PICTURE this scene: You have not been to church for donkey's years and you are suddenly invited to one.

PICTURE this scene: You have not been to church for donkey's years and you are suddenly invited to one.

I am sure the thought of going back after so long is not something you'd look forward to.

This is how I felt when I was invited to the Grace Fellowship Church in Montana, Tshwane, on Sunday. I was not actually invited to pray , but to witness what an acquaintance , Sam Manamela, says is "the biggest threat to Joyous Celebrations. It's called the Tshwane Gospel Choir" .

The choir, which was launched recently in Tshwane, really rocks. After listening to only a few songs I forget I was in a church. I was carried along from one song to the next in some kind of spiritual revival ... I even enjoyed Pastor Johannes Tause preaching in between the songs.

Though husband and wife Bheki and Boitumelo Langa insist they did not form the choir as a rival to the top urban choir, Joyous Celebration, comparing them is inevitable .

"The technical team is Bongi and Collen Damans, Ndivhuwo Mathumba, who have worked with Joyous Celebration and other groups, among others. Rixi Roman helps with compositions and producing the music," Boitumelo Langa says.

"We don't want it just to be a national choir of repute," she says. "We want to make it an internationally acknowledged choir that will fly the South African flag high. We have a business plan to make sure we get there.

"We held auditions in Tshwane and its surrounding rural areas to unearth talent. We want to empower choir members to unleash their full potential."

Bheki Langa, managing director of the Tshwane Gospel Choir, says: "We have a construction business, Bhekhanani

Building Construction. The choir is a way of ploughing back into the community."

If I am ever invited to a church again I will go without thinking twice - but only if there is a choir that can match the Tshwane Gospel Choir.