Get to Know Worship House and What Keeps Them Together In the Spirit of Praise
Since being planted by Bishop Isaac Dagada back in 2003, Limpopo gospel collective and worship group Worship House has grown and extended its roots within the soil of Christian faith music scene already populated by other crews such as Joyous Celebration and Soweto Gospel Choir. United in the quest to spread the love God and to heal hearts with Holy Spirit-inspired hymns and heavenly anthems, Worship House has won love with consistently packed shows as well as industry acclaim through a South Africa Music Award nomination they garnered at this year’s ceremony as well as 17th annual SABC Crown Gospel Music Award (CGMA) nominations.
We caught up with CGMA-winning singer Tumi B, who is part of the group, as she first gave thanks to devoted supporters of Worship House for not only standing beside the group but also helping them to raise the banner of the vision through the crests and the troughs encountered in the past twenty years.
“I must say that it has been quite an exceptional journey with Worship House. Though challenges were there as well as ups and downs as usual, we didn’t use the struggles as an excuse to let go of the vision and to drop the ball. We kept going because we wouldn’t be where we are right now if it wasn’t for our partners – that’s what we call people, partners, not fans. We are what we are because of them and their support, and they have kept us standing till today,” she said.
Worship House in action | SUPPLIED
Worship House’s latest offering Worship House Celebration 20 was released in the first quarter of 2024. Since being unleashed, the project has taken off with multiple singles, including “Africa for Jesus”, which sparked TikTok challenges and captured the hearts of multitudes. The album not only earned a 30th South Africa Music Award nomination for Best Traditional Faith Album, it also scored a treble of nominations for the upcoming CGMAs, including one for Gospel Song of the Year for “Africa for Jesus”.
Tumi spoke about the highlights and how they have affected the group for the better.
“The past two months have rather been exciting for us as Worship House. Besides the Crown Gospel [Music] Awards, we were nominated for a SAMA, and that’s where it all started. The mood has been escalating since then, and it’s been an absolute honour because getting that kind of recognition nationally and internationally – because we know that even the international eye is watching – is all by God’s grace. The recognition is well appreciated,” she said.
The Worship House constituent also revealed the urgency of reaching out to people through the music, with the desire manifesting as experimenting with modern, trendy sounds to pull the youth in as a means of growing the group and improving its hold on the people.
“As we grow year by year, the only things we’ve done to remain relevant is to develop our skills, to be in touch with people and what’s happening at that time without neglecting our vision. Because of that, there have been improvements because if you listen to our album, you’ll notice that we have some songs with an amapiano sound because we are trying to reach out to young people by letting them know that it’s okay to have a good time in the presence of the Lord. So that’s what we’ve been doing. Trying to bring in new sounds with a couple of songs just to welcome people in the broader spectrum,” she said.
Worship House performing | SUPPLIED
With volume 20 already done and dusted, Tumi confidently laid down the current hand Worship House has been holding, letting it be known that a new project will be coming out sometime in 2025.
“We’ve already done Worship House Celebration 20, so what we’re looking forward to at the moment is another project for next year. We can’t stop because stopping would leave too much of a gap between the albums. Our aim is to continue giving people fresh, traditional music with everything packed in one project. So, people should continue looking up what’s new on our socials because there are definitely exciting things that will be happening in the coming new year,” she said.
Functioning from a place of spreading the love of God rather than pushing individual mandates, Tumi conceded that the reason Worship House has stood the test of time was because they were all united and rooted in advancing the Kingdom of God.
“What has been most important for us as a group is to know where the foundation is and speaking to it. We have really held on to God as our foundation. We understand why we are in this gospel fraternity. It is because God called us; therefore, we can never achieve or do anything without Him. So being solidly grounded in God and in values that make sure that we stay close to Him is what has kept us standing. There’s no doubt that with that kind of foundation we’ll still be standing in the years to come,” she said.