Mahlet Institute of Worship and Music:
The Ethiopian word “Mahlet” means “praise or song to God”. Mahlet is a Christian faith-based, nondenominational, and not-for-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization registered in the state of California, United States. Mahlet’s goal is to support the Church’s mission in fulfilling the Great Commission of evangelism and discipleship by promoting excellence in sacred music and worship in Ethiopia and continuing throughout the African continent. In this context, the term sacred music (in contrast to secular music) is used for music dedicated to the specific purpose of celebrating God and edifying the Church.

God’s Gift to the Church:
We believe that sacred music and worship are God’s gift to the Church (Col. 3:15-17) for praising and glorifying God in corporate or personal worship. The great protestant reformer, Martin Luther wrote, “Beautiful music is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us” and “...next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise...” Sacred music is a powerful tool to effectively communicate the gospel to the unsaved and to edify and inspire the believer. It speaks to the mind, heart, and will of a person and demands a response. Sacred music, properly anchored in biblical theology, instructs the mind, inspires emotions, and challenges the will. Unfortunately, we have often failed to use the power of music to the full extent of its potential, and even at times have generated negative consequences owing to the misuse of music. For example, much of today’s Contemporary Christian Music tends to be crammed with clichéd, self-obsessed, shallow theology leaving the contemporary church theologically feeble and evangelistically ineffective. These concerns are real in Ethiopian and other African Evangelical Churches, where we find many of the songs to be deficient in biblical content and theological accuracy.

Why Mahlet?

1. We believe that biblically based corporate worship is essential to the growth, development, and multiplication of the Church. We believe that true worship prompts a heartfelt expression of love, adoration, admiration, fascination, wonder, and celebration of God: (1) It provides a means for the people of God to have communion with God, connecting and engaging with God. (Lev 26:12; 1Pet 2:9); (2) It provides God’s people a structure and vocabulary to express praise and adoration (1Jn 4:19); (3) It helps change and transform the worshiper in order to walk in the ways of God and become imitators of Christ (Jn. 4:24; 2Cor 5:20); (4) It helps God’s people connect with one another at the heart level (Eph. 5:19; 1Thes 5:11).
2. We believe that sacred music is God’s gift to the Church (Col. 3:15-17) for praising and glorifying God in corporate or personal worship. 
3. We understand the critical importance of sacred music as a powerful tool to effectively communicate the gospel to the unsaved and to edify and inspire the believer.
4. Sacred music speaks to the mind, heart, and will of a person and demands a response. Sacred music, properly anchored in biblical theology, instructs the mind, inspires emotions, and challenges the will.
5. As Martin Luther once observed, “Beautiful music is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us”.
6. As the African continent is home to the fastest growing Churches in the world, a huge demand for biblically accurate sacred music is emerging. Songs that focus on evangelism, worship, thanksgiving, discipleship, encouragement, edification, and correction are in high demand.
7. A great need exists for training gifted godly men and women songwriters, composers, singers, and worship leaders capable of producing biblically accurate and musically appealing songs.