M A N U E L  L U Z  M I N I S T R Y

C R E A T I O N  &  C A L L I N G

As an Artist of Faith...   Pastor, Advocate, Autho I believe God has called me to a number of things. Being an advocate for Christian creatives. Being a Christ follower who composes, writes, speaks, performs, and produces. And being a pastor and spiritual guide to others along the journey of life. So my mission statement below is what you are supporting through your giving.

Mission Statement  Pastor, Advocate, Author, Songwriter, Performer, Speaker, and Mentor, to further the Kingdom of God through the arts.

Donate  I'm grateful and humbled that you would support me as I continue to serve God and the people of God, especially artists of faith. Your tax-deductible contributions—and your prayers—are much appreciated! To give, please scroll down to the bottom of this page.

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M I N I S T R Y  C O N N E C T I O N S 2025

Soul Shepherding Retreat (February 3-7, 2025)  Deb and I will be attending a week-long retreat put on by the Soul Shepherding Institute in Southern California. While we're there, I'll be helping to lead some worship throughout the week.

Intersections: Arts & Faith Conference (March 15, 2025) I'll be hosting our annual Intersections Conference which will take place at Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, sponsored by Artists in Christian Testimony, International.

Proclaim West Coast Gala (May 3, 2025)  Proclaim International will have their first West Coast Gala to promote the wonderful things they're doing worldwide. I'll be hosting this event at Oak Hills Church in Folsom, California, as well as participating in the house band La Puerta Azul.

Masterpiece Ascend Conference (June 27-28, 2025)  I'm excited to be a featured speaker and breakout leader at the annual Masterpiece Ascend Conference in Ashland, Oregon this year.

Twin Lakes Food Bank Gala (November 7, 2025)  One of my bands, Groove Therapy, will be performing at the TLFB Gala in support of their good work serving the people of Folsom/Orangevale and beyond.

Night of Worship Featuring Brian Doerksen (November 22, 2025)  Good Shepherd Church Sacramento and the Immerse Collective will host a Night of Worship featuring Brian Doerksen, the leading worship leader and songwriter of the Vineyard Movement worldwide. I'll participate in this night with Brian, as well as with a songwriter workshop earlier that day. 

N E W!  W O R S H I P  A L B U M  2 0 2 6

The Background     Over the past 25 years, I've written dozens and dozens of worship songs that have been sung at my home church, Oak Hills. Some of them were okay, some were pretty good, and some of them were both meaningful and memorable. The thing is, I've never recorded any of them. Mostly because these songs were written simply as an expression of our love and commitment to God through our local church family. But now, as I start to inch closer and closer to my retirement at Oak Hills, I'm feeling the desire to record these songs. 

The Project     Over the next few months, I hope to select perhaps ten of the worship songs I've written and record them on an album. Songs like "Further Up, Further In" or "A Bridge Called Surrender." But that's not all of it. I'd like to use this project as an opportunity to bring together many of the musicians I've had the privilege of knowing and playing music with over the last forty years. My hope is to share the recording process with these folks—from arranging, producing, and recording int he studio, to performing them at a worship concert. I'm excited at the possibility of reuniting with friends—some spread across the country—to share this music one more time. 

I hope to do all the arrangements and pre-production this fall, with recording in early 2026, and perhaps a worship concert  in the spring of 2026. This will be my sixth solo album (depending on how you count them), so I'm pretty sure this is doable.

If you'd like to donate, please go to the bottom of this webpage and use the form below. If you have additional comments or questions, or you'd like to put in a plug for one of your favorite worship songs, please email me. As always, Deb and I are so very appreciative of your support and friendship throughout the years.

S O M E  O F  M Y  A D V E N T U R E S ...

"The balance of cultivating excellence, substance, spiritual discipline against a backdrop of liberty, humility, service and grace paints a meaningful and rich canvas of creativity and unfettered imagination. … Encouraging, challenging, inspiring, Imagine That is a gift to the artist in all of us.”  —Worship Leader Magazine	“This book is precisely the kind of help that gets pastors and parishioners worshiping honestly before a gracious God, for whom such worship is deeply pleasing.” —W. David O. Taylor, Fuller Theological Seminary	My fifth solo album, A Different Kind of Love Song, was released in 2022. Find it on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite streaming service. From the Liner Notes: "There are a million love songs. And most of them get it wrong. There just aren’t many songs that speak to the deeper aspects of love—fidelity, faithfulness, grace. So this collection is about that different kind of love—that trusts, hopes, perseveres."
Leading worship classes and concerts in Legazpi, Philippines.	Lecturing at the Intersections: Arts & Faith Conference in Sacramento, California.	Performing outreach concerts throughout Croatia.
Outdoor outreach concerts in Rome and Naples, Italy.	Speaking at the ACT International Gathering in Nashville, Tennessee.	Leading international missionaries in worship in Budapest, Hungary.

Leading worship and speaking at the Apprentice Gathering in Wichita, Kansas.

Recording a worship album at Evergreen Studios, Burbank, California.