Carrying the message
Christian musician to play in MarshallBy Jodelle Greiner
Article Photos
Chris Driesbach promises more than just music when he performs a concert at 7 p.m. Monday at Christ Lutheran Church (WELS) in Marshall.
"I have two stories to tell," he said. "One is how God saved our church in New Orleans and one is how He saved me."
Driesbach is the church musician for Crown of Life Lutheran Church (WELS) in New Orleans, which was flooded when Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005.
But his story doesn't start there.
"I was a drunk and an atheist," he said. "I got scared when I realized I was in trouble."
He wound up in a 12-step program and is "23 years clean and sober," he said.
Driesbach has been playing music since the second grade.
"By the time I was 17, I was playing in bars for a living," he said.
After becoming a Christian in 1995, Driesbach "wanted to play in churches, but I had no clue how."
When he moved to New Orleans in October 2000, he joined Crown of Life and not long after became the church musician.
Then Katrina hit, destroying many sections of New Orleans.
"The most well-known was the Lower 9th Ward," Driesbach said. "Our neighborhood is the Upper 9th Ward - drained swampland from the 1960s. We got four to nine feet of water, depending on elevation."
Driesbach was one of the first people to enter Crown of Life after the hurricane.
"I had to climb over debris to get to the door," he said. "I got the door open and it broke my heart to see what I saw: muddy and moldy and destroyed. I did believe at the time this would be the end of our church."
Since he was on the church committee, he knew there was no money to rebuild.
"What happened is a beautiful story," Driesbach said.
With the help of more than 1,300 volunteers from as far away as Canada and Alaska, Crown of Life was cleaned up and was rededicated in October 2006.
Driesbach will show a PowerPoint presentation that includes 160 pictures of the church being rebuilt and perform songs he's written himself, some from the five Christian CDs he's recorded: "After the Storm" in 2006, "Movin' On" in 2007, "Feed Your Faith" in 2008, "Let Christ Be Known" in 2009 and a collection of hymns also in 2009.
He's visited 446 church and presented 750 concerts in four years.
"There's no charge to the churches," he said, adding attendance is a free-will offering and his CDs are available on "an optional donation basis."
"I just love it," Driesbach said of his ministry. "I can't stop. I hope God will let me do it for a long time. I'm having the time of my life."
One of Driesbach's recent endeavors is playing concerts in prisons.
"The last place was the state prison in St. Cloud," he said. "I really enjoy that."
He takes no credit for what his music accomplishes.
"The Holy Spirit does the work," Driesbach said. "I just carry the message. I'm a very, very blessed person."
