Release Date: November 1st, 2021His Gift of Song to God
Moses Mugisha: Singer/Songwriter
“I want to serve God with the gift that he has given me,” says Moses Mugisha, a 21-year-old gospel singer/songwriter living in Ottawa, ON. “Without God I wouldn’t be me – I wouldn’t have this talent. I owe it back to him.”
Born in the country of Rwanda, poverty and circumstances caused Moses and his family to move to Tanzania where they lived as refugees for almost six years. “I always loved to sing. I would find myself walking long distances just to get to church to practice, and then again the next day for services,” he says. “I grew up in that environment singing, even though life wasn’t always easy in Africa.”
Moses began his music career at the young age of seven, singing in choirs in congregations where his father was pastor. “I had amazing teachers and mentors. They taught me not just about singing, but also taught me how to walk with and build a relationship with God,” he says.
It was during Moses time in Tanzania that people in his congregation began to notice a gift in him. “I was 17 at the time and I realized that I didn’t just love singing, but I loved to do it for God,” he says. “That’s when I became more serious about it, knowing that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t have to be rich or a certain age. God just wants us to obey his voice and walk in his world.”
Song: Msalaba (The Cross)
The first song Moses released was with a choir from the congregation where his father preached. “I was surprised when they asked me to write a song – I was only 17,” he remembers. “They asked me to write what God was speaking to my heart.” Moses wrote the song Msalaba, which means The Cross and presented it. You can still hear Msalaba played on the radio in Tanzania, especially at Easter. That song helped to pave the way for Moses.
Song: Maombi
One night in Tanzania Moses was quietly working, listening to music. He heard someone speaking gently, “My arm is not too short to save, and my ears are not too dull to hear your cries.” Moses looked around and saw that he was alone; he thought that perhaps he had heard his neighbour speaking. He went to his dad’s study and asked if his dad knew those words. Opening the Bible to Isaiah 59, they read the words exactly as Moses had heard them whispered.
That night as Moses slept a melody came to him. When he awoke, he quickly recorded it and finished the song. “That was the first time I heard God’s voice – you don’t really get over that,” Moses recalls.
The story does not end there. How could Moses get the song produced? He had no money. In fact, the family was really suffering and unable to meet their rent, forcing them to move. “I knew that God had spoken to me and had a reason for giving me that song,” Moses says. He went to a studio and asked to speak to the producer. “Don’t I know you?” asked the producer. “Didn’t you write that song that is played on the radio – Msalaba?”
“It was in that moment that I knew God was taking care of everything,” Moses says. The producer agreed to produce the song free of charge. To this day, he stays in contact with Moses and follows him on YouTube.
“I want to serve God with the gift that he has given me."
Song: Courageous Imagination
In 2020, MCEC asked Moses to write a song reflecting the journey of courageous imagination that we are on together as a family of faith. The lyrics, written in both English and Swahili, invite us to come together to build the body of Christ and reach out as the children of God. “Our spirits are open to God’s calling so we can dream beyond, beyond and beyond,” says Moses. “God is the one that enables us and if we are enabled by him, we can reach through to the nations and bring the healing that the world needs.”
Moses continues his career in Ottawa writing songs, releasing videos, organizing concerts even during a pandemic and leading worship at Goshen Mennonite Church, an MCEC faith community. “Sometimes it is overwhelming but I pray that God keeps on using what he planted in me to reach other people,” says Moses. “You don’t have to be rich or a certain age. God just wants us to obey his voice and walk in his world.”
You can follow Moses on YouTube (search for Moses Mugisha) where you can hear these songs and more.