Good music, well sung by good singers, can be the best way to deliver a message. Singing and speaking both use words, gestures, and facial expressions. Music adds more: rhythm, melody, and harmony. It creates feeling and pleasure in listeners and can be deeply moving.
             Music is a kind of preaching, but with a stronger ability to communicate. Because many words in church music come from verses in the Bible, music can change attitudes toward things that oppress us, like AIDS or malaria or poverty. When we sing, we feel that these things may not defeat us. If we just make a speech or give a sermon in a neighborhood, people may not come and listen; they may even alert the authorities. Music calls people together to hear messages of hope.
             In our churches in Mozambique, there never is a meeting without singing. The young people, especially, like to sing and to teach others to sing. People are drawn in, moved, and involved. Music strengthens our faith, whether we are singing or listening.
In our communities, music not only inspires, it teaches. People respond better to messages about drugs or violence or other issues when the message is delivered musically. It also entertains, and this is good for people sometimes.
             Music makes mission possible. If people just sit and talk, nothing much happens. It is music that makes people feel unified. Once they have shared the experience of singing together, they are more likely to work together. Music joins us and keeps us from feeling isolated. Old or young, woman or man, from the country or the city, from Mozambique or the United States: all share the same song and message of God’s mission.