Brian Doerksen dead at 60: Christian musician behind string of beloved songs was battling stage 4 cancer

Brian Doerksen, the Christian musician who co-wrote the hugely popular worship standard Come, Now Is the Time to Worship, has died at the age of 60.

His family announced this week that he lost his life Tuesday, a mere four days after they went public with news he had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.

They wrote on Facebook that he died in his sleep at home in his hometown of Abbotsford, British Columbia at 6:45am, 'surrounded by those who loved him most.'

Doerksen, who came up in the 1990s in the evangelical Vineyard Movement, had a hand in writing a string of Christian worship songs that have become church staples.

Among his best-known contributions are Hope of the Nations, Refiner's Fire - best known for its famous opening 'Purify my heart...' - and Faithful One.

He had been suffering what his family described as months of 'severe pain' from health issues that went undiagnosed until earlier this month, when he entered the hospital for treatment and was informed he was suffering from cancer.

Last week, Doerksen's intimates launched a GoFundMe that as of Saturday morning raised $133,790 American toward a goal of $50,000 Canadian ($35,454.71 American).

Born in 1965 in Abbotsford - about 15 minutes' drive from the border of Washington State - he grew up in a family that had been Mennonite for generations.

'We didn't wear black or anything like though, just normal clothes!' he noted in a 1998 interview with UK Christian media outlet Cross Rhythms.

'It is hard for me to pinpoint when I really met Jesus. I talked with him my whole life, and grew up in a Christian home. I grew up on a farm, and it was when I was outside, with nature, that I think I really heard his voice,' he said. 

'I was probably 15 or so, and this presence came into my room, and I just knew he was asking: "Will you give me your whole life to serve me?"'