Believe in Worship
In November 2023, Laurence Graham (WMP General Secretary) visited the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Here, Laurence reflects on the people he met while attending a Connexional Music event.
After 31 hours of travel followed by one precious night's sleep, I spent my first full day in Zimbabwe at the Methodist Church’s 46th Connexional Music Convention. And when I say, “full day”, I mean 14 hours of singing!
After a series of regional events, this was the national finals with categories covering many different styles of music. Alongside formal choirs singing with great precision, there were traditional categories involving lots of dancing accompanied by drums and various types of horn.
Music Convention, Zimbabwe
“On first glance, this might have seemed like only a competition. However, it soon became clear that this was also a sincere expression of worship. ”
We gathered for the day in a 5,000-seater auditorium. Methodists had travelled from all over the country to attend, as evidenced by a large car park filled with coaches and cars. Another section of the car park hosted a selection of barbecues, fridges and stalls of all types selling enough food and refreshment to ensure that everyone had enough fuel for the long day. There was just as much music outside as on the stage, with various groups practising around the grounds of the convention centre under trees and in vacant rooms.
On first glance, this might have seemed like only a choral competition. However, it soon became clear that this was also a sincere expression of worship. Although these choirs displayed musical excellence, it was obvious that for many of them their priority was to worship God. The same was true for the large audience who regularly sang and danced in worship during the interludes between choral performances.
“We grew up in the church and now we want to be part of all of it.”
Believe and his friends
Towards the end of the evening after darkness had fallen, I took another walk around outside the Convention Hall and ended up in conversation with a group of young lads. They were from the Methodist Church in Kwekwe, a couple of hours away and had been performing in the “Freestyle” section of the competition. In other words, their music was lively with lots of drums and movement. But as we chatted, I quickly realised again that this was not just a performance. Their leader was a young man called “Believe” and he explained to me that, “we grew up in the church and now we want to be part of all of it.”
What he meant was that, through his church, God had been good to him and now he wanted others to discover the Good News. That desire has led Believe and his mates to regularly take their singing and dancing into the streets of Kwekwe, especially on Saturdays when people are busy shopping. They find that people stop to hear the music and then this young man shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with all who will listen.
My heart leapt with joy as I heard their story and spent time chatting with these wonderful young men who clearly had a passion for their faith and a deep fellowship between them. They were mostly Methodists, but they said there was also one Anglican and two from the Reformed Church in their group for which they were very glad because they appreciated the Christian unity amongst them as they witnessed to the people in their town together.
So, here's a young man called Believe, using his gifts along with his friends to serve his Lord and to share Jesus with other people. I came away encouraged, but also challenged. Do I believe that God can use me and my gifts to tell others about him, and do you believe that God can use you and your gifts to share Jesus?