[notice]Gareth Hogg previews the Passion World Tour in Pretoria and Cape Town this weekend. He is also covering the Cape Town event for Gateway News — watch out for his report next week![/notice]
This weekend, for their third South African tour, Louie Giglio and the Passion Band will be hitting Pretoria and Cape Town. Besides bringing to our country a contagious passion for music, students, worship and for Christ, they are also bringing with them some big names including Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill and Christian hip hop artist Tedashii.
For those that don’t know him, Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church, in Atlanta, Georgia is a world renowned public speaker, author, and the founder of the Passion Movement (268 Generation).
As renowned as Louie may be, from the early days of the Passion Movement, God connected his story to the confession found in Isaiah 26:8, “For your name and renown are the desire of our souls.”
God’s glory
The heart of Passion is God’s glory, and they believe that ‘God is most glorified in us when we live lives that are fully satisfied in Him – when our lives become a worship to Him.’
Passion has stirred the hearts of multitudes of people, young and old, through their ministry of music, worship, and preaching God’s word at Passion Conferences since 1997.
The 2016 Passion Conference that took place from January 2-4 in Georgia and Texas attracted over 40 000 young adults from 1,500 universities and 47 countries. In South Africa this year, tickets for Friday night at Loftus in Pretoria are sold out and Cape Town has a record ticket sale with an estimated 30% increase from the last tour.
“These are going to be spectacular historic nights for the nation of South Africa…” said Giglio in a recent post. From a production perspective local musician and Passion Production and Ministry Assistant, Jason Zeeman, involved in the Loftus setup said “… I wish I could show you what’s going up in this stadium for Friday night.” “The evening opener is going to be very special. Brace yourself and steady your heart. Here we go…” Without a doubt, while the focus of these nights is directed towards Jesus, Passion brings with it an experience in production excellence of note.
Late change
Despite mixed feelings from ticket holders about Grammy Award winning Israel Houghton having to pull out of the tour for personal reasons, Chris Tomlin alone would be worth the low price of admission, with nearly 30 million records sold and multiple awards including a Grammy for best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2012, Tomlin is a major draw card.
Replacing Houghton is Christian hip hop artist Tedashii from Reach Records. Zeeman comments, “I know that Israel would have been here if he could have. Tedashii is going to wow and gain many South African fans. We’re going to miss Israel and wish him all the best, but ultimately know that God’s got this. He knows exactly what’s going on”. Tedashii has collaborated with a number of well known artists including Lecrae and Crowder to name but two, and is sure to add a dynamic and exciting flavor to the tour.
Despite the band, the renowned speaker, award winning musicians, and top class production – let us be expectant for a weekend of renewed passion for His name and for His glory!
