Doxa Begins Again
(Sarah plays piano with the new Doxa Band, Summer 2000)
Following exactly 11 months off, Doxa began again on June 4th, 2000 for a series of summer services at Central Heights. The opening night saw Central Heights jammed again to capacity, a trend which continued until the end of the summer. When we took our summer break, Sarah, Dustin, Jared, & I travelled to Green Bay Bible Camp to speak and lead worship at their Teen Camp. We also went to Pemberton, BC to play at the outdoor Canada Day celebrations and played at Unityfest Worship Festival in Langley, BC.
(Doxa at the MCC Sale, Fall
2000)
In September, we again led worship at the MCC Sale outdoor
concert event and saw hundreds of young people attend. I
remember announcing that Doxa would be starting again as a
weekly service in October to a thunderous cheer from the
crowd which was heard by my pastor, Steve Berg from his
home. He told me the next day that he assumed that I had
said something that the crowd wanted to hear.
(Vijay, Dustin, Sarah, Jared, 2001)
The next year included weekly Doxa services and trips to
Delta, Kelowna, and Pemberton for speaking or worship
engagements. A powerful year of ministry was capped with
our biggest challenge yet as a team. Central Heights was
not prepared to host the service any longer because of the
demands on their security staff.
(Doxa at Green Bay Bible Camp, 2001)
In order
for us to continue there, we would need to find someone to
head up the security detail and they would have to be a
member of the Central Heights congregation. We had already
tackled an obstacle when our sound man, Kevin, had to hang
up his headphones. As the time approached for Kevin to move
on he would ask me: Have
you found someone yet? My
strangely calm answer was that the Lord would provide
someone and I wouldn't have to search.
One day
following a Doxa service, Will Anderson approached me and
asked if he could help in any way. It turned out that he
had a great deal of experience in mixing sound for church
events. We praised the Lord and welcomed Will onto the
team. Will's friendship would become a source of strength
for me over the years as he unwaveringly holds fast to the
teachings of Christ. Will would also become someone I could
count on to help when no one else would.
Justin Harnett joined out team as well at this time. He had
been, what I would have called, a 'hard-core' Doxa attender
in the early years. I remember wondering,
Who
is this guy?! He would
stand directly in front of me week after week and praise
the Lord with an enthusiasm that was unparalleled by any of
the rest of us. Justin began to help with setup and
teardown, operating the powerpoint, and even providing
beat-box sounds when needed. He and Jen were a welcome
addition to our team and another important set of friends.
(Jeff and Patrick)
Kristy
Dougall, one of Sarah's best friends had taken on the task
of leading our Prayer Team and was working with a solid
group of about 15 people who would meet before each service
to pray. Kristy's sincere love for the Lord and for us made
her an invaluable addition to our team. My father, David
Manuel, was also praying with our team which included some
fun-loving and crazy guys named Patrick & Jeff and
their buddies who brought life and encouragement to our
team. Randy Dahl was a faithful friend and supporter and
his humble prayer support strengthened my work more than he
knows. Each of the people who would come early to pray were
an amazing source of strength to all of us. When our
rehearsal was done, we would gather together in front of
the stage and commit the evening into the Lord's hands. It
was awesome! Members of the Prayer Team would also come
forward to pray for people on the special prayer nights.
(Doxa Setlist, April 22nd, 2004)
The
service was averaging somewhere around 800 people weekly
and the results of each night of worship were fantastic. I
was so blessed each night. It was exciting to know that
there were other services in and around the Valley that
were also leading people in worship as per the challenge
they had all received just a year or two earlier at Doxa.
But now we had to seek the Lord for wisdom. We had a
nice-sized crowd for the Central Heights facility, but one
that would challenge the South Abbotsford building. Steve
Berg again opened the door for Doxa to come to South
Abbotsford, and Steve Nicholson, my father-in-law and Carey
McEwen, his brother-in-law agreed to run the security
detail for us. They essentially ran their own ministry to
the people in the foyer and served with a great deal of
love and care. One week they arrived with specially
created Doxa
shirts
for everyone on the security team, the band and other
friends.
(Steve Nicholson, Carey McEwen, Dan Klassen, Walter
Anderson)
South
Abbotsford was filled with 500 - 700 worshipers weekly and
we were seeing God at work through the responses to the
Gospel. People were encouraged to bring their non-Christian
friends to Doxa, and then to follow up their commitments to
Christ after the service. There was a place on our website
that also allowed people to let us know of their
commitments and if they wanted us to connect them to a
church in their area for follow-up.
(Doxa returns to South Abbotsford, 2001)
I had
established a Board of Directors to help me make some of
the important decisions regarding Doxa. Serving on the
board were Chris Douglas, Senior Pastor at Central Heights
Church, Steve Berg, Senior Pastor at South Abbotsford
Church, Brian Doerksen, Worship Leader and Leader at the
Abbotsford Vineyard, and David Manuel, Pastor of Evangelism
& Communication at South Abbotsford Church.
(Doxa Board of Directors Left to Right: Chris Douglas,
Steve Berg, David Manuel, Vijay Manuel, Brian
Doerksen)
Together,
these men became a source of real mentorship and
encouragement in my ministry with Doxa. Brian involved me
in the Love Abbotsford Recording in 2001, selecting two of
my own songs for the project: LTCOBY
(Love That Can Only Be You) and
All
For You. The
latter went on to be played on Praise 106.5 for the next
year, an experience that is still somewhat weird (hearing
yourself on the radio). I would routinely have students,
parents, friends run up to me to tell me that I was on the
radio. The funny part was that they were announcing my name
as if I was of Mexican descent: [VEE - hay, man-WELL]. One
of my students, Nick, still calls me [VEE-hay]. Brian also
asked me to lead with Doxa at various city-wide events
including a gathering of the church at Tradex which saw
10,000 Christians gather to worship God.
(Flying Free, 2001)
Doxa ran
weekly for another year at South Abbotsford Church with a
consistent following of 500 - 700 young people. We also
recorded our fourth CD entitled Flying
Free which
was released with 12 new tracks. This one was special for
me because it included some very cool Indian vibes added by
my father's musical talents on the songs
Pops, Take
Me Now, and
54.
It also felt like a real team effort involving the input of
all four of the band members. It was quite fun to record
with Sarah because every time we came up with something we
thought was really cool, Sarah was sure that it had been
her idea. I still lay claim to the idea of involving Pops
on the album.
Pops has played an important role in my life since I was
very young. He has always taught me to follow Jesus with my
whole heart. Quite often he talks about what he believes,
but mostly he lives it. The example of a godly father was
extremely important in my development. This model has been
my inspiration as a father to my children; may they see
God's Spirit alive and at work in me until the day I leave
this earth.
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The Doxa Story //
Beginnings /
Growth /
Major Moves /
Events /
A New Direction
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Take It To The
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A Year Off /
Doxa Begins Again
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Shikina Publishing 2008