BeBe and CeCe Winans

Gospel music is gaining more crossover acceptance than it ever has, and the Detroit-born BeBe and CeCe Winans are doing their part to put gospel firmly on the mainstream map. The fact that the brother-sister pair choose to be billed by their nicknames--as opposed to their given names, Benjamin and Priscilla--is indicative of the freer, youth-oriented approach they bring to a style of music that frequently seems stern and forbidding.

While BeBe and CeCe, 25 and 23, respectively, are serious about relaying a Christian message, they deliver it in a way that is heartfelt but never strident. BeBe, who has toured the country in the gospel musical “Don’t Get God Started,” sang to a near-capacity audience at Concerts by the Sea on Thursday night with theatrical poise in a rich, caressing vocal style. The show’s one drawback was that the small stage--crammed with the duo, plus six musicians and three back-up singers--didn’t allow BeBe room to fully stretch out and testify.

The closest he came was on “Love Said Not So,” a tune that does exactly what you want a good gospel song to do: build dramatic tension and then give you a big, goosebump-inducing payoff. BeBe and CeCe, who initially won their following while performing as part of Jim and Tammy Bakker’s PTL TV show, are starting to become as well known as their Grammy-winning brothers, the Winans.

Like that gospel group, the duo has earned crossover airplay with minor hits such as “I.O.U. Me.” Seemingly a secular love song, the tune has an underlying Christian message that came across crystal clear on Thursday. Even if their message failed to move you, BeBe and CeCe Winans offered a musical spirit and conviction that was hard to resist.