Daughters of Glorious Jesus: the Kumasi trio that played free shows for ten years

For ten years, they did not charge for concerts. The three women of Daughters of Glorious Jesus have said they played free shows for a decade before they began asking to be paid. By then they had become one of the most beloved gospel groups in Ghana.

Kumasi and the trio

The group grew out of a children’s choir at Resurrection Power and Living Bread Ministries in Kumasi. The church’s general overseer, Bishop Akwasi Asare Bediako, noticed their talent and encouraged them to form a group. They formed in 1989. The group started with five singers. Two of the original members were sisters, Cynthia Appiadu and Edna Sarpong. Three members later left. Monica Owusu Ansah, whom the sisters met at the ministry, joined them, and the trio has stayed together since.

Albums and songs

Their debut album was released in 1990. Over the following decades they released many more albums, including Aseda in 2003, which tells of their trials and of being spared from death. By 2017, when they launched Abba Father, they had released twelve albums.

Their songs, mostly in Twi with some English, include “Bebre”, “Nea Yɛhu”, “Wo Ntaban” and “Mebo Yesu Din Daa”. Their harmonies are simple and heartfelt, and their lyrics speak of faith, gratitude and endurance.

Ministry first

Many gospel groups split as members pursue solo careers. Daughters of Glorious Jesus have said the idea of going solo has never crossed their minds. In 2026 they spoke of 37 years together, crediting unity and their spiritual mentor. The trio’s success helped show that Ghanaian gospel music in local languages could reach a national audience. Younger female gospel singers often name them as an influence.

Their decade of free concerts reflects how they see their work. For them, music is ministry first. Fame and money came later, and they have spoken about keeping the focus on worship.

Gospel in Twi

Daughters of Glorious Jesus emerged when Ghanaian gospel music was moving from church choirs and hymns towards a popular recorded industry. Groups and soloists singing in Twi, Ga, Fante and Ewe became stars on radio and in churches across the country. The trio’s Twi songs were especially popular in the Ashanti Region and among Akan speakers in Accra and abroad. Their success helped show that gospel music in local languages could sell widely and compete with English-language recordings, and it encouraged a generation of Ghanaian gospel singers to write in their mother tongues.

Ghanaian gospel music has grown into a large industry with big concerts and streaming numbers. Daughters of Glorious Jesus come from an earlier era, when three women from a Kumasi church sang for free because they believed someone needed to hear it.