Gospel Songs

Definition and Meaning

The term "gospel songs" (Korean bogeum seongga) refers broadly to Christian songs not included in hymnals. In Korean churches it is often applied both to contemporary Christian music (CCM) written in popular music styles and to congregational praise songs used in worship. The word chanyang ("praise") originally denotes the whole act of exalting God, but within the church it is also used to refer to gospel songs as distinct from hymns.

Biblical and Historical Background

Those who favor gospel songs cite Psalm 96:1, "O sing unto the LORD a new song," as well as Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, which mention "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." They argue that the forms of song may be renewed in each age. Historically, "gospel songs" with simple melodies and lyrics expressing personal experience were widely sung in the American revival movements of the nineteenth century, and CCM in popular music styles emerged from a faith movement among young Americans in the 1960s and 1970s.

Practice in Korean Churches

In Korea, gospel songs are reported to have spread from the 1970s and 1980s onward through young adult gatherings, mission organizations such as Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and praise ministry groups. Today many churches hold a time of praise in which a praise team leads several songs in succession before the service begins or before the sermon. In young adult ministry and Sunday school services, retreats, and seeker-sensitive services, gospel songs are sometimes sung more often than hymns.

Usage varies by denomination and congregation.

• Churches in the Pentecostal tradition and those with a charismatic orientation tend to make active use of gospel songs as a central element of worship.
• Some Presbyterian churches that emphasize the Reformed tradition center public worship (the formal service at which the whole congregation gathers) on hymns or sung psalms, and hold that gospel songs should be used selectively after examining the theological content of their lyrics.
• Churches that place importance on liturgy (a set order and form of worship), such as the Anglican Church of Korea and the Lutheran Church in Korea, tend to center their worship on their own hymnals and on music suited to the church year.

Gospel songs are valued for being easy for congregations to sing together and well suited to reaching younger generations. At the same time, concerns have been raised that their lyrics may lean too heavily toward emotional expression and that worship may drift toward performance.