06/01/2026
🎉💙🎉💜🎉💛🎉Day 46 of 100 Days to 100 🎉💙🎉💜🎉💛🎉
"And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped." — 2 Chronicles 29:30
Today, we celebrate one of the treasured musical traditions of Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church: the Dr. Watts Chorus.
Long before praise teams and contemporary worship music, many Baptist churches began worship services with Dr. Watts hymns. There was no music, it was just about the voices ringing through the pews.
Hands would be raised, tears would flow, heads would be lifted. Dr. Watts hymns touched the heart of the congregation. Named after English hymn writer Isaac Watts, these songs were traditionally "lined out," meaning a leader would sing or recite a line and the congregation would repeat it. This practice became deeply rooted in the Black Baptist Church tradition and remains one of the most distinctive forms of worship in the African American church experience.
At Pisgah, the Dr. Watts Chorus helped preserve this sacred tradition. Through powerful voices, heartfelt devotion, and reverence for the history of the church, they connected generations of worshippers to a style of praise that dates back centuries. Whether singing familiar hymns such as Amazing Grace, I Love the Lord He Heard My Cry, I Know I Am a Child of God, Father I Stretch my Hand to Thee, or other beloved selections, the Dr. Watts Chorus reminded us that worship is not just about music, it is about heritage, testimony, and faith passed from one generation to the next.
As we celebrate 100 years of Pisgah, we honor those faithful saints who kept these traditions alive and ensured that the rich history of Baptist worship would never be forgotten.
Today, we celebrate the Dr. Watts Chorus and those Dr. Watts hymns, a ministry and a sound that helped preserve the spirit, and sacred traditions of the church.
