As one of the premier songwriters and worship leaders of today, Jeff Deyo has made a significant mark on the Christian music landscape. As the voice behind classic worship songs like I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, In the Secret and My Refuge, which he recorded with the original Dove Award-winning group Sonicflood, Deyo has helped invigorate the heart of worship for a whole new generation. In his role as Sonicfloods lead singer, primary songwriter and co-producer, Deyo saw the bands gold-certified, self-titled debut (1999) and its Grammy-nominated follow-up, Sonicpraise (2001), reach combined sales of over one million albums. Deyo followed that success with the release of his debut solo album, Saturate, in early 2002. The critically-acclaimed project garnered him a 2003 Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year, while the single More Love, More Power landed at No. 1 on R&Rs Christian pop radio chart. The early success in Deyos career, which came with its own set of obstacles, did not steer him from his original calling and vision. The Lord has really shown me that I shouldnt put too much trust or hope in the things that man says, Deyo admits. I had to decide that I was going to focus solely on the Lords voice. Im just blessed to be a part of this industry, and Im grateful to be able to do what God has called me to do. Jeff is now joined by his new band, Trenton Swartzentruber on guitar, Sammy Correa on bass, Mark Woodward on keys and Louis Santiago Jr. on drums. Further cementing Deyos place as a modern worship pioneer, his newest album on Gotee Records, SURRENDER (2005), captures exactly what seperates him from the pack . . . the live worship experience. Mixing some of his best known and most anointed songs, like "Bless the Lord," "You Are Good", and "Lose Myself (Saturate)" with four never before released songs, Surrender takes the "bedroom" worship experience to a whole different level. "We left a lot of the intense extended worship in this recording," laughs Deyo. "We actually squeezed 73:59 onto a CD that holds only 74 minutes of music. Some people wonder why we did some of the same songs from previous records. Basically, as our passion for God has grown, so have the arrangements of the songs. One of my favorites is the 10 minute version of More Love/I Can't Get Enough . . . created in a spontaneous moment, the second half of this song explodes with passion, becoming the cry of everyone's heart!" Deyo's second solo CD, LIGHT, ushers in yet another powerful crop of original songs written entirely by Deyo and his band. Songs like As I Lift You Up, I Love You, Take Me to You and the albums title cut, Ray of Light, represent the musical diversity and lyrical maturity that have continued to cause listeners to gravitate toward Deyos dynamic choruses and emotion-packed vocals. Co-produced by Deyo, Bryan Lenox and Otto Price, LIGHTs stand-out tracks include the albums first single, Bless the Lord, featuring a guest performance by worship artist Rita Springer. Other highlights include We Come to Your Throne with Weeping, a duet with Third Days Mac Powell and a collaboration with artist Natalie Grant on Keep My Heart. The album also features a bonus live version of the Deyo-penned congregational favorite, These Hands. I pray that as people worship God and use this record to draw closer to Him, the light of God the truth of God will illuminate inside of them, allowing His piercing ray to cut through untruth, weird doctrine, denominations, disobedience, selfishness, or whatever might be keeping them from truly knowing and loving God. Following appearances at numerous worship events, including his innovative Pure Worship tour last year, Deyo lead worship at conferences all over the world in 2005, including the National Assembly of God Youth Convention, with 17,000 students in attendance and SoulStock, an annual festival in Alabama that draws 18,000+. It is the live events that seem to fuel Deyos passion and that facilitate a God-sized collision of his music and ministry. I love meeting people and being able to pour into their lives, Deyo says. I want God to be moving in a way that is supernatural and bigger than man. Worship is not a new thing. Worship existed before Adam was created. It is not simply a song. It is a lifestyle. It is obedience. It is loving your wife. It is obeying your parents. Even so, modern worship music is fueled by songs that continue to bring a freshness to honoring and exalting our Creator not rooted in man's tradition but true to our time. Passion and relevance are the key ingredients in Deyo's music, and this focused musical pioneer continues to light the way for a new generation of worshipers, helping them find a radiant connection in their ongoing pursuit of God.