MACKIE Magazine August-Sept Issue 4 Magazine May - June 2014 Issue 3 | Page 18

Cover Story

Derek Charles Johnson is a singer/songwriter and church worship leader residing in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Although a
life-long musician and music-lover, Derek’s path into a music career has been anything but typical. “Upon graduating
high school, I found myself going straight into college to pursue what I thought would be a life-long occupation. But
along the way, God started to burden my heart for something completely different. I came to accept that God had other
plans!” Derek finished 6 years of studies at North Dakota State University in Fargo with a degree in pharmacy. After
several years of being a pharmacist, he began to feel a tug to go back to school for something different. “It weighed
heavily on my heart to do something within the ministry…several men and women in my family had attended Bible
College and were working in the church in some capacity. I felt like God was calling me in that direction as well. I also
had a huge interest in music, so I wanted to do something that involved worship.”
Derek and his family moved to attend Bible school in Ellendale, North Dakota, home of Trinity Bible College. This move
proved to be the start of a new path which he now clearly felt. “Looking back, I can see that God laid out all of the steps
necessary to bring my family and I into ministry. My wife and I both are active in leadership at our church and none of
that would’ve been possible without God’s call.” Derek has been a worship leader at New Life Fellowship, his home
church in Aberdeen since 2011.
The debut album for Derek Charles Johnson entitled “Carry On,” in many ways came about during his time of transition
into ministry. “I felt like I was making this 180 degree turn in my life and God was giving me these songs along the way
to encourage me and help me trust in Him. It was a totally new path and one that could often feel lonely and difficult. I
figured if these songs had some meaning for my journey, they might be encouraging for others as well.” Ten songs in all,
Carry On takes the listener on a musical landscape and encourages worship throughout. From the album’s upbeat
opener “Makes Me Wanna Sing,” to the hard-charging “Carry On” and finally to the closing ballad, “Take Me Away,” the
tracks are an encouragement to those in the Christian faith. “When I started picking songs for this release, there were
10 or so that just seemed to ‘fit’ and made sense somehow. I know there was a reason for that beyond just randomly
piecing an album together with songs I’ve written over the years. These songs have a lot of meaning for me and through
the grace of God I’ve been given the opportunity to share them with a larger audience.”

17