By REBECCA JOHNSON EEW

Magazine Gospel News

Joyous Celebration, a South African gospel super group, recorded their 21st album Saturday at Dallas-based mega church, The Potter’s House, home of Bishop T.D. Jakes.

“We’re closing the middle passage between South Africa and America, and we’re uniting together, and becoming what Jesus prayed: that we might be one,” said Jakes during his opening remarks.

The prolific preacher and best-selling author first connected with members of Joyous Celebration, one of South Africa’s most successful acts, while hosting Mega Fest in South Africa.

He invited them to come to America.

Both Jakes and the group’s leader, Lindelani Mkhize, were excited about the collaboration with the GRAMMY Award-winning Potter’s House choir. “We have been one historically. We were one in suffering. We were one in strife. We were one in pain. We have similar testimonies,” continued Jakes in front of a captive audience.

The recording, dubbed “Bishop T.D. Jakes Presents Heal Our Land with The Potter’s House choir and Joyous Celebration,” will introduce many unfamiliar Americans to the South African ensemble that is already a household name in African countries including Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya Cameroon, Namibia and Nigeria.

Joyous Celebration, after 20 years of ministry and millions of records sold, continues to garner awards, inspire and pave the way for many new artists.

Referencing the late Dr. Maya Angelou’s famous novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Jakes, 59, told event attendees, “There’s something about a song that is born through suffering, through trials and through tribulations that cannot be recorded on a music sheet.”

He added, “It’s more than notes. It’s the status of a soul singing out to God because sometimes, the only thing you can get out of the cage is the voice of a song.”

The songs were joyful Saturday and will certainly lift the hearts of those who hear them upon release to the public.