Brian Robert Doerksen is a Canadian

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

singer-songwriter and

worship leader Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many w ...

from

Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...

Early life

Doerksen was a member at a local

Mennonite Brethren The Mennonite Brethren Church is an evangelical Mennonite Anabaptist movement with Wiktionary:congregation, congregations. History The conference was established among Plautdietsch language, Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860. Durin ...

church in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and graduated from the

Mennonite Educational Institute The Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) is an independent country day school located in Abbotsford British Columbia, approximately 70 kilometres from Vancouver. MEI consists of four divisions — a preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary s ...

in 1983. In his early twenties, he joined the staff of the Langley Vineyard Christian Fellowship and spent several years there as the worship pastor in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Musical career

For many years Doerksen was part of the

Vineyard Churches The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is a neocharismatic evangelical Christian denomination.Despite the fact that some might see denominational labels as divisive, the founder of the movement John Wimber said ...

as well as Vineyard Music Group. In that context he has been extremely influential in the area of

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

. He was a featured worship leader on many Vineyard worship CDs and has also taught extensively on worship leading and songwriting. Doerksen's worship recordings are known for their high production values and quality songwriting. Notable songs written by Doerksen include: "Refiner's Fire" (1990), "Light the Fire Again" (1994), "Come Now is the Time to Worship" (1998), "Faithful One" (2002), "Hope of the Nations," (2003), and "Today (As For Me and My House)" (2008). Some of these songs have been covered by a number of artists including the

Oslo Gospel Choir Oslo Gospel Choir is a Norwegian gospel choir centred in Oslo, Norway conducted by Tore W. Aas. The choir started up in 1988 and has since then become one of the most successful in Europe with success both in Europe and America. They have release ...

and

Phillips, Craig & Dean Phillips, Craig and Dean (rendered as Phillips, Craig & Dean on albums) is a contemporary Christian music trio composed of pastors Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean. Since forming in 1991, the group has sold over two million units. The ...

. More recently, Doerksen has been producing worship music through Integrity's Hosanna Music, including his albums ''You Shine'' (2002), ''Today'' (2004), ''Live in Europe'' (2005), ''Holy God'' (2006) and ''It's Time'' (2008). Doerksen received a

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

in 2003, only the second Canadian to be so honoured. He has also won a string of

Covenant Awards The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Ca ...

during his career including four in 2005, among them: ''Artist of the Year'', ''Praise And Worship Album of the Year'' and ''Praise And Worship Song of the Year''. Three more Covenant Awards followed in 2006, and a further six in 2007. In 2008 he won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for the album '' Holy God''. Doerksen collaborated on a musical titled ''Prodigal God'' with playwright and worship pastor Christopher Greco. The production had its debut performance in February 2010 in Vancouver, before going on tour.

Ministry

Doerksen served as one of two co-pastors along with Dean Richmond, Janine Richmond, Irv Esau, and Karin Esau at an interdenominational church they started on Mother's Day 2006, called ''The Bridge'' in Abbotsford. This church met in Matsqui Village. Doerksen was a teaching and worship arts pastor and oversaw the church's growing team of worship leaders. Doerksen led

Prairie Bible Institute Prairie College is an interdenominational Christian College located in the town of Three Hills, Alberta. Founded as Prairie Bible Institute, classes began on October 9, 1922, on the property of the McElheran family farm. History A local Bible St ...

's School of Worship Arts starting in September 2014.

Personal life

Doerksen married his high school sweetheart in 1984. The couple have six children, four daughters and two sons. His sons both have

fragile X syndrome Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic disorder characterized by mild-to-moderate intellectual disability. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while about two thirds of affected females are intellectually disabled. Physical features may ...

. The family resides in

, Canada.

Discography

Vineyard Music albums * ''Changed by Your Glory'' (1989) * ''Hear Our Cry'' (1990) * ''We Behold You'' (1990) * ''Your Kingdom Come'' (1990) * ''Jesus Alone'' (1991) * ''Save Us Oh God'' (1991) * ''Worship Festival Live'' (1992) * ''In Deiner Gegenwart Vol 1 & 2'' (1993) *''Winds of Worship 1 (1994)'' *''Winds of Worship 2 (1994)'' * ''Light the Fire Again'' (1994) * ''Father's House'' (1994, review) * ''Winds of Worship 4'' (1995) * ''Isn't He'' (1995, review) * ''Winds of Worship 5'' (1996) *''Winds of Worship 6 (1996)'' * ''Faithful Father'' (1996) * ''Winds of Worship 8'' (1997) * ''Come Now is the Time/Winds Of Worship 12'' (1998) * ''Father'' (1998) * ''Intimacy'' (1998) * ''

Hungry Hunger is a sense, sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after ea ...

'' (1999) * ''God is Love'' (2000) * ''Rise Up Europe'' (2000) * ''Believe'' (2000) * ''Change Me on the Inside'' (2001) * ''Love Abbotsford Live'' (2001) * ''All I Need'' (2002) Kingsway Music albums * ''Come and Follow (with Andy Park)'' (2001, review) Love Abbotsford Association albums * ''Love Abbotsford'' ive(2001) Integrity Music albums * ''You Shine'' (2002, reviews) * ''Today'' (2004, review) * ''Live in Europe'' (2005, review) * '' Holy God'' (2006, review) * ''It's Time'' (2008, review) * ''Level Ground'' (2010) Shining Rose/Indie solo albums * ''Grateful'' (2017) – nominated for a 2019 Juno Award * ''The Heart of Christmas'' (2019) * ''Hymns For Life'' (2021) EPs * ''Everlasting Arms'' (2020) Books * ''The Brian Doerksen Guitar Songbook'' (2004, includes a DVD) * ''Make Love, Make War: NOW is the Time to Worship'' (David C. Cook, 2009) Songs in other projects * '' WoW Worship (Blue)'', "Refiner's Fire" and "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" (1999) * '' WoW Worship (Orange)'', "Light the Fire Again" (2000) * '' WoW Worship (Green)'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)"

Brenton Brown Brenton Gifford Brown Work ID No. 884337863 ISWC No. T9126089325 (born 1 July 1973) is a dual South African and American Christian musician and worship leader. The title track "Everlasting God" on his solo album, ''Everlasting God'' was given a ...

& Brian Doerksen (2001) * iWorship, ''Double CD'', "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship", "You Shine", "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" (Integrity, 2002) * ''Real Men Worship'', "Come Now Is The Time To Worship" (Integrity, 2003) * iWorship: ''Next'', "Refiner's Fire" (Integrity, 2004) * '' Sea to Sea: Filled With Your Glory'', "Today" (CMC, 2004) * '' WoW Worship (Red)'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" (2004) * '' Sea to Sea: I See The Cross'', "I See the Cross" (CMC, 2005) * ''

27th Annual Covenant Hits 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

'', "Today" (CMC, 2006) * Canadian Bible Society centennial CD: ''Good News Celebration'', "Fortress 144" (CMC, 2006) * ''Maximum Worship – Canada's Top 25 Worship Songs'', "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" (Hosanna, 2006) * '' Sea to Sea: For Endless Days'', "When You Shepherd Me" (CMC, 2006) * ''YourMusicZone.com #1s'', "Holy God" (CMC, 2007) * ''

28th Annual Covenant Hits 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

'', "When You Shepherd Me" (CMC, 2007) * iWorship: ''24:7'', "Holy God" (2007) * ''Maximum Worship Blue – Canada's Top 25 Worship Songs'', "Holy God", "Faithful One" and "Refiner's Fire" (Hosanna, 2007) * ''Sea to Sea: The Voice of Creation'', "Holy God" (CMC, 2007) * Celtic Worship Live From Ireland: ''Hope of the Nations'', "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)", "You Surround Me", "You Shine", "Faithful One" with

Kathryn Sarah Scott Kathryn Sarah Scott (born 29 September 1974) is a contemporary worship music songwriter and worship leader from Northern Ireland. She has written songs such as "Hungry", "At the Foot of the Cross", and "Search Me" for the worshipping church. She ...

, "It Is Well" (Integrity, 2007) * ''Worship '09'', "Holy God" (Promise Keepers Canada / Integrity, 2008) * '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection'', "Today (As For Me and My House)" (CMC, 2008) * ''Maximum Worship Christmas'', "You Shine" (Hosanna, 2008) * '' Find Me/Blessed Are the Lost Ones'', "You Alone" (2009) Video * ''Today'' (2004, review) * ''Level Ground'' (2010)

Awards and recognition

* 2003 International Award

GMA Canada The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. History GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with ...

* 2005 Male Vocalist of the Year * 2005 Praise And Worship Album of the Year: ''Today'' * 2005 Special Events/Compilation of the Year: '' Sea to Sea: Filled With Your Glory'' * 2005 Praise And Worship Song of the Year: "Today" (written with Sandra Gage) * 2006 Male Vocalist of the Year * 2006 Artist of the Year * 2006 Inspirational Song of the Year: "When You Shepherd Me" * 2007 Artist of the Year * 2007 Male Vocalist of the Year * 2007 Album of the Year: ''Holy God'' * 2007 Praise and Worship Album of the Year: ''Holy God'' * 2007 Song of the Year: "Holy God" * 2007 Praise And Worship Song of the Year: "Holy God" * 2009 Praise And Worship Song of the Year: "It's Time For The Reign Of God" (written with Steve Mitchinson) * 2011 Four awards, including: Special Events/Compilation of the Year: ''Prodigal God'', Praise And Worship Album of the Year: ''Level Ground'', Music DVD of the Year: ''Level Ground: The Live Experience'', and Praise And Worship Song of the Year: "Welcome To The Level Ground" (written with

Paul Baloche Paul Joseph Baloche Work ID No. 884337863 ISWC No. T9126089325 ( ; born on June 4, 1962) is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, and singer-songwriter. A native of Maple Shade Township, New Jersey,Price, Deborah Evans. "Higher Grou ...

) * 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award * 2019 Inspirational Album of the Year: "Grateful"

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

* 2008 Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year: "Holy God" Praise Awards * 2001 Best Worship Project:

Shai Awards (formerly The Vibe Awards) * 2004 nominee, Artist of the Year * 2004 nominee, Male Soloist of the Year * 2005 Male Soloist of the Year * 2005 Worship Album of the Year: ''Today''

References

External links

*
Official Brian Doerksen website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doerksen, Brian Canadian performers of Christian music Canadian songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian Mennonites Mennonite musicians Juno Award for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year winners People from Abbotsford, British Columbia Performers of contemporary worship music Promise Keepers Living people 1965 births Association of Vineyard Churches Musicians from British Columbia