It’s been a year. What’s next for Kanye West’s Sunday Service?
On January 5, 2019, Kanye West started “Sunday Service” at his home in Calabasas, California. With notable names in attendance, including the Kardashian family, Chance the Rapper, and Tyler the Creator, West provided an exclusive event for the elite, complete with a gospel choir dressed in Yeezy brand. In an effort to publicize Sunday Service, West took steps to promote and hold it all over North America, from the Coachella music festival to Howard University’s homecoming to Los Angeles’ “Skid Row.”
Today marks the one year anniversary of The Sunday Service Choir ✨ pic.twitter.com/ZdpOqsTyYc
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 6, 2020
Now in the new year, the entertainer and fashion designer is reportedly looking to go much further–by taking his Sunday Service across the globe. In fact, West may have his eyes set on traveling to Europe and Africa with his brand of corporate worship. In May, West may be collaborating with Joel Osteen at Yankee Stadium as part of the pastor’s “America’s Night of Hope” tour, according to a Fox Business report.
West has been rapping about faith since “Jesus Walks,” one of his first hits off his 2004 debut album, “The College Dropout.” However, during National Public Radio’s segment “All Things Considered,” producer, Christina Cala, examined the idea that instead of Sunday Service, West may be now the “point of worship.” This idea became especially prevalent during Coachella, where he trademarked and sold themed merchandise, including $50 “church socks.”
West has continued to call Sunday Service an inclusive “spiritual Christian experience” for those of any belief or association. However, the events are typically invite-only. Before it was considered a “church,” Sunday Service was consistently referred to as a “feeling.” The absence of a sermon or message is something that would heavily sway any classification as a church.
Established non-denominational churches are typically equipped with a set of values and a mission statement for the purposes of guiding their congregation. In contrast, West’s church is abstract, shaped by his creative whims. Without a leader trained for instruction in religious faiths, a mission statement describing their core values, and acknowledgment of the Bible as an authoritative text, West may run something closer to a contemporary choir.
In an interview with Billboard Music last year, West said that “everything [he does], even designing a shoe, is for the Church… [his] only mission and calling is to spread the Gospel.” Consequently, his actions, especially as they relate to Sunday Service, would be for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. But does that make the Sunday Service experience a church, a choir… or a concert? Is the purpose piety or self-promotion?
Because it’s still forming and relatively new, it is difficult to speculate as to the true intentions of West’s self-proclaimed church and how far it will go in 2020. Over the next few years, it will become clear whether Sunday Service really is an intentional living out of West’s faith.
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