Singing the gospel

Oh happy day! Oh happy day! When Jesus washed my sins away!”

Our 24-member Gospel Choir sings these words with much enthusiasm, bright smiles and animated rhythm, but sadly more than half of the singers have never experienced this kind of happy day. They really have no clue what it means to have their sins washed away by Jesus.

Black Gospel music has become quite popular among many Japanese people. Most of the songs are sung in English, of which the participants usually have only a limited understanding. Many lyrics have a strong biblical message, but even if the words are understood, the spiritual meaning often is not grasped. What an amazing opportunity for the family of God to embrace this phenomenon and use it as a means to share Jesus with the Japanese!

And so we go to Gospel Choir practices at the church twice a month. We work on pronunciation and memorize the lyrics during English class at our home. And we go on to talk about what those lyrics mean, sometimes using a Bible story to illustrate the message.

When we start learning a new song, our pastor explains the scriptural basis of the lyrics to the whole choir. Gospel Choir has become a unique and unexpected way to teach God’s Word to people who would never listen otherwise.

And we are singing God’s praises after one Gospel Choir member, Mr. Nagi, confessed faith in Christ through baptism this spring – the first fruit of the Gospel Choir ministry!

My prayer for the Gospel Choir members comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:5 , “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” Would you join us in this prayer? It seems to me that it would be ever so much more satisfying to sing “Oh happy day” if each individual could know from experience what it means to have his or her sins washed away through the Lord Jesus!

Additional Posts

By Erin Brown July 2, 2025
"This probably looks impossible, but you serve a God who is greater." These are the words of Abigail Niles, a young woman who followed the Lord to Romania.
By Diaspora North America June 29, 2025
March 7, 2025 Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it in less than a week? On March 1, 1.8 billion Muslims began their annual fasting month called Ramadan. They are supposed to fast completely—no water or food—during daylight hours from March 1–Mar 29. It begins with much fanfare, promises, and declarations, as fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims believe that faithfully keeping the fast ensures one’s place of favor with God. But many Muslims won’t be able to keep the fast through the whole 30 days. The reasons and excuses are myriad. Sometimes they will continue to claim to be fasting, but in reality, they are eating behind closed doors. To gain God’s favor, they must fast through the whole month, not just part of it. So, they live with the guilt and shame of not fulfilling the requirements of Islam. What was supposed to help gain their salvation now stands in condemnation. A Feast Within the Fast To complicate matters even more, Persian New Year’s Day is March 20, right in the middle of the fasting month. Persian New Year is one of the most important cultural holidays for most Iranian and Afghans, as well as many others with a Persian background scattered throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. In fact, many people with Persian heritage don’t just celebrate on one day. Their New Year’s celebrations extend over two weeks! How do they reconcile these two weeks of festivities within Ramadan? For Arab Muslims, it is a non-issue. But for the Persian world, it IS a struggle. The hard-core Taliban will try to push people to keep the fast. However, many will lean more towards keeping their more ancient pre-Islamic traditions of New Year’s. I would encourage you to take time to explore with your Muslim neighbors and colleagues why they fast. Then share why Christians fast. Perhaps read Isaiah 58 with them, summarize it, and ask for their thoughts on this passage. One more thing to note during Ramadan is the Night of Power. Each year, during Ramadan, on or about the 27th day of the month, there is a special time called the Night of Power. This year it will happen on or around March 26. Muslims believe the Night of Power is when Mohammad first received the revelations of the Quran from the Angel Gabriel. Prayers offered up by Muslims during Ramadan—especially prayers in a mosque—are believed to be weightier than prayers at any other time. However, prayers on this special Night of Power, prayed in a mosque, are considered infinitely more valuable than any other prayer. Many Muslims will stay up all night praying on the Night of Power to earn extra points with God. There is a small problem in all of this, though—Muslims can’t agree on which night is actually the Night of Power. It is sometime during the last ten days of Ramadan, with tradition stating that it is on the 26th or 27th night. There are several resources to help Christians and churches pray for the Muslim world through this month of Ramadan. I would encourage you to connect with some or all of them. Please make others in your church aware of these resources. Perhaps you could even host a special prayer time at your church, utilizing these resources. Ramadan 30-Day Prayer Guide Booklet – This can be purchased as a hard copy or PDF. Prayercast – A wonderful website with many videos on the Muslim world. If you sign up, you can receive daily prayer videos that also work great during a Sunday worship service to help raise awareness of the need for prayer for the Muslim world.
By Erin Brown June 25, 2025
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
Show More