The Creek Praise Dancers Inspire Worship Through Dance

Youthful energy thrives on the second Sunday of each month at Bear Creek Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, located at 3476 Old Federal Road, Quincy. On upcoming Youth Sundays, The Creek’s Praise Dancers will move to the vibrant rhythms of gospel icons such as CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, and Hezekiah Walker. Youth Sunday teaches and celebrates young people at “The Creek,” and the church extends a heartfelt invitation to more youth in the community to join this growing movement of worship through both word and the arts.
The Creek Praise Dancers—Jamireail Keys, JaKayla Johnson, Wynter Lewis, and Malani Patrick—captivate the congregation with their graceful movements. Their praise dancing is not just an art form but a ministry that connects spirit and body, flowing effortlessly with the music to lift the hearts of those in attendance.
“It’s a beautiful form of worship,” said Shakira Johnson, sponsor of The Creek Praise Dancers. “It allows them to express their love for God in a way that words sometimes can’t.”
Praise dancing has a long tradition in the Baptist Church, with its roots tracing back to Africa. According to Thomas DeFrantz, a professor of music and theater arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and historian of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, “Praise dancing began in Baptist churches in the late 19th century as a descendant of the ring shout, a religious dance of West African origin. Traditional praise dances were performed in circles or processions, sometimes accompanied by horns and drums, with performers carrying flags and banners.” In contemporary praise dancing, participants, like The Creek Praise Dancers, often enter an ecstatic state inspired by their belief in God, determining their own movements. “Ailey used elements of it in his masterpiece, Revelations.”
The Creek Praise Dancers are passionate about this form of praise, embracing it as an expression of faith and joy. Currently, the members are all female, but The Creek Praise Dancers are open to young men joining as well.
While Youth Sunday centers around the younger members, the service is an uplifting experience for all ages, offering adults a chance to engage with the fresh and vibrant spirit of the church’s next generation.
The service begins at 11 a.m., and the church leadership hopes to see more young people in the community join this powerful form of worship. “Youth Sunday is a service for everyone,” said Rev. Terrence D. Milton, pastor of Bear Creek Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. “We want to see our youth take part in the service, growing their faith in a creative and meaningful way.”