Only a forgiving spirit enabled by the grace of God can erase the bitterness in the mind of any child rejected at birth over the baby’s sex by the father. Such is the story of Evangelist Toun Soetan, the Nigeria gospel music minister who was rejected by her father immediately he was told that his wife had the sixth baby girl. In fact, the sex of the new baby led to the separation of husband and wife. Also, her father was pleaded with before he sent down the name

My father, a Christian of Baptist denomination was married to my mother, a Muslim and an Alhaja. My mother was earlier married to another man but when she married my dad, she had five girls for him. When she was carrying me, the sixth pregnancy, my father warned her that the pregnancy had better result into a baby boy or…. But when I came a baby girl, he rejected me right from the hospital. He sent a message to them not to bring me home and that led to their separation"

When his displeasure and decision was told to my mother, I was taken to Ibadan, an ancient city in close to Lagos. I did not get to know my father until age 17. At Ibadan, I was given the name Halimat Sadia Karimu. The surname Karimu was of my stepfather. On my naming day, they had to send emissaries to plead with my father to send down a name for me, that was when he gave the name Olatoun.

Today, Toun Soetan has great joy in her life. Her Alhaja mother died a born-again Christian. Also, she made up with her dad before he too passed on. This forgiving spirit paved her way to stardom in the gospel music scene. Her reputation as a sticker for excellence goes far. Call her a gospel artiste and you'll get her angry. "I am not comfortable with that word “artiste”. I am not an artiste. I am an evangelist using the medium of music. I am not playing for entertainment I am not playing to the flesh. I am singing gospel songs, my lyrics are gospel. So I am a gospel music minister, not gospel artiste.

Toun's road to gospel stardom started from an inconceivable point. "In my secondary school days, I was a devotee of Fela Anikulapo­Kuti and James Brown. I wore jeans trousers, danced at clubs, moved from one party to the other and even tried to become a DJ at social functions in my school. I could sing any song, Juju, Apala, Rock, etc. I was nicknamed Toun Brown after James Brown, but the Lord caught up with me when I attended Orita Mefa Baptist Church, Ibadan, having been invited to the church's Student Fellowship by a friend"

"Deep Down, I knew I needed God. When the preacher preached that day, it was like my friend had told him all my faults and the man were speaking directly to me. When the choir sang their Special number, He Touched Me, by Bill Gaither, I was actually touched by God. When the altar call was made, I went to the front in tears and gave my life to Christ.” Her journey in music began by joining the church choir, then the church gospel group and later, the church drama group. She soon became the lead singer of the group and began to compose their songs. After 11 years as a teacher, she resigned and started her ministry, Toun Soetan and Her Trinity Stars, under the umbrella Trinity Word Evangelist Movement. Are you satisfied with the trend in gospel music? “The Bible says we should not conform to this world. I can't see much difference between the secular and the gospel music played today. The current trend shows that we are borrowing from the world instead of the world borrowing from

Nothing is really wrong with the music because right from the beginning, music is an eternal ministry. It can never die but let us examine the players. If they have no bearing with God, don’t fool others. Don't call yourself a gospel minister. A lot of people claim they are representing the kingdom today, but they are not born again. So if you don't have a relationship with God, you are not called after Him.

Anyone can say I am a Christian, but are you Christ-like? These are two different things. If they say they are born again, let them tell you where, how, when and what has been their experience. The church is not changing today because the music is not changing.

Difference between entertainment and ministration. Ministration has to do with the spirit of man and has to come from God through a minister who hears from God. It may be in form of salvation, healing, comfort, etc. The minister must have his time of tarrying before God, so he could hear from Him. However, an entertainer is a person who amuses you. Entertainment only satisfies you temporarily. It shakes your body and maybe the spirit. The minister touches your body, spirit and soul. Much of what we see today as gospel music is pure entertained.