Verne Hill
‘Come, Now Is the Time to Worship’ CCM artist passes at 60
Canadian worship leader and songwriter Brian Doerksen passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning (July 21) at his family home, surrounded by those he loved most. Doerksen was only 60 years old. For more than three decades, Brian quietly helped shape modern worship through songs that became part of the weekly worship life of churches around the world. His best-known compositions include Come, Now Is the Time to Worship and Refiner’s Fire (Purify My Heart) sprang out of the Vineyard movement in the 1980s and 1990s…
“Brian Doerksen spent a lifetime inviting the Church into God’s presence. His passion was always the same—to point people to Jesus. Today, we celebrate a life that inspired generations to worship. Please continue to lift up the Doerksen family. https://www.hisair.net/worship-leader-brian-doerksen-has-passed/
“But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him” John 4:23
‘Come, Now is the Time to Worship’ – Story Behind the Song
Into intense mental anguish and perplexity, God sent one of our greatest worship songs. Brian Doerksen, a Canadian, reported, “When I was 15 years of age, I heard the Lord saying, ‘Give me your whole life to serve me.’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ Almost overnight my interest in sports was gone and in its place was this incredible hunger to serve God through music. However, life did not always flow smoothly. Brian shares the details surrounding the writing of his most famous song, “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship.”
“Emotionally and spiritually the song came at the end of the darkest and lowest season of my life, the summer of 1977. Our family had moved to England, and I became the Worship Pastor of Southwest London Vineyard, meeting in the Elliot School. I had no other place to live and no other job offers. I felt as if I were barely hanging onto my faith in God.” “My wife and I were severely tested when we heard from those in the medical profession that two of our six children had a condition called Fragile X Syndrome, a form of mental retardation. I remember looking at one of our small children and thinking, ‘He will need personal care for the rest of his life.'”
“One morning, within months of moving to London, I went for an exercise/prayer walk, as I often did. I walked just to clear my head, to pray, to give my day to God, and to pour out some of my pain and my dreams. As I was walking through southwest London, very close to Wembledon Stadium, I heard a message floating through the air. It was as clear as a bell, ‘Come, now is the time to worship.’ I thought, WOW!, the call to worship is being sounded all of the time and in all kinds of ways. God is reaching out to his creation, inviting us to come, to do the very thing we were created to do.” “When I got home I ran upstairs and sat down at the piano. I began playing the song over and over again. I said to myself, ‘What is this song? What is this call that is going out?'”
Come, now is the time to worship,
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are to worship,
Come, just as you are before your God.
Come
“Within weeks of teaching the song to our church congregation, I began hearing reports of other churches singing it. After a few months, I began to hear reports of the song being sung in other countries. Soon the success of “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship” blessed our family by allowing us to move back home to Canada, to the house in which I was raised.”
“But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him”
John 4:23 Berean Standard Bible Jesus sharing with the Samaritan woman at the well.
Brian Doerksen and Marika Siewert: An unforgettable conversation about music, faith, and the journey behind it all. CBN Canada interview on Jun 24, 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WneaQTp95sQ
