A social media thread in which popular gospel singer and pastor, Gift Kaputula, stated that gospel artists should not work with secular musicians has been received with mixed reactions.
On June 24, 2025, Pastor Kaputula featured on the Truth Tuesday Podcast with Mag 44, where he argued that gospel artists should not collaborate with secular musicians because “God is a God of strict standards.”
However, one of his fans, Gracious Shapaka, contradicted this notion, saying it is good for both gospel and secular musicians to collaborate.
“It gives an advantage to both the church and the secular music industry to gain a larger audience,” Ms. Shapaka said in an interview with Lusaka Star.
She added that gospel singers should be free to produce music with anyone, emphasizing the need for them to uphold their values because “there’s a song for every occasion.”
“Secular music gives people excitement that we can’t find in gospel music,” Ms. Shapaka said.
Another fan, Joshua Jitanda, agreed with Pastor Kaputula’s sentiments, stating that Christians are meant to separate from the world, as the Scripture says.
Mr. Jitanda believes that when gospel and secular musicians collaborate, they compromise their message as they are forced to dilute it in order to find common ground.
And George Mweemba believes that when gospel musicians collaborate with secular artists, they lose their value because they follow different standards.
“It is difficult for gospel singers to maintain their values because they are called to minister. However, for secular artists, that’s their job and source of income,” he said.