Christy Lynette Nockels (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hill, born November 17, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter of

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

. She was also one of the lead members of the band

Watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

, along with her husband,

Nathan Nockels Nathaniel Edward "Nathan" Nockels (born June 8, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and worship leader, who is a producer, songwriter, and composer of sacred music. He has received seven GMA Dove Awards, for his production. Nockels and his wif ...

Biography and career

Christy Nockels was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

to a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and a piano teacher but grew up in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Christy met

in 1993 at the Christian Artists Seminar in

Estes Park, Colorado Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...

. After getting married in 1995, they began serving as worship leaders in their local church in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. They also began writing songs together and released an album in 1996. The album, which was released under the name Sons & Daughters, was called ''Holy Roar'', and featured the contribution of fellow worship leader and friend, Charlie Hall.

Louie Giglio Louie Giglio (pronounced GIG-leo; born June 30, 1958) is an American Christian pastor. He is the leader of Passion City Church, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The founder of the Passion Movement, he is an author and public speaker. Biography Gigl ...

, pastor and founder of the Passion Movement, heard the album and invited the Nockels and Charlie Hall to attend the first Passion Conference in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, in 1997. After this, Christy and Nathan moved to Texas and started leading worship for Metro Bible Study, a weekly gathering of 3,000 young adults at Houston's First Baptist Church. During that time

Rocketown Records Rocketown Records was an independent record label which was started in 1996 by Michael W. Smith. In the fall of 1995, met with Don Donahue, A&R director at Reunion Records, to discuss creation of the label. In 1996, Word Records bought a minority ...

, owned by

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

, approached them and they signed a contract under the name

. After that, they moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in 1998. As Watermark, the Nockels recorded five albums and received several

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 ...

nominations, including Female Vocalist of the Year for Christy and Producer of the Year for Nathan in 2007. Smith has said of Watermark, "Christy Nockels creates space for worship like few artists I've been around. When she sings, it's disarming--you must pay attention. Whether it's 10,000 people at a Passion Conference or an intimate gathering, Christy is a worshiper who leads us all. Nathan and Christy Nockels are a huge part of the Rocketown Records story, and my life has been enriched by their love for worship music." In 2006, Christy and Nathan retired Watermark and dedicated themselves to other areas of ministry, as well as their family. In 2008, they moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where they helped to found Passion City Church with

, and signed with

sixstepsrecords Passion Conferences (also referred to as Passion and the 268 Generation, originally named Choice Ministries) is a Christian organization founded by Louie Giglio in 1997. The organization is known for its annual gatherings of young adults betwee ...

. Christy also started writing songs and released her first solo album, ''Life Light Up'', in 2009. The album was also produced by her husband, Nathan. In April 2012 Christy released her second solo album ''Into the Glorious''. On April 28, 2015, Nockels released a new live album, '' Let It Be Jesus''. A review of this release suggests that " th this newest offering, Christy Nockels reinforces...her position as one of the most respected lead worshipers in the church today."

Personal life

Christy and Nathan Nockels have been married since 1995. They have three children together: Noah, Elliana, and Annie Rose.About Christy Nockels
on ChristyNockels.com

Discography

Solo

As Watermark

*1998: ''Watermark'' *2000: ''All Things New'' *2002: ''Constant'' *2004: ''The Purest Place'' *2006: ''A Grateful People''

As Sons & Daughters

*1996: ''Holy Roar''

Awards and nominations

GMA Dove Awards

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: Female Vocalist of the Year nomination *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: Female Vocalist of the Year nomination *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: Female Vocalist of the Year nomination

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nockels, Christy 1973 births Living people 20th-century Christians 21st-century American singers 21st-century Christians American performers of Christian music Christian music songwriters People from Fort Worth, Texas Sixstepsrecords artists Sparrow Records artists Performers of contemporary worship music Performers of contemporary Christian music