Brian Doerksen, the Christian musician best known for co-writing the worship anthem Come, Now Is the Time to Worship, has died aged 60, just days after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Brian Doerksen, the Christian musician behind the widely sung worship song Come, Now Is the Time to Worship, has died at the age of 60. His family announced this week that he died on Tuesday, only four days after they had gone public with news of his stage four cancer diagnosis. In a statement posted to Facebook, they said he died in his sleep at home in his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia, at 6.45am, “surrounded by those who loved him most.”
Diagnosis and final weeks
According to his family, Doerksen had been experiencing unexplained health problems since February, enduring what they described as months of “severe pain” that went undiagnosed until earlier this month. He was admitted to hospital for treatment, where scans revealed a pelvic mass and confirmed that cancer had spread to his liver, lungs and the area near his heart.
Following his diagnosis, those close to him launched a GoFundMe campaign last week, which by Saturday morning had raised $133,790 in US dollars, well beyond its original goal of 50,000 Canadian dollars, equivalent to around $35,454.71 in US currency.
A career spanning three decades
Doerksen emerged in the 1990s as part of the evangelical Vineyard Movement, going on to co-write a string of worship songs that became staples in churches worldwide. Alongside Come, Now Is the Time to Worship, his best-known contributions include Hope of the Nations, Refiner’s Fire, recognised for its opening line “Purify my heart,” and Faithful One. His wider catalogue also includes widely sung worship anthems such as Light the Fire Again, Today (As for Me and My House), Creation Calls, Everlasting and You Shine.
Over the course of his career, Doerksen released more than 30 albums, spanning from 1989 through to 2025. His final album was titled Love For A Lifetime.
Christian music label Vineyard Worship described Doerksen as one of the founding figures of the modern Vineyard worship movement, saying his songs had shaped worship in churches around the world for decades.
Early life and faith
Born in 1965 in Abbotsford, roughly a 15-minute drive from the Washington State border, Doerksen grew up in a family with generations of Mennonite heritage. “We didn’t wear black or anything like though, just normal clothes!” he said in a 1998 interview with UK Christian media outlet Cross Rhythms.
Reflecting on his own faith journey in the same interview, he said: “It is hard for me to pinpoint when I really met Jesus. I talked with him my whole life, and grew up in a Christian home. I grew up on a farm, and it was when I was outside, with nature, that I think I really heard his voice.” He recalled a formative moment at around the age of 15: “This presence came into my room, and I just knew he was asking: ‘Will you give me your whole life to serve me?'”
Family and tributes
Doerksen is survived by his wife, Joyce, and their six adult children, all of whom have Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can cause intellectual disability. Tributes have poured in from leading figures in Christian music, including Darlene Zschech, Matt Redman, Paul Baloche, Jenn Johnson and Pat Barrett, each praising his lasting influence on contemporary worship music.
