Rev. Emmanuel Boachie, Country Director of Awesome Bible College and President of the Centre for Biblical-Historical Christianity Defence, has sounded a passionate alarm over what he describes as the death of authentic Gospel music in Ghana.

In a statement titled “Christian Musicians Ministering With Secular Artiste Mentality – A Lamentation Over Ghana’s Gospel Music”, Rev. Boachie declared that despite the abundance of musicians bearing the “gospel” label, none currently uphold the biblical and historical essence of true Gospel artistry.

From Revival Songs to Entertainment

Tracing the history of Ghana’s gospel tradition, Rev. Boachie recalled the foundational role of the Basel and Methodist missions in the 1800s, whose hymnals embedded doctrine into melody. He further highlighted the Pentecostal era of the 1930s–1960s, when Spirit-filled choruses emerged from revival camps, and the golden age of the 1970s–1990s that produced timeless icons like Prof. Kofi Abraham, Bishop Michael Mensah Bonsu, Tagoe Sisters, Rev. YABS, and Daughters of Glorious Jesus.

“These were psalmists who sang from pulpits and prayer chambers,” he said. “Their music was not entertainment but proclamation—sermons in song that exalted Christ.”

The Decline Since 2000

According to him, the year 2000 marked a turning point in Ghana’s Gospel music history. “From 2000 until now, there has not been a single full-Gospel album in the country,” he lamented, blaming the shift on the commercialization of ministry, shallow preaching, and the growing influence of the entertainment industry.

“The Ghana Music Awards crowned Prophet Seth Frimpong as ‘Best Gospel Artiste’ with Me Huri So, but that moment symbolized the surrender of Gospel music to secular values,” he stressed.

The Rise of Secular Mentality

Rev. Boachie condemned what he described as the “secular artiste mentality” among today’s gospel musicians. “Many now demand contracts, fees, and awards. They crave celebrity status, forgetting that ministry is grace, not performance,” he said. “True psalmists sing as prophets, not performers.”

He further warned that if Ghana’s past icons like Prof. Abraham or the Tagoe Sisters were to release their Gospel-saturated songs today, many churches and congregations would reject them because the appetite for eternity has diminished.

A Call to Return

Issuing a prophetic call, Rev. Boachie urged the Ghanaian church to return to its roots in Scripture-based music. “Restore the Psalms. Reclaim the hymns. Write songs from prayer chambers, not industry contracts. Let our music be sermons, our choruses catechisms, and our hymns tools of discipleship,” he declared.

He concluded with a plea: “May Ghana repent and return to the Gospel in song, lest the stones rise up to sing what we have silenced.”