The life of Dez Childs’ is a story of three paths: One geographic, one musical and one spiritual. From an early age she has traveled each of these roads gaining knowledge, experience and faith. The combination of these experiences, hard work, and a wellspring of God-given talent has resulted in a remarkable musician and a beautiful person.

 

The daughter of a military man, Dez spent two years of her childhood in Iceland. It was during this time when she first became aware of God’s presence in her life. Her parents had gotten their three daughters involved in a youth bible organization and the family attended a Baptist church regularly. She heard acoustic guitar in church one day and, as she puts it, “fell in love with the sound and didn’t want it to stop.” 

 

Dez’ mom had a career as a professional singer under the name Gigi Parker, and worked with such legends as The Four Seasons. In addition, both grandfathers were musicians and entertainers. Dez’ musical endeavors began with the school choir, in which she participated throughout high school. She started performing but it was not until the age of sixteen that Dez began to seriously develop her voice as well as her guitar and piano playing skills. After high school there was much pressure on her to attend college but Dez chose to pursue a career in music. Her first band played original progressive rock music. She also taught voice for School of Rock and Musically Speaking Studios. 

 

Over the years, Dez’ faith and music have become intertwined. During her junior year of high school she became a junior leader for Young Life and she began leading worship. She continues to lead worship anywhere there is a need, including women’s retreats and youth organizations. In addition, she works with her churches’ youth worship team, helping them develop their talent.

 

After accepting Christ as her Savior at the age of fifteen, Dez quickly immersed herself in her home church, a Calvary Chapel located in New Jersey. She spent five years of her life attending most, if not all, of the bible studies and became heavily involved in the worship ministry. The love she had for the Lord was strong and so was her passion to reach the lost. But Dez would be the last person to ever claim that her Christian walk always remained on the hilltops. She quickly learned that staying on the narrow road was harder than it seemed. 

 

At the age of twenty-one, Dez’ spiritual journey led her to Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, California. But California was merely a home base, as she spent a semester in Hungary and took missions trips to San Francisco, Las Vegas and Romania.

 

Although she never considered herself a singer-songwriter, during her final semester of college she wrote the song Heart Cry while hanging out in the school cafeteria. The following summer the ideas really started flowing and she began work on her first full-length album. After a few years of what seemed like a roller coaster ride of heartache, bad choices and the consequences of those choices, Dez decided to put her story into the form of music. 

 

In a time when culture is so shallow and marked by the desire for more (money, pleasure, fame), it is easy to get lost in worldly affairs and forget about our true purpose on earth. Dez has a desire to reach people with her music, praying God will use it to stir repentance in people’s hearts. The songs come from a very personal place, a place she is willing to share with others in hopes that it might encourage others to seek God and make Him Lord of their lives. Although Dez loves to laugh and have fun, her music expresses a different and deeper side of her. The lyrics challenge the heart, and the music is written to reflect that challenge. Ultimately, she hopes to emulate the music that God has used to encourage her and get her back on track when she has lost her way! 

 

In the spring of 2011 Dez married her long time friend and mentor Steve Childs. A gifted musician, vocal instructor and producer, Steve has shifted the focus of his career to Dez’s music. With Steve’s help and support, Dez hopes to share her blessings and spread the word of God through music.