Events
In the summer of 1998 I received a phone call from a Mr. Nickel who was with the Mennonite Central Committee. He had a vision of putting on an outdoor concert featuring The Doxa Band during one of the evenings of the annual MCC Sale. I surveyed the proposed area for the concert with him and immediately loved his obvious heart for God. I agreed that we would play at the event since the evening would be about raising money for a global cause through an offering. No tickets would be sold and everyone would be welcome. I had been very cautious about lending Doxa's name to any cause other than the one we had been given on Sunday nights. I didn't want to over-saturate the community with Doxa, either, and was careful not to accept invitations to events that weren't clear on their purpose.
(Dan and Vijay with Doxa in
Banff, Alberta for NYC '99)
We
rehearsed and set up having no idea how many people would
attend. As a precaution I had suggested some security in
case we drew a few hundred people to the event. As the hour
approached for Doxa to take the stage, the atmosphere was
electric. Buses of youth from around BC and hundreds of
cars and vans had rolled passed the back of the stage to
park. The buzz from the crowd out front was mind-boggling
and my only prayer was: Lord,
grant us humility to share Your Word
tonight. We had
released our drummer to another ministry goal over the
summer and were debuting our new, young drummer named Jared
Falk. He was 16 and eager to play. Following various
auditions with various young men, we settled on the one who
had been tutored by Ron and recommended by him. He was
ready, but young. I had met with Jared's parents to receive
their blessing to take Jared into this whirlwind that was
Doxa and to let them know that I would do everything I
could to protect him from losing out of his grade 12 year.
Now
we were sitting in the cool air waiting to be introduced.
We had spent time together in prayer and were, each of us,
quietly focussed on what was to come. As the words, "The
Doxa Band" were announced, we walked on stage to a
deafening roar. I kept my eyes down in front of me as I
picked up my guitar and closed them as I found my mic. I
began the first song with the band and could immediately
feel the presence of the Lord in the mini-stadium. The
people were there to worship. One could feel it in the air.
When I did
open my
eyes, I saw a sea of people for as far as my eyes could
see. Some estimates placed the number of worshipers at over
5000. It was awesome and amazing. When I shared the Gospel
and invited people to respond, hundreds indicated their
decision to follow Jesus for the first time or to re-commit
their lives into His hands. Doxa would return again to this
same stage in the fall of 2000 and be met with a similar
reception.
The next
day, we were to drive to Kumsheen River Rafting to play at
their annual Worship Rafting Weekend. It was a thrill to
set up and play there and to see Jared, our new drummer,
becoming one of us. He brought energy and vitality with him
as he often acted childish and made us all laugh. It was
following our night of worship at Kumsheen that I met my
soon-to-be wife.
(Doxa at Missions Fest, 1999)
The Doxa service continued through 1998 and into 1999 with
invitations for us to play at Youthquake in Saskatchewan
and the National Youth Convention (NYC 99) in Banff,
Alberta. Dave Wiebe flew me to Winnipeg during Spring Break
to meet with his team and talk about the various elements
of NYC 99. I also remember that the folks at Youthquake had
asked for a demo video of a Doxa service to see if we'd be
the right group for them. My reply was for them to pray
about it and see; after all they had contacted us. I'm not
sure if I came across as arrogant in some of these matters,
but I always did what I thought was right in preserving the
simplicity of Doxa. If we had to audition
to lead
worship, it may not be the right place for us to play. In
the end we were invited to lead the worship times for the
5000-plus national gathering.
(Vijay with a Mexican version of himself, 1999)
We flew
to Mexico in March of 1999 to lead worship for King's Kids
(YWAM). This was another great experience for us as a team
and a learning experience for me. The crazy thing was that
it didn't matter where we were playing or who was in front
of us, we knew our purpose and I could see that God was
moving. When we flew to Prince George to lead a city-wide
worship gathering, again, hundreds of youth led by their
youth pastors arrived to see what this
Doxa thing was all
about; dozens of young people accepted the Lord or made
re-commitments to him at that event.
All the while, as Doxa's ministry and success continued to
grow, I knew in my heart that the team and the event were
not intended to become a staple in the worship diet of the
Fraser Valley. Doxa would serve a purpose for a time, and
that timing would be in God's hands.
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The Doxa Story //
Beginnings /
Growth /
Major Moves /
Events /
A New Direction
/
Take It To The
Streets /
A Year Off /
Doxa Begins Again
/
More Changes
(c)
Shikina Publishing 2008