From The Hood To Heaven

(Rev Ade And Future Wife Busola Reviewing A Song That He Wrote)

My older brother is one of my biggest inspirations in life. His commitment to his faith is outstanding and sometimes overwhelming.

My first taste of advertising was when he secured an internship for me at an agency called Haymarket. There is a 9 year gap between us... I was a snot nosed, skinny, spotty, insecure kid and I appreciated him giving me the opportunity.

At this time my brother Ade or Rev Ade had a vision to start a worship group dedicated to improving peoples relationship with God. At this time he had moved out from the family home after Uni and was living in a council flat in Bethnal green before gentrification had really started. Despite his surroundings my brother was the man.

Every morning during this internship my brother would pray and play on his keyboard having visions of creating this band that would impact people’s lives spiritually and make people feel a connection to God. A lot of people would laugh at him for daring to dream.

No matter your circumstance never be afraid to dream.

Forward over 10 years later on the 14th of June 2018 my brothers vision has and is (because there’s much more to come) coming to fruition. His worship collective held a concert that held over 400 people and his band has grown from one young man to a family of over 20 compromising of singers, instrumentalists, photographers, videographers, artists and dancers. The question is how did they get there?

"A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something that you will die for" - Howard G. Hendricks

In my opinion, it is my brother’s conviction in his faith that is the main ingredient to his success. People feed off of that stability, in a world that is ever changing and where there is so much uncertainty, having someone that is assured in their faith is refreshing. I have seen my brother overcome sickness, financial strains and fallen mentors but his faith in God grows stronger.

Moreover, my brother is a skilled marketer.

Facebook and Instagram are his channels of choice.
He posts at least one post per day and regularly posts stories so his followers get a 'behind the scenes' feel to his life.
His posts all have a similar theme. They typically fall into one of these categories. Faith, family or motivational quotes.
Content planning. His media team creates videos well in advance and they post at optimal time. (See tools such as Hootsuite, Later). For even greater reach, they leverage paid advertising.

He has just over 1,200 authentic followers on his personal account. People regularly connect with him to ask for his band to minister at their church or for him to give a talk.

It’s not about your follower count. Fake Followers and bots plague social media. A lot of people boast of large followings but do they add value to those follower’s lives? If you held an event or sold a product how many of those followers would turn up and be counted?

They also consistently deliver a quality product. From the images captured you can see how intense SLW's gatherings are. I can't wait to witness the future for this amazing group and they encourage me to see what is possible.