René Patrick is a born again Christian, worship music minister and a recording artiste, who preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ through music. He is also the brains behind Tehillah W.M, a platform that trains young and upcoming singers about music. He has so far released five songs , ‘Arankunda’, ‘Uko wahoze’, ‘Jehovah’, ‘Mfite Impamvu’ and and ‘Ni byiza.’ The artiste pursued his bachelor’s degree at Mount Kenya University in Mass communication and Media where he graduated in 2016. He is currently ministering at The Love of Jesus Christ Church (E.A.J.C), in Remera. We caught up with him about his journey in ministry. Excerpts below; When did you start singing ? Well , I remember developing interest in music at a young age. It was more of dancing than singing but around 2000, I started singing and from then I never stopped. Who inspired you into music ? One of my major influences was the former lead singer of one of my all time favorite groups (Makoma) . Her name was Nathalie and I used to sing along and mimic her a lot. What compelled you to focus on gospel music? To be honest , at first I started singing in a choir because I liked how they sang but along the way , the gospel of Jesus Christ won my heart and life. From there, it was obvious to me that I had found a purpose to life! Using music to share with many! As I fell in love with Christ , worship was obvious and that is when I found out that I was called to worship Him. How has the journey in ministry been like for you ? It has been a school to me, I faced so many obstacles but also so many blessings . Through it all, the grace of God kept me going and made me a better man and minister. What lessons have you learnt from serving God? I have learned so much. The grace is indeed sufficient! It kept me going even when I felt like giving up, and it carried all the strength I ever needed. Gospel artiste René Patrick. Courtesy. Getting to know and understanding my calling and vision has kept me from deviating and doing what I haven’t been called for, and will save me a lot of disappointments. Also, being careful about associations—waiting on God to lead me when it comes to associations and partnerships because these can be crucial for the fulfilment of one’s mission but all in all, staying grounded in the word of God and letting it be my only message. How did you learn how to sing ? Did you do any course in music? Well, by studying other great vocalists at first and later on through the internet. In 2013, I felt led to start a platform ‘Tehillah W.M’ to mentor young ministers both in music and in ministry and this pushed me to work hard and study more in order to provide proper knowledge.
