Original Research

Singing as a therapeutic agent in Pentecostal worship

Mookgo S. Kgatle
Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 40, No 1 | a1910 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v40i1.1910 | © 2019 Mookgo S. Kgatle | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 July 2018 | Published: 28 March 2019

About the author(s)

Mookgo S. Kgatle, Department of Christian spirituality, Church History and Missiology, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Singing has always been part of worship in a Pentecostal spiritual service. However, the role of singing in Pentecostal worship as a therapeutic agent has been under-researched. In order to bridge this research gap, this article is an interdisciplinary study of singing and Pentecostal worship. It seeks to demonstrate that the act of singing is a therapeutic agent in Pentecostal worship. The article will explore singing as a biblical concept to establish its theology. The purpose is to demonstrate that singing is not only part of the liturgy in a Pentecostal worship service but also acts as a therapeutic agent for all sorts of ailments, including spiritual, physical, emotional and psychological ailments.

Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The importance of this article is twofold; firstly, the article demonstrates that singing plays a pivotal role in Pentecostal worship as much as it did in the Bible. Secondly, the article illustrates that singing is more than a liturgical exercise; it acts as a therapeutic agent in Pentecostal worship.


Keywords

Pentecostalism; worship; therapy; singing; music

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