Centurion pastor, singer shares message of love
A Centurion gospel pastor wants to use his gospel music to share his message of the greatness of God’s love.
Born in Pretoria, pastor Rich Mtwseni (35) comes from five generations of pastors.
“Both my father and grandmother were pastors,” he told Rekord this week.
“Despite this, becoming a pastor was never something I saw myself doing.”
READ MORE: Watch the spectacle of millions of Red-billed Quelea flocking
After matriculating from Hatfield Christian School, Mtwseni intended to go to medical school.
“I decided to spend some time in a local hospital to see what my life would be like after my studies and I decided it wasn’t for me.”
This was when Mtwseni turned to another one of his passions: singing.
“I don’t believe that singing is something you necessarily choose to do,” he said.
“Singing is something that chooses you. You try and run away from it but every time it finds you.”
Mtwseni also doesn’t believe a single thing inspires a gospel artist to write music.
“I see music, especially gospel music, as an expression,” he said.
“It is an expression of your life to God and what He does.”
“I don’t sit down and say, ‘now I am going to write a song’. It is too mechanical.”
“My songs come to me when I am in church, worshipping God or even when I am driving.”
Mtwseni can speak eight languages and incorporates this into his music.
READ MORE: Legendary chase demons make the engines roar
“My songs consist of a mixture of languages because some things just sound better in other languages,” he said.
“I think it is important to realise that gospel music doesn’t need an American sound to be professional.”
“We can remain Afrocentric and still be professional.”
Mtwseni said becoming a pastor was a calling from God.
“I still feel strange when I hear people calling me pastor,” he said.
“Because of what I had seen of the church growing up, I never envisioned it would be the life for me.”
This is the message Mtwseni hopes to share with his new album, Heart of Worship.
READ MORE: Next generation HIV prevention drug gets FDA approval
The album is being recorded live later this month.
“The message is about chasing after God even in our Christian lives where we often get self-satisfied and think we’ve mastered Him.”
“Through the storm of today’s life, there is God who wants to be a part of your life. If you seek Him, you will find Him.”
Mtwseni currently lives in Eldoraigne with his wife and three children.
For more information, visit his social media pages or send an email to richardmtweni@gmail.com.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
Rekord East
Rekord North
Rekord Centurion
Rekord Moot
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
