BY MARK CUMMINGS—
FORT LAUDERDALE, USA — From the 1980’s to early 1997, Tyrone Thompson, better known as “Papa San”, ruled the dancehall with his fast-talking catchy lyrics, much to the approval of his ever increasing fan base.
Almost 20 years later, the talented artist, who had prior recorded 20 secular albums, is still a force to be reckoned with in the music industry, as he uses his talent to win souls for Christ.
Continuing on the path of success from his years as a secular artist, since his conversion to Christianity, Papa San has delivered seven awesome gospel albums — all of them making it in the top 10 on the Billboard charts — and has founded a church: Our Father’s Kingdom Ministries International now located at 8350-52 West Oakland Park Boulevard, Sunrise, Florida.
In fact, his latest album, Journey, which was released earlier this year, entered the Billboard charts in the number seven position. The single “New Day” has entered the South Florida and The Foundation Radio Network Charts.
Since becoming a Christian also, the energetic lyricist has collaborated with several local and international gospel artists, including Kirk Franklin, Toby Mac, Percy Bady, Chevelle Franklin, Natalie Wilson, Fred Hammond, Carlene Davis, Trey Lawrence and Da Truth, many of whom he has shared the stage with across the globe.
A 12-time Marlin Award winner, Papa San’s efforts have also earned him the GMWA award and Stellar award, as well as nominations for the Soul Train and Dove awards.
Last Sunday Pastor Thompson, as he is called at church, delivered a powerful soul-searching message at his church as he urged the congregation “not to take persons at face value, but rather to examine the process they have undergone to get where they are”.
Using himself as an example, during the service on Sunday which was celebrated as ‘Pastors’ Appreciation Day’, Pastor Thompson highlighted some of the challenges that he encountered after he took the bold step to become a follower of Christ.
“It was not easy…. I was criticized, I was lied on. I was talked behind people’s back…. there were times when I wondered what I was going to do, but I trusted God and He showed up. My God never fails. He is a good God,” Pastor Thompson told the congregation, adding that he has since signed many contracts and received numerous awards.
Prior to his conversion to Christianity in late 1997, Papa San was a much sought after deejay, belting out catchy lyrics across the length and breadth of Jamaica on sound systems, while recording a number of entertaining songs, many of which dominated the airwaves locally and internationally.
At least 17 of those songs — including Animal Party, Style and Fashion, My Name is Daddy San, Legal Rights, Round Table Talk, Strange, and Maddy, Maddy Cry — from the 20 secular albums he had recorded topped the local reggae charts, earning for him millions of dollars and scores of awards, including several Deejay of the Year titles, Most Versatile Deejay, Best Dressed Deejay, and Best Video.
The then youthful deejay, who was born in Kingston and grew up in the tough inner-city community of Spanish Town, St Catherine with his grandmother, was on a roll and appeared to be destined for further success. But, with all that wealth, the many accolades and the fame, “something was lacking”, Pastor Thompson told the Jamaica Observer following Sunday’s well-attended church service.
“I had reached at a place where I had the fame, I had the money, the popularity, all the material things that I needed in life, but at the end of the day my life was empty, something was lacking. I had reached a place in my life where I realized that fame and money could not satisfy a person’s soul,” he revealed.
“There was success in my personal desires of what I had achieved through music, but I was not spiritually satisfied. I was confused and so I decided to study the Bible, not even knowing though if God would have forgiven me for all the wrongs I have done. In spite of that, however, I was determined to serve God; music was the last thing on my mind.”
By year end in 1997, Papa San, along with his wife Debbie, now the co-pastor at Our Father’s Kingdom International Ministries, opened their Smokey Vale home in St Andrew to a weekly bible study under the tutelage of Pastor Winston Smith of Haven Hill Baptist Church.
Papa San said he then burnt all the many trophies and plaques that he had won as a secular artist.
Seven years later Papa San, his wife and their six children emigrated to the United States.
There, the bible study continued at a rented hotel room, then a movie theater, before Papa San opened a church in a building on Johnson Street in Hollywood, Florida in 2012.
Two years later, the worship continued at the more convenient location on Oakland Park Boulevard, shortly after Papa San and his wife were ordained ministers of the gospel.
Pastor Thompson told the Sunday Observer that over the past few years there has been tremendous growth in the attendance of worshipers at the church on Sundays.
“We are now even considering two services on a Sunday, and to take up more space at the building that we now occupy,” an enthused Pastor Thompson stressed.
Peter Williams, a native of Clarendon who has been a member of the church for the past three years, said worshiping at Our Father’s Kingdom Ministries International has been very fruitful.
“First, when you think Papa San, you think about a gospel deejay, but it’s another thing to see him as a pastor where he is caring for people, giving them the word of God and ensuring that they grow…. so just being here to experience that is tremendous. It is really a blessing,” said Williams.
Pastor Debbie Thompson said that apart from the regular Sunday service, Our Father’s Ministry International stages annual health fairs, has a vibrant youth ministry and a feeding program for the needy.
The church also has a Mid-day Meal Prayer Line, a scholarship program, and sends teams on overseas missions on a regular basis to spread the word of God.
Since Papa San’s conversion to Christianity, a number of other secular artists, including Lady Saw and Chevelle Franklin, have followed suit.
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