Darlene Zschech started her career as a paid singer at just ten years old. In Australia, she found commercial success early, building a path toward life as an entertainer. But at fifteen, everything changed.
From Performer to Worshipper
"I became radically saved," Darlene has shared. That conversion meant she had to unlearn the mindset of a performer—no small task for someone who had spent five years on stage for pay.
Her journey in worship was not without challenges. When she first brought her keyboard to church, the elders refused to let her play it. They saw it as "the devil's instrument," as Darlene later recounted with a laugh. It was only after persistent efforts—including starting a band with her now-husband Mark—that she found freedom to use her gifts.
Even after joining the church's worship team, she faced another obstacle: the expectation to suppress her expressive style. "I was told I was too expressive and needed to calm down when I was singing to God," Darlene remembered. It took years of unlearning as God worked in her life to bring her to a place of freedom in His presence.
Writing Shout to the Lord
Then came 1993.
During a stressful time in her life, Darlene found herself at her piano, prayerfully singing her heart to God. The words that flowed out became one of the most recognized praise songs of the modern era.
A couple of months later, she nervously brought the song to her worship pastor. "I might have written a song. I don't know." She made him and the music director stand with their backs to her while she played, apologizing the whole way through.
When she finished, the pastor turned around with tears in his eyes: "Thank you. That's beautiful."
They sang it the next week in church, just over an offering. From that day, "Shout to the Lord" took on a life of its own, eventually being sung in churches around the world.
Darlene served as Hillsong's worship pastor from 1996 to 2007, leading a movement that would influence global worship for decades. But her faith would be tested again.
Cancer Testimony Deepens Faith
In 2013, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. "Having cancer has driven me closer to God," she has testified. "I don't know how people do it without faith. That has been a gift."
Through the trial, her understanding of worship deepened: "A lot of people think that when you're leading worship everything has to be perfect. You lead this perfect life, it all looks beautiful. But worship is tested."
Grateful for God's Love
Today, Darlene pastors Hope Unlimited Church in Australia alongside her husband Mark. Reflecting on her journey—from child performer to teenage convert, from nervous songwriter to cancer survivor—she says simply:
"I am a very grateful woman for so many things, but first and foremost, the love of God. That's why I sing passionately—because of what He saved me from and what He saved me to."
