Song, stained-glass color and hand claps burst from the half-open wood door of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 32 W. Carpenter St., Tuesday.

Gospel Voices of Faith rehearsed their contemporary-style gospel for a Saturday performance at the Kwanzaa Gospel Extravaganza.

"We want this song to minister to us, so it can minister to others," said OU senior Nicole Spivey, one of the choir's musical directors. She coached the group through its rehearsal of "In His Presence," pressing her hands into the song-heavy air above her head.

"Let it lift you up," she said.

Gospel Voices of Faith, a group of 30 OU students, fuses traditional gospel with rhythm and blues and hip-hop, a trend in gospel music that has made artists like Kirk Franklin popular with younger generations.

In the 1920's, blues musician Thomas Dorsey became the first to overlap popular-style music with church hymns. The music was gospel blues.

"Each genre has evolved to reach a different generation," said Anne Brooks, GVF's other music director.

"Gospel has been a blending of hymns with spirituals, jazz, blues, R & B, rap and hip-hop."

Younger generations are hearing gospel in popular music.

"It is a contemporary way of introducing Jesus Christ to the masses," said Dan Barton, a GVF tenor.

That introduction, Barton said, is one that goes beyond the words that are sung.

"The rhythm and beats encompass the Bible itself," he said.

Gospel's rhythm and beat sings the Bible into places where the written word doesn't always go.

"Music was the only way for our slave ancestors to receive the Word of God," Barton said.

The message Barton's ancestors received will be heard in Saturday's performance. The message will reassure people life can get better, life is better, Brooks said. And it is a message, she and other singers said, that even people who have forgotten their faith will hear.

"People feel the beat first," Brooks said. "Then after that they hear the words. And then they think about the words."

There is a voice in gospel that reminds people of their faith, GVF singer Yatika Eaton added.

"For people who don't go to church anymore, this is a blessing for them," she said. "And for those that do go to church, it takes them to another level."

Imani, a Swahili word meaning faith, is one of the seven principle values celebrated by African Americans during each day of Kwanzaa. For the 8th year at OU the Kwanzaa Gospel Extravaganza will sing Saturday's word, imani, as a celebration of faith in God, Brooks said.

"It is also a musical celebration of the good and bad that God has brought us through this year," she said.

"Gospel is a good way to celebrate. It is a music of hope, peace, joy."

Brooks, wearing a shirt that read, "God has been so good to me," directed the choir within the church's four walls. But those walls didn't stop their voices from being heard on the sidewalk outside.

"Gospel sings a message that is heard no matter where you go," she said.

The Gospel Extravaganza starts at 6 p.m. this Saturday at First United Methodist Church, 2 S. College St. Tickets are $2 at the door or $1 with a canned good.