’s infinite capacity and his sovereignty in all situations. This is rightly captured on page 77 with a verse from Isaiah 41: 17-20

“When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open the rivers in the high places, and fountains in the midst of the valley: I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water…” Why will He do this? “That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand altogether, that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the holy one of Israel hath created it.”

The book, ‘Daily Lifters’, is not just a devotional, but in so many ways follow after that pattern. The author in titling it unwittingly gives you an idea on how best to appreciate the work. It is best taken in, in small pieces than as a whole. Each small bit serves to make an impression on the reader leaving you with a momentum that spurs you on.

The book is unique in that it can be viewed as a collection of promissory notes from an authentic source, as it opens with the passage “every word of God is flawless…”  In a time when all the highs and lows are all too contrasting, the book does not so much as call for sober reflection, but with every page it seems to re-echo the phrase “keep moving” as captured in the seemingly perpetual bounce of the lady adorning the cover page. With its home grown flavor, it assures, it reaffirms, it encourages, it reminds and indeed it lifts. It is positive.

In the pages you can almost see the exuberant confident smile of the author as she reassuringly shares with you well placed promises from a God who lacks the capacity to let you down. It is a book that will serve well as a daily manual for the journey of life. I gladly recommend a copy.

This book lunch was also supported by Jayz Occassions & Events. Here are some pictures taken at the event.