Concert Family, Moi University

What is Concert? Moi university was  established in 1984 from the ground, and went into history as the first university built by Kenyans for her people. In the beginning, the students fraternity was naive and innocent. This was because they were enrolled in a fresh institution in a rural locality instead of an place in an urban centre like Nairobi University . They were products of secondary schools run in a military manner, coupled with the compulsory years in the National Youth Service, and were thus disciplined. They were soon struck by the reality that the discipline that they were used to was not practical in campus. Many thus broke the veil and chose to indulge in the pleasures of life. Some retained their relationship with God whereas the majority chose alcoholism and sexual immorality as a way of life. It was therefore not right for the Christian community to remain complacent. The Christian Union thus empowered its drama team to reach out to the drowning section of campus. In order that their ministry be relevant, the initial team incorporated dance and music into their activities. Concert was thus born. Initially, it was tasked with spreading the net and catching the fish, then transferring their catch to the mainstream church for shepherdship. With time though, concert has grown its own feet and now runs on its own. Its maturity is reflected in the dynamics of its name; from Concert team, to Concert spoilers, Concert group and finally Concert family. Concert family is a fellowship of believers driven by the great commission and its motto; fan the flame. The family endeavors to be an association that betters the organization skills of its members through organizing events such as conferences, concerts, and social responsibility projects. It provides a platform for members to discover and nature their God given gifts and talents and uses them to serve God. It seeks to build bonds that will last past campus moments and hold strong into the future. The family has a vision of becoming people of character and integrity who influence people they come into contact with while applying biblical principles to all aspects of life. They endevouur talents and gifting through interpersonal interactions and utilizations of resources, both within and without, building and equipping leaders and fostering the spirit of team work. Membership is open to any student who wishes to get an opportunity to make real lasting relationships with others in a family environment bound together by Christian beliefs and virtues. Currently, there are almost 200 members in main campus alone. To accommodate and make good use of the members’ skills, these are various ministries where anyone can flourish, among them:- Selah – Singing Department Vessels of Honour – Dancers. Concert Thespians – Drama Team. Cells – Bible Study Groups Editorial- Publications Unit. Adhoc Committees- Event Organizers. Selah If music is your passion, if singing brings you joy and if worship makes you tick, then Selah is where you belong. This ministry is involved in singing of gospel songs during concerts and other events. It aims to bring up a people with a lifestyle of worship and praise though singing. Vessels of honours This is undoubtedly the best dance crew in campus. The ministry seeks to entertain and impact the society for God through dancing. Concert thespians This is a group of members who are willing to join, develop and make use of their acting talents. They organize stage performances at least once a semester and it as proved to be the most anticipated event, and best attended. Their plays attract large audiences and they mainly centre campus life and trials and tribulations of young Christians. Cells These are small bible study groups comprising of 10-12 members that come together to read the word of God. They are highly interactive and endevour to make members express themselves freely without fear or hesitation. Cells are headed by cell leaders and they meet at least once a week in a member’s residence as may be agreed upon. Each member of concert family is allocated a cell which is bound to change with every semester. There is a pre-defined book to be studied every semester and at the end of it, out-door and indoor competitions are held in which the best cells are awarded. Editorial This is the publication unit of the concert family. They use the power of the pen to reach out to people and propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ. They also address various issues affecting students in campus and young people in general in their pursuit to live a good life. Their publications make for a good reading and they include oasis times (an awesome weekly devotional), the weekly sculptor and the sculptor magazines. Ad hoc committees Sometimes referred to as A.O.B ministries, ad hoc committees assist the executive committee in organizing some vents and implementing laid down projects. Some of these vents may include gospels gigs, clean up exercises and carrying out any other tasks as it may deem fit. Apart from meeting in small groups, the entire family meets once every week to share in the word, get to spend sometimes to know each other better and plan for more activities occasionally, there are other meetings like boys evening and girls night where members of the same, gender get together at least twice a semester to address pertinent issues to them. Concept of family For 15 years, concert has struggled to have itself registered. Eventually in 2008/09, this bid was successful and it was registered as a society. Members of concert will however confess to you that there is more to concert than a society; family is the best word for it. In the organisation of this ‘society’, all leaders of formal sub-divisions are given homely titles. Where titles of officialdom exist, the homely titles super cede in usage. As family, concert has overall parents. Tradition has it that the top two posts are taken by persons of different gender. One of the two becomes Concert dad, and the other Concert mum. Denno & Ronnel