Every year, a corner of Nigerian gospel music gathers under one roof for the LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards.
You may know it simply as LIMA. It is not a mainstream Nigerian entertainment award like the Headies or AFRIMA.
It belongs to Christ Embassy, also known as Believers Loveworld Incorporated, and it exists to celebrate the singers, songwriters, filmmakers, and dance groups who serve inside that ministry.
If you are trying to understand what LIMA actually is, who has won it, and how it connects to Loveworld Music, Loveworld Records, and the wider Christ Embassy creative world, this guide walks through it in detail.
What Is the LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards?
The LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards is an annual award ceremony that honors gospel artists, songwriters, producers, choirs, dance groups, and filmmakers connected to the Loveworld nation, the global network of churches under Christ Embassy.
LIMA typically closes out the International Pastors and Partners Conference, known as IPPC, a week long gathering that draws Christ Embassy pastors and members from around the world.
Unlike a public music award, LIMA does not open its ballot to the general Nigerian gospel scene.
Every nominee and winner is tied to the ministry in some way, whether as a member of the Loveworld Singers, a regional church choir, a songwriter within the Loveworld Music and Arts Ministry, or a producer working on official Loveworld content.
That focus is exactly what makes LIMA different from AFRIMA or the Nigeria Gospel Music Awards.
It is an internal celebration with an international footprint, since Christ Embassy branches exist across Africa, Europe, North America, and beyond.
Who Started LIMA, and Why
LIMA was initiated by Reverend Doctor Chris Oyakhilome, the founder and president of Christ Embassy.
Coverage of the 2019 edition described it as being in its fourth year, which places the first ceremony around 2016.
The event grew out of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s long standing conviction that music is a spiritual tool.
He has said publicly that music teaches, inspires, and carries divine truth, and that idea shapes everything about how LIMA is judged.
That framing matters, because it explains why the awards focus so heavily on songwriting and worship content rather than commercial performance.
A song does not win Worship Song of the Year at LIMA because it charted well. It wins because it served the ministry’s purpose during the year, whether that was a healing service, a crusade, or a Sunday celebration service.
How LIMA Fits Into Christ Embassy’s Music and Arts Structure
To understand LIMA, it helps to understand the machinery behind it. LIMA is not a stand alone company.
It sits on top of a network of Loveworld music and creative ministries that all feed talent, songs, and content into the awards each year.
Loveworld Records
Loveworld Records is the record label side of the operation. It was established in 2009 by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome under the parent organization Believers Loveworld Incorporated, and it is based in Ikeja, Lagos State.
The label’s original purpose was to discover and develop gospel artists, and over the years it has produced some of the biggest names in Nigerian gospel music, including Sinach, Frank Edwards, and Joe Praize.
Evangelist Kathy Woghiren currently chairs the Loveworld Records label, alongside her other roles inside the ministry.
Loveworld Music and Arts Ministry (LMAM)
The Loveworld Music and Arts Ministry, often shortened to LMAM, is the broader ministry arm responsible for music and creative content across the entire Loveworld network.
LMAM oversees the Loveworld Singers, the Loveworld Worship platform and app, and the songwriting teams that produce new worship material for the ministry throughout the year.
LMAM is the engine that LIMA celebrates every November or December.
Loveworld Music Academy
The Loveworld Music Academy, also called the Loveworld Creative Arts Academy, trains vocalists and musicians for ministry work.
Evangelist Kathy Woghiren directs the Academy in addition to leading LMAM. The training pays off on stage too.
At the 2023 LIMA Awards, the Loveworld Music Academy Singers were named Most Outstanding Music Group of the Year, a clear sign that the Academy is not just a classroom, it is a pipeline into the ministry’s frontline music groups.
Where and When LIMA Takes Place
LIMA has been hosted at different Loveworld venues depending on the year. The 2019 edition was held at the LoveWorld Convocation Arena in Lagos on a Sunday in November, under the theme “Hotter than Fire.”
The 2023 edition moved to the Loveworld Crusade Grounds in Asese. The 2025 edition was scheduled for December 21, reflecting a shift toward a later date in the calendar compared to the earlier November ceremonies.
Every edition is broadcast live across Loveworld’s television and streaming platforms, including Ceflix and the LoveWorld Network, so members who cannot attend in person can still watch from anywhere Christ Embassy has a congregation.
LIMA Award Categories
The category list has grown over the years, but a consistent set of awards shows up almost every edition.
Recent ceremonies have included categories for music, film, spoken word, dance, and digital media, which shows how far LIMA has expanded beyond its original song focused format.
- Artiste of the Year
- Songwriter of the Year, and occasionally Songwriter of the Decade
- Song of the Year
- Hit Song of the Year
- Worship Song of the Year
- Theme Song of the Year
- Jingle of the Year
- Music Producer of the Year
- Duo or Group of the Year
- Best New Artistes
- Best Choir
- Most Effective Dance Group
- Music Outreach Group of the Year
- Most Innovative Music Video
- Best Feature Film of the Year
- Best Short Film of the Year
- Special Commendation Awards
Several categories, particularly Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Decade, have historically carried substantial cash prizes, some reaching one hundred thousand dollars, alongside plaques and public recognition from Pastor Chris himself.
LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards Winners Through the Years
Looking back at past winners tells you a lot about who actually drives Loveworld’s music output.
A handful of names keep reappearing, which is not surprising given how tightly the awards are tied to the ministry’s core songwriting and performance teams.
The First LIMA Awards
The inaugural ceremony set the tone for everything that followed. Sinach won Songwriter of the Decade along with a one hundred thousand dollar prize, while Ada and Eben shared Songwriters of the Year.
Martin PK’s “Holy Spirit” took Worship Song of the Year, and Eben’s “Victory” won Hit Song of the Year.
Kelly Lyon won Music Producer of the Year, Jive Angels took Duo or Group of the Year, and the CEC Abuja Indomitable Choir was named Best Choir.
LIMA 2020
The 2020 edition closed the IPPC conference with Moses Bliss walking away with the one hundred thousand dollar Song of the Year grand prize.
Chukar received fifty thousand dollars for her own award, and Sophiya took home twenty five thousand dollars.
That year also marked one of the first times a rap style song won a major theme song category, a small but notable shift in the sound of Loveworld’s worship catalogue.
LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards 2022
The 2022 ceremony took place on Sunday, November 27th, and it belonged almost entirely to Evangelist Kathy Woghiren.
Her song “Alabaster Box,” sung by Maya, won Hit Song of the Year. Woghiren also took home Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year, and Hit Song of the Year in the same night, cementing her position as the most consistent songwriter inside the Loveworld catalogue.
Other 2022 winners included the Loveworld Singers from South Africa, who won Theme Song of the Year for “Reachout World.”
The ICM Kids Dance Group repeated as Best Dance Act of the Year in the junior category, and God’s Creed was named Dance Group of the Year.
Chookar, one of the ministry’s longest serving vocalists, was crowned Artiste of the Year.
LIMA 2023
In 2023, held at the Loveworld crusade grounds in Asese, Oge was named Artiste of the Year, and Evangelist Kathy Woghiren again won Songwriter of the Year.
Her song “We Hail From Deity,” led by Oge, won the top prize of the night, Song of the Year.
Maya led “You Seat Above the Cherubims” to a Worship Song of the Year win, and Sylvia’s “The Great Physician” took Theme Song of the Year.
Tru South and the Activist Group won Music Outreach Group of the Year, and the Loveworld Music Academy Singers won Most Outstanding Music Group of the Year.
Special Commendation Awards went to Sylvia Rich, Pastor Saki, Eli J, the LMAM sound team, and Deaconess Sophia Ariba for their behind the scenes contributions.
LIMA 2024
The 2024 edition put a spotlight on film. “The Wages,” produced by the Loveworld Television Ministry, beat out “The Ultimate Prize” from Loveworld Films to win Best Feature Film of the Year. In the short film category, “The Blink,” a CE Amsterdam production, beat three other entries, including “Seeds of Faith” from Loveworld Films.
Sylvia Emmanuel’s “The Great Physician” repeated as Theme Song of the Year, and the Reachout World Song from CE South Africa Region won Jingle of the Year.
Tru South and the activist group also repeated as Music Outreach Group of the Year.
Loveworld Films and Art at LIMA
Film is one of the fastest growing parts of LIMA. Categories like Best Feature Film and Best Short Film pull entries from different Loveworld production units, including Loveworld Films itself, the Loveworld Television Ministry, and regional church productions such as CE Amsterdam.
That internal competition has pushed the ministry’s filmmaking arm to produce more polished output year after year, since a regional church production crew can genuinely beat the ministry’s main film unit on a given night, as CE Amsterdam did in 2024.
This is worth understanding if you are researching Loveworld’s arts output more broadly.
LIMA is not only a music award. It functions as a yearly showcase of everything the ministry’s creative teams have produced, spoken word included, which explains why recent editions describe categories covering music, film, spoken word, dance, and digital media together.
The LIMA Awards Soundtrack
LIMA does not release an official soundtrack album the way a film festival might. What it does instead is crown the songs that already defined the ministry’s year, and those winning songs effectively become the unofficial soundtrack of the Loveworld nation for the months that follow.
Titles like “Alabaster Box,” “We Hail From Deity,” “You Seat Above the Cherubims,” “The Great Physician,” “Holy Spirit,” and “Reachout World” were not written for the awards show.
They were written for church services, healing crusades, and worship programs first, and LIMA simply confirms which ones resonated most.
That is also why so many LIMA winning songs later show up in Loveworld’s other worship initiatives.
Once a song wins Worship Song of the Year or Theme Song of the Year, it tends to circulate through the ministry’s broader song catalogue for years afterward.
Unending Praise Live and Its Connection to LIMA
One of the clearest examples of that circulation is Pastor Chris Live Unending Praise, a year long, round the clock chain of worship and praise built from Loveworld’s song catalogue.
The maiden edition launched in June 2022, and later phases ran continuously from March 2023 through March 2024.
Every half hour, of every hour, of every day, believers somewhere in the Loveworld network lead a worship segment, drawing heavily on songs written and performed by the same LMAM songwriters and singers who compete for LIMA honors each year.
The relationship runs both ways. Unending Praise gives Loveworld songs a constant, global platform, while LIMA gives the ministry a formal moment each year to recognize the writers and singers who supply that platform with new material.
The Loveworld Music Ministry Logo and Branding
LIMA operates under the visual identity of the Loveworld Music and Arts Ministry, the same branding used across the ministry’s official platforms, including loveworldmusic.org and the Loveworld Worship app.
If you are looking for the logo for reference or design purposes, the most reliable place to find the current, correctly licensed version is directly through Loveworld Music Ministry’s own website and its official social media pages, since ministry branding is updated periodically and unofficial copies circulating elsewhere are not always current.
Why LIMA Matters in Nigerian Gospel Music
Nigeria has no shortage of gospel music recognition, from AFRIMA’s gospel categories to independent award shows. LIMA occupies a different lane.
It measures success by ministry impact rather than streaming numbers or radio play, and it has quietly built one of the most consistent songwriting pipelines in Nigerian gospel music through people like Kathy Woghiren, along with performers like Oge, Chookar, Sylvia, and the Loveworld Singers.
It has also served as an early stage for artists who later became recognizable names well beyond Christ Embassy.
Sinach’s early recognition through Loveworld Records and the first LIMA ceremony came years before “Way Maker” became a global worship standard.
That track record is part of why researchers, journalists, and gospel music fans keep coming back to LIMA when they study how Nigerian gospel talent gets developed, not just discovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does LIMA stand for?
LIMA stands for LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards, the annual award ceremony run by Christ Embassy to honor artists, songwriters, and filmmakers within the Loveworld ministry.
Who started the LoveWorld International Music and Arts Awards?
Reverend Doctor Chris Oyakhilome, founder of Christ Embassy and Believers Loveworld Incorporated, initiated LIMA. The first ceremony took place around 2016.
Where does LIMA usually take place?
LIMA has been held at several Loveworld venues, including the LoveWorld Convocation Arena in Lagos and the Loveworld Crusade Grounds in Asese. It is broadcast live on Loveworld’s television and streaming platforms for members who cannot attend in person.
Who is the most awarded songwriter at LIMA?
Evangelist Dr. Kathy Woghiren has been the most consistent winner in recent years, taking home Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year, and Hit Song of the Year across multiple editions, including 2022 and 2023.
Is LIMA connected to Loveworld Records?
Yes. Loveworld Records, founded in 2009 by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, developed several artists who went on to win or compete at LIMA, including Sinach, Frank Edwards, and Joe Praize.
What is the Loveworld Music Academy?
The Loveworld Music Academy, also known as the Loveworld Creative Arts Academy, trains singers and musicians for ministry work under the direction of Evangelist Kathy Woghiren. Its Academy Singers won Most Outstanding Music Group of the Year at the 2023 LIMA Awards.
Does LIMA include film awards?
Yes. Categories for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film have become a regular part of LIMA, with entries from Loveworld Films, the Loveworld Television Ministry, and regional church production teams.
Where can I find winning songs from past LIMA ceremonies?
Loveworld’s own platforms, including the Loveworld Music Ministry site and the Loveworld Worship app, host lyrics and streams for most award winning songs, many of which also appear in the ministry’s ongoing Unending Praise worship programming.
Read Also
- Christ Embassy: The Complete Guide to Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s Global Ministry
- LoveWorld Music Ministry
- Sinach: The Nigerian Worship Leader Behind “Way Maker”
- Moses Bliss: Biography, Songs, Wife, and the Story Behind “Too Faithful”
- Joe Praize: Biography, Age, Real Name, Family, Wife, Children, Songs, Albums, Ministry, Awards & Net Worth
