In October last year, I interviewed a pastor who gave me a gift; it was a book by Aity Dennis titled, He Kept Me. For many months, I did not read it and then one day, early in June, my daughter was looking for something to read, and I handed the book to her and said, “Here take this and read it aloud to me. I have meant to read it but haven’t.” So, my daughter began to read, and all the time she was laughing and saying, “Mummy, she has a sense of humour. I think you should feature her in DOZ.” I thought it would be great to feature her in DOZ because she had a sense of humour and because she had many awesome testimonies. I eventually read the book for myself but not before I called Pastor Aity Dennis and had a chat with her. I will never forget that telephone conversation. I felt like I had known her all my life. I fell in love with her personality instantly. She is a lovely person, and when I got around to reading her book for myself, I was amazed at how she had managed to keep her laughter and bubbly personality over the years despite everything the enemy threw at her.
This woman has had more than her fair share of challenges. She waited more than two decades to have the children God promised her. After waiting twenty years she had her first child and then her periods stopped, but it didn’t stop God from keeping His promise to her and giving her twins (a boy and a girl) almost four years later. While waiting on God to give her children, she had several surgeries, and on one occasion, she died and went to heaven and returned to her body but not before hearing the heavenly choir sing. On another occasion, she went to the hospital to have a malaria injection, and an error caused her to leave the hospital paralysed, she remained in that state for a year until God healed her. A bundle of testimonies she is indeed. If you are having challenges in your life and you think God has abandoned you or it appears God lied to you because His promises are yet to be delivered, you need to read this interview. And please do not stop there, get her book, He Kept Me and read that too. You will be in awe of the God we serve. With great joy and excitement, I present to you, DOZ That Inspire You, Aity Dennis. You will laugh a lot, maybe cry a little, but you will be inspired.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Aity Dennis; I am a music minister, Pastor, Preacher, mother all rolled into one. Oh lest I forget, I am a wife of one husband whose name is Dr. Dennis Inyang. He is a peak performance coach and Lead Pastor of Sure Word Assembly, Lagos. I hold a first degree in French language and a Masters in Mass Communication. I served our nation as a French teacher, Television Producer and a Magazine Editor and Proofreader before answering the call to ministry. I was born in Etinan in Akwa Ibom State and grew up mostly in Akwa Ibom State though I had the first leg of my University education in Cross River State at the University of Calabar.
Were your parents Christians?
My parents were Christians in the sense that they were not going to the mosque, they usually attended church (don’t laugh!). But my mother later got born again and understood what it meant to have a deeper and more personal relationship with the Lord.
When and how did you become a Christian?
I grew up in a Christian home but without a personal relationship with Jesus. I got born again on campus in a programme organized by the Christian Union of the University of Calabar. The Guest Speaker, the late Apostle Numbere was speaking in that programme and when he made the altar call, I responded. From then on, my life took a new turn. I have since then held tenaciously to the salvation I received that day till date.
When and how did you meet your husband?
I met my husband in the university. I still recall like yesterday the very first time I met him. It was outside the campus refectory. I saw this black boy, he greeted me and told me he saw me a few days back giving my salvation testimony in the Christian Union programme that had just ended the previous week. Coincidentally, he happened to have been a member of the planning committee which organized that campus crusade where I gave my life to Christ. He congratulated me on my new faith, we shared pleasantries, and that was it. Before long, we had become friends of some sort. Two years after, when we were done with our studies and were about leaving for NYSC, he proposed marriage to me. We have been married for 27 years now which shows that I accepted his proposal.
When and how did you get called into ministry?
Tall question! In fact, even me I am wondering! As I look back, I can’t really lay a finger on a specific date or time. I think it was a gradual thing. As I kept serving the Lord in Church, I was drawing closer and closer to ministry. I just kept having a deeper sense of commitment to what I was doing. I found out that singing was no more just rendering songs in the choir or doing solos. It was an avenue to touch lives. It had metamorphosed into something that I came to derive a lot of satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment from. I found that I started praying and interceding seriously every time I knew it was my turn to take praise and worship, choir solos, etc. After a while, I realised that nothing else gave me so much joy like singing. And that was it!
In what ways has the ministry brought you victory in your personal life?
The music ministry has brought me so much victory in several ramifications. For instance, if I am in a depressing situation, I fall back on my worship experience. As I worship, I receive a lot of peace and inner healing. In fact, like I usually say, whenever the devil throws a stone at me, I use it to build a temple of praise to the Lord, and it works out for good. As a matter of fact, many of my over 3000 songs were written in times when I was almost in dire straits. As I pray and seek the Lord, I end up in deep worship. I come out of them singing away my fears, my hurts, and pain. Many times, I find myself singing my prayer. So, if I am happy I write a song and if I am sad, a song comes out of it. That’s how we roll.
What is the most rewarding thing you have done thus far and why is it rewarding?
I have done many rewarding things; I can’t really tell which I should say is the most rewarding. For instance, the very fact that I have been married to one man for 27 years now, taking care of him and my family and experiencing marital bliss in return is, if you ask me, a very rewarding experience. I am in the ministry full time, and I have to keep attending to the spiritual, emotional, psychological and even material needs of people; that also is very rewarding. We run a scholarship programme through our NGO called Excel Africa where we sponsor indigent children through Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions. I can go on and on and on. One of the things I am doing now which gives me a lot of fulfillment and to me is also very rewarding, though it is a very tall assignment, is the fact that I currently oversee the Fellowship of Gospel Music Ministers of Nigeria(FOGMMON)as the Lagos State Chairman. FOGMMON has the legendary Panam Percy Paul as Chairman and the Prince of the Niger Delta, Asu Ekiye as President. The responsibility to contribute to positively affect the lives of other music ministers in the state is awesome. However, it is a very demanding task when one understands what it means to coordinate very skilled celebrities, bring them together under one roof to work on any project or carry out any voluntary assignment. But God’s grace has been sufficient. Recently, FOGMMON spearheaded the recording of the very first collabo among Gospel artistes in Nigeria; it was a Peace Song project. We believed it was time to lift up our voices as minstrels in the land and speak peace over our nation. And we did. The music was recorded by Wole Oni, and the video was directed by Sammie Okposo. Lagos had to host all the artists that came for the project from all other parts of the country. It was fantastic but to achieve it wasn’t a mean task. As I look back, and every time the video is broadcast, I know every effort put into it was worth it. We organize a musicians’ congress once every month, and it has been both very educating and interesting.
What challenges have you overcome and how?
Hehehe! Challenges? I thought you wanted to do an interview? But it’s like you are trying to write a book! The challenges I have had in these my years of sojourning on planet earth are enough material for a book. In fact, my book titled ‘HE KEPT ME’ features a great chunk of it. But just to mention a few: I have had to grapple with paralysis before. As in, I lost the use of my leg, and I had to do crutches, wheelchair and being carried by people from one location to the other. God saw me through that and today I can use my legs again. I have gone through multiple surgeries. During my last surgery, I died in the hospital and went to heaven but like Cece sang, ‘ Mercy said No, I don’t wanna let you go…’So, I am actually here today because He kept me. Anyone who says that heaven is not real should just perish the thought. I have been there, but it just wasn’t my time, so His mercy brought me back. Today, every time I wake up and see another day, I give thanks, praise, and glory to the Giver and Sustainer of life. One of my greatest challenges which was that of waiting for a baby for over 20 years is already in the public domain. I will never cease to thank God for changing me from Mama nothing to Mama 3.
What challenges have been the most difficult for you?
You would expect me to say that the most difficult of my challenges has been waiting for over 20 years for a baby. But no, the most traumatic has been seeing people whom as a Pastor, I have literally laid down my life for, loving and caring for them only to be paid back with evil. The pain of being betrayed is real. It hurts deeply, and only God can heal that kind of pain. I actually believe I am one easy -going -happy -go -go -bubbling- infectiously joyous-ever -smiling- Christian person. I don’t hold grudges; I don’t keep malice. When the Bible says not to allow the sun to go down on your anger, I take it literally. I believe that tomorrow should not meet you with the anger of yesterday if you are a Christian worth the name. But when after you have been stabbed, and you have forgiven, you find your heart still bleeding and you have to keep believing God for healing, that is when you understand what the Bible means when it says that the vessel of the Master must be tested by the fire. And when He has tried me, I want to come forth as gold that has been tested in the furnace of affliction. This is when you know that even as a minister, God Himself is still training you and causing you to grow to the stature of the perfect man. So even I who would usually boast that I can forgive at the snap of a finger, have learnt that to attain a certain level of spiritual growth, I am in dire need of the grace of God more than I could ever imagine. Unfortunately, some people are just sent by the devil as his agents to throw arrows (or should I call it javelins) at you. Just reminds me of Saul trying to kill the very David who was singing away his mental illness. It didn’t start today. They hold the Bible, speak in tongues, smile, and dance with you in Church. But by the time they are through with their assignment, it will take God for you to recover, find your bearing, even remember the spelling of your name and remain a Christian, not to talk of a minister! But my realization is that every experience God allows us to pass through, no matter how painful it is, He will use the material to build His kingdom and fulfill His purpose.
How did it impact your life and ministry?
Well, it has made me know that in God’s school you don’t select the courses. If you want to be a doctor, for instance, you have to take all the courses pertaining to your training; even the very difficult and detestable courses. So that is how it is. You just have got to pass through some trials so that by the time you are through, you don’t have anything to boast of; you will know to give glory only to God for the very fact that after all you’ve been through, you are still standing. Every General has got scars of war to show through the battle. Every day, I just realise more than ever before that human beings are just that, human. Some will add to you, some will subtract from you, and some will destroy you with their words and actions if they can. But the beautiful thing is that God has got your back through it all.
In hindsight what would you do differently?
Lean more on the Spirit of God. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t get carried away by appearances, no matter how angelic.
What advice do you have for others who are going through a similar challenge?
My advice is that as a Christian, we should be more spiritually alert. There is, of course, always a tendency to assume that everyone you see in church is a Christian because to the pure all things are pure. You are likely going to deal with people from their outward appearance, but God knows the heart, and if He ever sounds a warning in your spirit, you had better take it seriously. If not, you could turn around and find out that that behind some of the ‘committed,’ angelic, never -could -hurt- a-fly appearance lies a wicked heart capable of doing the unthinkable. And the very hands that look like helping hands are the devil’s hands stretched out to destroy what you have been labouring all your life to build. Another thing is to warn you to load your airtime of forgiveness up front because you will surely need it; in fact, to tell you the truth, you will exhaust it and pray for some more.
Apart from salvation what is the biggest testimony of God’s faithfulness in your life?
At the moment, it is the very fact that in His inexplicable mercy, faithfulness, and awesomeness, God could, against all the odds, make me a mother children after all hopes to have children were gone. I still stand in awe of Him. I don’t know when I will ever stop testifying of this miracle. At the dedication of my miracle twins who came four years after my monthly periods had stopped, I released a CD called GOD OF WONDERS because that is exactly who He is. My first baby, Lovely, came after 21 years of waiting and my boy and girl twins, Awesome and Gladsome, came on our 25th wedding anniversary. Till date, every time I look at them, it is still like I am dreaming!
Have you experienced seasons of loneliness and how did you handle it?
I have experienced several. Sometimes it would seem as if God is so far away. I remember in those my over 20 years of waiting for a baby; there were times I wondered if God still heard my prayers. I cried many tears. I will never cease to thank God for the very loving and understanding husband God blessed me with. He was always there to hold my hand, comfort and assure me that God will come through. There is a line in one of my songs called JEHOVAH UNPREDICTABLE in my GOD OF WONDERS CD; the line says: ‘if crying could give me a baby, I would have a thousand children…’ And I mean every word of it. In those times, no one else really understands what you are going through. I have had to go through lonely times when I would cry, and no tears were dropping physically. I mean every fibre in me is shedding tears and I am the only one who knows I am weeping. If you looked at me then, you wouldn’t have a clue what is going on, it will only take the Spirit of discernment for you to know that it’s not well after all. Only my husband seemed to be able to detect many of the moments when those dark clouds descended on me, and he will spring to action immediately to bring in every sunshine of hope he could muster. But those lonely times actually helped me to develop a stronger relationship with God. Somehow, He is always there even when we don’t see Him. I remember songs I have written in my lonely times; songs like: You will never walk alone, Immanuel, God’s love is higher than your highest mountain…etc.
How has God received the glory in your life?
I believe God is taking glory in my life because I have witnessed like Paul would say, how that the trials we went through have turned around for the furtherance of the Gospel. God gave me a message of hope to my generation, and I have gone around the nations spreading this message of hope and joy in Christ. I recall that several years back, I wrote one of my hit songs titled ‘You will get there.’ Everywhere I went and sang that song; the devil would laugh me to scorn. He would tell me: ”You are going around telling everyone ‘God is taking you somewhere, you will get there, you will get there…’one baby you don’t have…when are you yourself going to get there?” I would always tell him: ‘God remains faithful whether I have babies or not…’. I would then start recounting my many other blessings. But I didn’t stop praising God. Today, the miracle I have had has accentuated my message of hope as I testify to His faithfulness everywhere I go. God, at the end of the day, has taken the glory from what the enemy thought will bring us shame. Talk of turning our mess into a message!
What should followers and fans expect from you in the months to come?
I released a single titled ‘God is real’ recently at the launch of The Minstrels, an app pioneered by eTranzact, to push Nigeria’s Gospel Music beyond boundaries. I happened to have been one of the 30 Gospel music ministers in Nigeria selected by eTranzact to launch that app. My fans should watch out for the video of God is Real. I am also working on a release of the dramatized video of my song; You will Get There. Whenever we present the song with the fully dramatized script on stage, the message is always so impactful. We are working at making it a full-fledged video soonest. My next US tour starts this September and my annual UNSTOPPABLE PRAISE CONCERT is happening in November among many other things.
Where can people get more information about you?
You can reach me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (@aitydennis). And these websites too: www.aitydennis.com; www.surewordassembly.org; The Minstrels; iTunes.
