Derek Johnson

Derek Johnson serves as worship pastor at Jesus Culture Sacramento while writing and performing faith-centered pop songs that blend alternative rock with Americana textures. His first solo project, the Billboard-charting 2015 release Real Love, placed him among leading voices in contemporary worship, a position he reinforced throughout the following decade through the 2021 single “The Way You Love Me” and the 2023 tracks “Faith for It” and “King Jesus.”

Raised in Indiana, Johnson absorbed his parents’ extensive collection of 1960s and 1970s recordings from an early age. Although he first took up drums, he shifted focus to guitar by the time he turned eleven. In 2007 he enrolled in ministry school at Bethel Church in Redding, California, where he joined the worship team and began leading student gatherings. He later joined the Jesus Culture youth outreach ministry headquartered at the same church. His contributions appeared on the 2012 Jesus Culture album Emerging Voices, which showcased several emerging worship artists. Johnson’s debut solo album, Real Love, entered the Christian Albums chart at number 17 and reached number nine on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Building on that momentum, he supplied additional songs to Jesus Culture Music, among them “King of Love,” “Power in the Cross,” and “Beautiful Day,” before returning in 2023 with the solo singles “Faith for It” and “King Jesus.”