Education and Evangelism in a Sierra Leonean Village

Abstract Kagbere, a small subsistence-farming village in Sierra Leone, West Africa, has a rich and thriving musical community that embraces various musical traditions including log drumming, traditional dance, choral singing, ritual music, lamellaphone playing, hand-clapping songs, and childhood chants. Children are active participants in the Wesleyan Church Children’s Choir and lead the congregation through worship services filled with singing, movement, and instrument playing. This article explores the impact of the choir on the lives of the children and the community. Choir members benefit personally, socially, and musically from the education they receive through choir membership, acquiring a wide range of knowledge and skills as part of the choir experience. The church community and the community of Kagbere both benefit from the services provided by the members of the children’s choir; and the church itself benefits as musical emissaries go forth into the world to advance its evangelical mission.