The Significance of Music

in Wichita, Kansas:

Worship Rooted in Local Songwriting

Wichita, Kansas has always had a strong musical pulse, from its jazz and folk roots to the songs rising out of its churches. For the faith community, music here is more than performance—it’s a way of expressing worship and carrying the gospel through melody and lyric.

One of the clearest examples is the late Rich Mullins, who spent formative years in Wichita while attending Friends University and leading worship locally. It was during this season that Mullins wrote some of his most memorable music, including the beloved hymn “Awesome God.” That song, still sung in churches around the world, reflects both the honesty of his songwriting and the influence of his time in Wichita. His references to the Kansas landscape in other songs remind us how deeply place and faith can shape music.

Other Wichita-connected artists like Abandon Kansas and Billy Rush Masters have also left their mark, each in their own way bringing faith and creativity into their music. While their styles may differ—from alternative rock to early Jesus-music—the thread is the same: songs born out of local life can reach far beyond the city.

This is the heart of why locally written worship music matters. When songs come from a specific community—its prayers, struggles, and joys—they carry a weight of authenticity that listeners can feel. Wichita’s story shows how God can take music written in ordinary places and use it to build His church across the world.

From the heart of Kansas to the nations, Wichita reminds us that every city has songs worth sharing—and that worship is at its best when it starts close to home.