John Gustin

John Gustin is a Milwaukee-area worship and CCM artist creating songs for the local church, rooted in hope, honesty, and the faithfulness of God in ordinary life.

John began playing on church worship teams in 2001 and, by 2009, was leading worship most Sundays. In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, he stepped away from public ministry when family needed to come first. He and his wife, Wendi, were caring for her mother, whose health made even a common infection dangerous, while also navigating health concerns within their own household.

Public ministry went quiet.

The singing stopped. The writing didn’t.

Songs kept coming in ordinary places: in a notes app, during the workday, wherever there was a minute to write them down. They joined a journal John had been filling for more than twenty years, most of it never heard by anyone.

By the summer of 2025, he decided it was time to bring those songs out of the drawer. The plan was simple: finish two songs. Before long, that number had grown to ten, with Post-it notes lining the edges of his monitors as reminders to keep moving forward.

His first release, My Victory Cry, arrived in 2026. Written for Wendi as a song of encouragement and hope during her own health struggles, the song called for a specific voice. John invited Vanessa Berghuis, a worship leader he had served alongside years earlier, to sing the lead vocal. Here With Me followed soon after, continuing the path toward his first full-length album, Love Unmeasured.

At the heart of John’s music is a simple goal: to write songs the local church can actually use. Chord charts, lyric sheets, click tracks, and performance tracks are released alongside the music, free for churches, worship leaders, and anyone who needs them.

The point is not just to build a catalog. It is to get the songs into rooms where people are singing.

John’s music is recorded in Wisconsin at Wire & Vice Studios, co-produced by Ethan Radtke and John, and mixed by Sandbox Audio. John plays acoustic and electric guitar, with recordings featuring Jim Daneker, longtime music director for Michael W. Smith, on keys, and Mike Horick on drums.

His influences run from Jeremy Camp and MercyMe to Mack Brock and Casting Crowns, and his songs keep landing in the same place: God in the middle of ordinary life.

John lives in the Milwaukee area, where a long career in Information Technology runs alongside the music.

Vanessa Berghuis has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her mother often tells stories of Vanessa singing from the time she was a baby, and even now, it is not unusual to catch her singing without realizing it.

Her love for worship began in seventh grade, when she started leading worship in her school chapel. What began as a young passion soon grew into a deeper calling. She went on to sing in her school’s girls’ ensemble and later earned a place on a select touring vocal team, where she discovered the joy of using music to encourage, inspire, and point people toward God.

During college, Vanessa became part of a gospel choir, an experience that shaped both her voice and her understanding of worship. It taught her the beauty of wholehearted praise and the freedom that comes from focusing on God rather than the opinions of others.

After marriage and raising a family, Vanessa felt God calling her back to music in a new way. For the past 11 years, she has faithfully served as a worship leader in her church, helping lead others into God’s presence through song.

While Vanessa loves singing, her greatest joy is seeing people connect with God and experience His love through worship. She feels closest to God when she is leading others in song and considers it a privilege to help create moments where people can encounter Him.

As she steps into this new chapter of her musical journey, Vanessa’s prayer is that these songs will reach people who need encouragement, hope, and truth, while also equipping and inspiring worship leaders to keep speaking life into their congregations.