Just as God is three beings in one — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — so, too, do roughly 50 members of the Corinthian Baptist Church’s New Life gospel choir become one when they sing praises to the Lord.

“The choir actually started during the summer of 1998,” said Barry Jones, minister of music at Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines, during a phone interview on Tuesday. “At that time, the church was probably, I would say, looking for a new direction, trying to go more into the contemporary area of music. It was initially done on a trial basis and it was very successful. The congregation loved it, the people that participated loved it, and that’s when the choir called New Life began. The name is derived from the concept of the breath of new life.”

The gospel choir is the first of its kind to perform religious selections at the 20th annual Bowlful of Blues, which is set for Sept. 1 and 2 at the Fred Maytag Bowl in Newton. New Life will take the stage from 4 to 5 p.m. that Sunday.