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Darlene Joyce Zschech (; Steinhardt; 8 September 1965) is an Australian
She released ''Make the Choice'' in 1987 and ''Pearls & Gold'' in 1993. She eventually joined the staff of Hillsong Church after penning " Shout to the Lord" in 1993. When she presented it to Hillsong's then-worship pastor, Geoff Bullock, she was so embarrassed that she requested he face away from her as she played and sang. It was first recorded on '' People Just Like Us'' and has appeared on more than 200 different albums by numerous artists in multiple languages. It is also the title track for the first live album co-produced with Integrity Music featuring Zschech as a worship leader. It was Integrity Music's first album to feature a female worship leader. The album was nominated for Praise & Worship Album of the Year at the 1997 Dove Awards. The song was nominated in the 1998 Dove Awards' Song of the Year category. It has been performed for the Pope at the Vatican and for the President of the United States. The song has become one of the most well-known modern worship songs, being sung by an estimated 25–30 million churchgoers every Sunday since the song's release. She wrote the song during a time of personal struggle.
'' Shout to the Lord'', the album, was nominated as Album of the Year for the 1997 Dove Awards and Song of the Year for the 1998 Dove Awards. In 2000, Zschech received a Dove Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year and received the International Award for influence in praise and worship.
Zschech was the worship pastor of Hillsong Church from 1996 to 2007, during which time she served as producer, vocal producer or executive producer for more than 20 albums under the Hillsong Music label and wrote more than 80 published worship songs. Under Zschech's leadership, the album '' People Just Like Us'' (1994) was the first Christian album in Australia to be certified gold and platinum, and the album '' For All You've Done'' (2004) debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Record Industry Association album charts.
In 2003, Zschech released her first official solo album, ''Kiss of Heaven''. ''Change Your World'' followed in 2005. She has since released two albums, in 2011, called ''Simply Darlene'' and ''You Are Love''. In addition to writing songs, she has written five books: ''Worship'' (1996), ''Extravagant Worship'' (2002), ''The Kiss of Heaven'' (2003), ''The Great Generational Transition'' (2009) and ''Revealing Jesus: A 365-Day Devotional'' (2013).
In January 2011, with her husband, she became senior pastor of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales. Since becoming lead pastors there, Hope Unlimited has transitioned from being a local ministry to having a worldwide outreach with locations throughout Australia, India, and four major cities in the United States. The church also livestreams services through HopeUC.tv where the weekly services are also available on demand.
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
Christian worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...
leader and singer who primarily writes praise and worship songs. Described as a pioneer of the modern worship movement, she is the former worship pastor of Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...
. Zschech is currently a contributing songwriter with CompassionArt, a charity founded by Christian songwriter Martin Smith. Along with her husband, Zschech is the lead pastor of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
.
Early life
Zschech starred on television at the age of ten, as part of an Australian children's show, ''Happy Go Round''. When she was 13, her parents divorced and the emotional stress of being on television and her parents' divorce resulted in her havingbulimia
Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-induc ...
for about four years.
In 1980, when Zschech was 15, her father rededicated his life to Christ and began taking her to church, where she also became a committed Christian and met her future husband, Mark Zschech. When they married, her husband suggested that they move from Brisbane to Sydney, which was confirmed at a small church they were visiting one Sunday when the guest speaker said in the middle of his sermon, "This doesn't happen to me very often, but whatever it is you two prayed last night, God says to do it now." They began attending Hills Christian Life Centre, which would become Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...
.
Zschech sang jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s for several international companies including McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, KFC
KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...
and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
.
Career
She released ''Make the Choice'' in 1987 and ''Pearls & Gold'' in 1993. She eventually joined the staff of Hillsong Church after penning " Shout to the Lord" in 1993. When she presented it to Hillsong's then-worship pastor, Geoff Bullock, she was so embarrassed that she requested he face away from her as she played and sang. It was first recorded on '' People Just Like Us'' and has appeared on more than 200 different albums by numerous artists in multiple languages. It is also the title track for the first live album co-produced with Integrity Music featuring Zschech as a worship leader. It was Integrity Music's first album to feature a female worship leader. The album was nominated for Praise & Worship Album of the Year at the 1997 Dove Awards. The song was nominated in the 1998 Dove Awards' Song of the Year category. It has been performed for the Pope at the Vatican and for the President of the United States. The song has become one of the most well-known modern worship songs, being sung by an estimated 25–30 million churchgoers every Sunday since the song's release. She wrote the song during a time of personal struggle.
'' Shout to the Lord'', the album, was nominated as Album of the Year for the 1997 Dove Awards and Song of the Year for the 1998 Dove Awards. In 2000, Zschech received a Dove Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year and received the International Award for influence in praise and worship.
Zschech was the worship pastor of Hillsong Church from 1996 to 2007, during which time she served as producer, vocal producer or executive producer for more than 20 albums under the Hillsong Music label and wrote more than 80 published worship songs. Under Zschech's leadership, the album '' People Just Like Us'' (1994) was the first Christian album in Australia to be certified gold and platinum, and the album '' For All You've Done'' (2004) debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Record Industry Association album charts.
In 2003, Zschech released her first official solo album, ''Kiss of Heaven''. ''Change Your World'' followed in 2005. She has since released two albums, in 2011, called ''Simply Darlene'' and ''You Are Love''. In addition to writing songs, she has written five books: ''Worship'' (1996), ''Extravagant Worship'' (2002), ''The Kiss of Heaven'' (2003), ''The Great Generational Transition'' (2009) and ''Revealing Jesus: A 365-Day Devotional'' (2013).
In January 2011, with her husband, she became senior pastor of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales. Since becoming lead pastors there, Hope Unlimited has transitioned from being a local ministry to having a worldwide outreach with locations throughout Australia, India, and four major cities in the United States. The church also livestreams services through HopeUC.tv where the weekly services are also available on demand.
Discography
The following is a list by year of albums or single tracks which feature Zschech as a prominent vocalist or worship leader.See also
* List of Hillsong albumsNotes and references
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zschech, Darlene 1965 births Living people Australian Charismatics Australian women singer-songwriters Australian gospel singers Australian Pentecostals Christian music songwriters Fair Trade Services artists Hillsong musicians Performers of contemporary worship music Singers from Sydney 20th-century Australian women singers 21st-century Australian women singers 20th-century Australian singer-songwriters 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters