Preaching, shouting, singing, and playing music are the practices most often dramatized. Singing takes place not only in regular church services, but also on other occasions. Many churches have Sunday afternoon or evening concerts or musicals, as well as their annual anniversaries. Church choirs are also invited to other churches to perform, especially when their pastor is the invited guest speaker. Most religious choirs and gospel groups are affiliated with a specific church, though there are some exceptions.
Some choirs consist of members of various churches in the city.
One such choir in Baton Rouge is the Voices of Zion, directed by Paul Simon. This community gospel choir consists of dedicated singers and instrumentalists who love to sing gospel music. They are a young, struggling, but vital ensemble. Another group of singers not affiliated with one specific church is the Gospel Quartet. Gospel quartet singing, formally a capella but now mostly accompanied, has been surpassed in popularity by other styles of gospel music yet retains a small but steady and devoted following.