The 3Ds brainstormed ideas for a free sing-along two years ago and created the Community Gospel Sing (CGS).

Now, hundreds of people turn out every other month to participate in the community sing-along.

Denny Strand, Dick Osburn and Dave Harris, also known as the 3Ds, created CGS two years ago after Harris attended a hymn sing at Shoreline Community Church in Shoreline, Wash. Harris decided Kitsap County needed a community sing-along and discovered Osburn and Strand were interested in the idea.

“It really fell together in a different way. It was three guys with different talents and people started to get involved and it fell together beautifully,” Harris said.

CGS meets the third Friday of odd-numbered months to sing traditional hymns, such as “Amazing Grace” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” together as a group.

“It’s pretty much a blend of Southern gospel and hymns,” Harris said. “The contemporary Christian music you hear today in churches is good, but people yearn for that old timey gospel music.”

CGS-goers also are treated to special appearances by soloists, duets, quartets and regular performances by the local trio known as the Silvertones.

“One thing we try to do is stay faithful to the style of music,” Osburn said.

CGS draws people from all denominations including Baptists, Lutherans, Nazarenes and Methodists, to name a few. Harris and Osburn said people come from as far away as Tacoma and Port Townsend to participate in CGS.

“That’s the whole idea — to attract people of diverse backgrounds,” Harris said. “You meet people that you normally wouldn’t bump in to.”

Harris said CGS took off right away and people have enjoyed it since its inception in 2006.

“I would say they took to it right away. A lot of older folks take to it right away because they grew up with that kind of music,” Osburn said.

“It was like a dam bursting,” Harris added.

Osburn said CGS is a place where people of every denomination can gather together to worship God, enjoy one another’s company and sing familiar hymns and gospel music. He added that CGS features little to no talking or preaching during the nearly two-hour gatherings.

“If you come you’re going to get an evening of music,” Osburn said.

Both Osburn and Harris said they would like to see CGS grow, but their main goal is to entertain and provide a place to worship for those who do attend the gatherings, no matter how many or few.

“We’re not counting nickels or noses, we just play for people’s enjoyment and our own (enjoyment) by the way,” Harris said.

CGS will host “Sizzling Southern Gospel” featuring The Crossroads Quartet and a variety of other groups at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 at Hillcrest Assembly of God on State Highway 303 across from Wal-Mart in East Bremerton. The public is invited to the free gathering.

For more information about CGS, visit the group’s Web site at www.communitygospelsing.com.