Darlene Zschech

Biography

Darlene Joyce Zschech (; née Steinhardt; 8 September 1965) is an Australian Pentecostal Christian worship 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. 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.

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 having bulimia 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.
Zschech sang jingles for several international companies including McDonald's, KFC and Coca-Cola.

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×Kiss of Heaven14 October 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Pray3:462Heaven on Earth4:533Faithful4:084Beautiful Savior5:425Everything About You4:196Promise4:457Irresistible5:238Kiss Of Heaven3:539Everlasting4:2510Shout to the Lord6:3211Dreams4:4612Wonderful You3:5013Thankful4:2114Walk On5:53. Change Your World followed in 2005. She has since released two albums, in 2011, called Simply Darlene×Simply Darlene18 January 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Potter's Hand4:232Letting Go3:523Mercy Endures3:314Lord I Give Myself2:445Overwhelmed4:216Glory to the King4:017It Is You4:568Irresistible4:289His Glory Appears5:1810Have Your Way3:2711Pearls and Gold4:2212Jesus You're All I Need4:22 and You Are Love×You Are Love6 September 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Under Grace3:562Saving Me3:573You Are Love4:384We Are Your People4:595I Will Wait6:316Beautiful4:277Hope For Humanity5:428Faithful4:159Cry Of The Broken5:0710Face To Face5:3911Under Grace - Bonus Exclusive Australian Mix4:35. 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.