Darlene Zschech

Darlene Zschech is an Australian worship leader, songwriter, pastor, author, and speaker born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1965. She joined the worship ministry of Hills Christian Life Centre in Sydney, later Hillsong Church, in the 1980s and became director of its worship and creative arts ministry in 1996. Her years at Hillsong placed her at the center of a period when Australian praise-and-worship music was moving rapidly into international church use.

Zschech wrote both the words and music of “Shout to the Lord” in 1993. In her own later account, the song emerged during personal worship at home when she was seeking God’s peace and reading the Psalms. She recalled being so nervous about presenting the song to worship leaders Geoff Bullock and Russell Fragar that she asked them not to watch her while she played it. The song was subsequently introduced in congregational worship and recorded by Hillsong.

Zschech later became known internationally through Hillsong recordings, conferences, and teaching on worship. Her other songs include “Worthy Is the Lamb,” “In Jesus’ Name,” and “Victor’s Crown.” She and her husband Mark now serve as senior pastors of Hope Unlimited Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales.