Dagara Worship

Kpakpara Ministry Center

We wanted to share with y'all a glimpse of what a Sunday morning looks like for us here in southwest Burkina Faso. Sundays here begin pretty early. "Prayer and Adoration" starts at 7:30 AM. This is a time of prayer and worship. We usually get picked up around that time and do not arrive to the ministry center until about 7:45 or so. Ms. Lynn has been bringing us around to the 12 different churches of the ministry so as to introduce our family to the congregations. When we leave to go to the bush churches, we leave around 7 am! When we are not traveling out to different villages, however, we attend church at the Ministry Center about a 10 minute drive from the house in the neighboring village of Kpakpara.

This needs no explanation

In all the churches we have been in thus far, the men sit on the right as you enter the sanctuary and the women on the left. Children either sit with their moms (or sometimes dads), in the back of the church or in a middle aisle. Nearly all the women wear skirts or dresses and some sort of head covering. When we first began visiting churches, I would usually head to the right with the other men and Tracy and the girls go left. However, for a while now, both at the ministry center and at other churches, I have been given the honor of sitting "devant" or in front of the congregation. On a slightly raised platform, there are chairs for the pastor and other ministers in the congregation or other participants of the service. What an honor, to say the least! It allows me a front-row seat to see how God's people there worship and praise Him. However, I do not know most of the songs (though at least some are now familiar) and I can only understand a very small percentage of what is being spoken.

Here is a song my tutor taught me in Dagara

Oh, and let me tell you. The Dagara can praise God! …and dance! There are several different kind a dances. My favorite is the dance circle, when sometimes up to half of the congregation joins in and circles around the sanctuary in joyous praise, accompanied by a drum kit, one or more djembes, and a balaphone. Most everything is said twice: first in French and then in Dagara or visa versa. Most of the children, youth, and younger adults can speak French, while some of the older adults and elderly cannot. In Burkina, French is the language used in education and government. I have learned a few songs, a couple in Dagara and one in French. Sitting up front is an honor and often means that I am asked to pray at some point during the service, often for those who are sick. It was very hard at the beginning but is getting a little easier praying in French. As I mentioned in our Newsletter, my tutor helped me draft some prayers that I now draw from.

Praise and Adoration leads into a time of Louange (Praise) in both French and Dagara. Then, the offering time is another act of corporate worship where the entire church makes its way down the isle to offer gifts to the Lord and His work there in the local church. After that the message, translated both in French and Dagara. And lastly, prayers for the sick and for closing, including a prayer of blessing over the congregation by the pastor. The last formal aspect of the Dagara liturgy is the fellowship line after the benediction. Starting with the pastors, the entire church greets one another by leaving the church building and shaking the hands of those who left before them…until the entire church stands in a line of greeting and blessing. When I first saw this back in 2013, I was blown away.

A post-service greeting line

Tracy and the girls have a different experience since most churches have the kids leave after the worship time for a children's time in a different building. Here is Tracy's account of a typical Sunday: After the announcements, the children usually exit to go to the children's building for Sunday School. The girls do fairly well considering since they were 6 weeks old (3 weeks for Grace!) they have been in a nursery. When the daddy is in ministry it is what happens. So they have only known going to play with lots of toys and learning about Jesus over goldfish and juice. The girls like the music and clap along to the children's songs for about 10 minutes or less into it we are out the door since they don't understand the language and I cannot help them yet! One Sunday I brought a mat and we sit under a tree and read a story out of their children's Bible as the kids outside the church climbed up in the tree to look at the pictures in the Bible! A really cool moment! Not alway easy to worship with your children….that is right no childcare! The kids go into service with us from beginning until the kids leave to go to sunday school. So even though I don' t usually hear the message I do not understand most of it right now anyways! So pray for us as we are the only ones discipling them and teaching the about Jesus. They have wonderful helpers and teachers here and the children's program are great but we don't understand what they are teaching so pray for us as we teach Maleah and Grace. Thank you!