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Christian hymn starts up in the classroom, students listen with rapt attention. This is Footprints. Footprints  is a Christian club where students can practice worship through methods such as the singing of hymns.

Junior Jiyong Shim is part of Footprint’s praise team, the group tasked with performing hymns.

“I play the cajon,” said Shim. “It’s basically a percussion instrument and it’s mainly used to keep the beats up.”

Shim said he started playing the cajon in sixth grade for church hymn performances and later got involved with the  praise team.

“I started coming out to [Footprints] and they asked if I was interested,” Shim said. “So I said ‘sure.’”

Because Shim grew up with Christian music all his life, he said he has little difficulty learning and playing new hymns.

“In the car, our family listens to Christian music,” Shim said, “So I’m very exposed to those musics. So once I heard the general song, it’s not too hard to learn.”

Despite the ease of learning hymns, Shim said not every hymn is appropriate to perform.

“What we look for in choosing the songs is meanings,” said Shim, “because there are a lot of Christian songs that have very shallow meaning and aren’t as impactful. When we’re picking the songs, we’re all constantly thinking about applications of the words.”

Shim said that he believes hymns serve an important part in connecting Christians to God.

“We believe that the singing of hymns is an act of worship,” said Shim, “to bring all the glory in our lives to Jesus, who we believe is our lord and savior.”

Shim said in some ways, the medium of music helps convey meaning in ways a sermon cannot.

“We do have sermons, and sermons are where the Bible is preached,” said Shim. “However, sometimes those aren’t as impactful. With the tune that people understand, if they are able to really think upon the words; that, essentially, is a sermon in itself.”