Brad & Rebekah first met and began singing together while students at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the time, Brad was part of an all-male worship team that needed a female lead for one of their songs. As fate would have it, Rebekah fit the part, and soon after joining the team, it became clear that there was more than just musical chemistry between she and Brad.
The two continued getting to know each other and soon found themselves falling in love “between worship and watching ‘Gilmore Girls.’” They got married in 2006, and two years later, God opened the door for them to start touring full-time together: “We started traveling in 2008 without really knowing what we were doing, but knowing that that’s where the opportunity was,” Brad says. “And God made it very evident in that time that that’s what we were meant to do.”
Between the traveling and ministering, Brad and Rebekah welcomed their son, Ayden, in 2012, and their daughter, Addilyn Grace, in 2016. Yet even as their family has grown and the musicians have embraced their new role as parents, they’ve continued to travel and focus on their music. Although it can be challenging, getting to share their personal and professional lives with one another has become one of the most cherished and rewarding aspects of their work. “Because we live and work together, none of us are missing out on each others’ lives,” Brad says. “We get to travel together and experience life together.”
The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 2014 and currently spend half the year ministering with Christ’s Church of the Valley and the other half of the year traveling and producing music.
On February 1, 2018 Rebekah was diagnosed with a rare form of lyposarcoma cancer. The story seemed bleak, but time and again God provided, moved mountains and ultimately brought healing to Rebekah.
Brad + Rebekah’s “Life Again” will be their eigth career release. Nearly four years since their last full project, it represents a long journey of patience and trust. Together with trusted old and new song writing friends, Brad and Rebekah have put a bow on their journey, but have also penned songs that will encourage others to lift their eyes and place focus on the One who is above all circumstances.
One of the most meaningful songs they wrote for the album is the title track “Life Again,” which ties in both Rebekah’s testimony and those of Watoto (www.watoto.com), a child care ministry in Uganda birthed in response to the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children in the area. It provides physical, educational, spiritual and emotional care for thousands of children, and vulnerable women and it has been an integral part of Brad + Rebekah’s personal story and career.
The two became involved with the ministry after their first visit to Uganda 10 years ago, and have been sending proceeds from their record sales to the kids there ever since. In 2015, they invested even more — bringing a team of musicians, songwriters, dance instructors and producers with them to put on the first five-day Watoto Worship Camp for the kids. They’ve done four more camps since and have no plans of stopping. “It’s been a huge piece of what we’ve done,” Brad says. “From visiting and supporting them through our fundraising efforts, to actually coming and bringing creative teaching teams with us, I would never change our involvement with them, ever. We love it.”
The pair first featured Watoto in their music in 2015 with the impactful release of “The Heart of the Father”, then “Never Alone,” and now with “Life Again” Brad + Rebekah have produced another powerful piece. “These kids are orphans and have come from horrific situations: having no parents, seeing their parents die, being left, abandoned,” says Rebekah. “This song is a reminder that God is their Father, their healer, their comforter, their provider, and that through him and him along we understand not only physical life restore but eternal life forever.”
It’s a message that underlies all of Brad + Rebekah’s work. No matter the season or the joys or challenges they face, the two never lose sight of their mission. As Rebekah says, “Everything we ever do is meant to bring people back to Christ.”