Recently, I attended the Africa’s Gift to Nicaea conference, where pastors, theologians, and worshippers from across South Africa gathered at the Reformed Church of Hout Bay, Cape Town. The intention of the conference was to look back 1700 years, to the Council of Nicaea, where the Church defended the truth that Jesus is “of one substance with the Father.” But we also looked around; and we looked forward. In one session, Paul Hartwig remarked, “Most of us worship a Triune God but live monotheistic lives.” The room fell silent. It was a diagnosis as sharp as it was true. We can confess the Trinity with our lips; but often our lives, and even our songs, reduce God to something less than the glorious reality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Creed We Rarely Express in Song
The Nicene Creed is one of the most unifying statements in Church history. It begins with the Father Almighty, moves to the Son who was begotten not made, and closes with the life-giving Spirit. In a few sweeping lines, it fixes our gaze on the God we worship, one essence, three persons, eternal and glorious.
A faith sung flat will be lived flat.
But think of the songs your church sang last Sunday. How many named the Father? How many helped us pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18)? Were our hearts drawn to the Spirit, as fully God, equal with the Father and the Son? Our hymnals and playlists are often lopsided. Many songs focus exclusively on Jesus; some on the Spirit, usually his work; and many on a vague “God.” Few guide us into the fullness of the Triune God. The result? A congregation that professes the Trinity but rarely inhabits it.
We Need More Songs Glorifying the Trinity
Why does this matter? Why does Trinitarian worship matter? Because the Christian life is not simply believing that the Trinity is true; it is about living inside the life of our Triune God.
- The Father calls us his children and welcomes us into his household (1 John 3:1)
- The Son redeems us by his blood and unites us to himself (Ephesians 1:7-10)
- The Spirit indwells us, empowering us to walk in holiness and bear fruit (Galatians 5:22-25).
If our worship never names this reality, how will our people live it? A faith sung flat will be lived flat. But a faith sung richly can reshape daily life.
Africa’s Role in the Church’s History
And this is where Africa comes in. At Nicaea, Athanasius of Alexandria, an African, stood almost alone against fierce opposition. His pen and his prayers defended the Son’s full deity and preserved the gospel for the world. Later, Augustine of Hippo would give the church its deepest reflections on the Trinity. And long before them, Tertullian of Carthage gave us the very word “Trinity,” shaping how the Church confesses God to this day. Africa has always had a voice in giving the world the God who is Father, Son and Spirit.
Take up your pen. Lend your voice.
Now a new call is sounding. To songwriters, poets, producers, and preachers across our continent: take up your pen. Tolle lege. Lend your voice. Write songs that don’t collapse into vague generalities; songs that name and praise the Father, Son and Spirit, distinctly and together, the glorious Trinity.
How This Might Look
Not every lyric needs to read like a creed. But we need more songs that:
- Begin with the Father’s love in creation and adoption
- Exalt the Son in his incarnation, death, resurrection, and reign
- Celebrate the Spirit’s work in giving life, holiness, and mission
- Draw us into the wonder of one God in three persons, worthy of eternal praise (1 Timothy 1:17).
Encouragingly, we’re already seeing glimpses of this. CityAlight’s new song The God We Love moves intentionally through Father, Son and Spirit, modelling what Trinitarian worship can sound like today. Closer to home, African collectives such as We Will Worship are writing new songs that give voice to Father, Son and Spirit, in ways rooted in the life and culture of the African Church. It’s proof that this isn’t impossible. All it takes is theological courage and artistic creativity.
Living What We Sing
Imagine churches in Soweto, Pretoria, Cape Town, Lagos, Nairobi, Accra and beyond lifting their voices in songs that echo the creeds and the scriptures. Imagine children growing up not only knowing that God is Trinity but feeling the Trinity in their worship.
It’s more than a need for better theology in our music.
The point is more than the need for better theology in our music. The aim is a richer, better lived faith. If we sing to the Father, we will learn to pray as sons and daughters; if we sing of the Son, we will cling more closely to the cross; and if we sing of the Spirit, we will walk in step with him. We worship a Triune God. It’s time to live and sing like it. Africa has given this gift before. By God’s grace, we can again.
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