Serving our Saviour in Song... since 1968!!
ABOUT US...
The Watchmen began their ministry in 1968 as a group of friends who wanted to sing for a talent contest. The contest was being sponsored by Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener, Ontario. They won the contest! And the bookings began.
Over the past 56+ years the group has traveled extensively in southern Ontario with some USA trips and even singing on a gospel music cruise.
Through the years, many accolades have come their way from the Canadian Gospel Music Association (CGMA). They have received Top Male Quartet, Top Musician, and Top Soloist Awards throughout the last half-century.
The group is grateful for many years of fellowship, safety in travel, lots of fun, and most of all for times of very special ministry during which the Holy Spirit has taken the best efforts the quartet and turned it into life-changing ministry. It is the deep desire of the group to minister to & for the Lord first, and then to provide good Christian entertainment as well.
They have produced many recordings: LPs, tapes and CDs. Go to our MUSIC + BOOKS page to see info on all these recordings & materials.
Or VISIT our music table during our concerts and take advantage of many specially-priced packages. Perhaps even consider purchasing some as gifts for your family and friends!!
The quartet's newest CD was released in January 2018 at the start of their 50th year of ministry. It is titled "HOMECOMING DAY" and was dedicated to the memory of Lois Jones, Doug's wife who died of cancer in May 2017.
At the end of 2012, 2 major changes in the group occured:
1. Brian Winger took his retirement as the pianist.
(In 2023, Brian re-joined the quartet!)
2. Due to health issues, Dave Yake (bass) had to depart the quartet. At the time, these departures led to much prayer and looking to the Lord for His direction!
The Lord led the quartet to have Roy Lewis join The Watchmen in 2013 to take up the bass vocal position. Don McNiven joined the group on piano for many years but has now retired from the group. Please go to our MEET THE MEMBERS section to see all the bios.
In Feb 2020, Dave Yake (our long time bass) passed away.
In June 2022, Tim Harden (our long time tenor) passed away.
Other Watchmen members who are now in Heaven are Dave Chapman (baritone) and Ted Ramsay (tenor). Many other former members who were with the group over the years are "alive and kicking" in various parts of Ontario.
Thank you for your interest in our group. If we have the privilege of serving you, we trust it will be a time of real blessing and encouragement.
We have put together a short list of frequently asked questions. Just take a look to see if your question has been answered. If not, please email any of the quartet at the email addresses listed on our individual Current Members page.
FAQs
When are you available to sing? The quartet members all have regular employment so our travel territory is limited by driving times after our work schedule. We always try to work our schedules so that we can accommodate most requests to sing because...we LOVE to sing for the Saviour!
What style of music do you sing? The Watchmen sing "southern gospel" style music. It contains the message of the gospel along with songs of encouragement about Christian life and our future home in Heaven
Do you have recordings? The Watchmen have recorded lots of music over the years...way back to the days of vinyl records! (Wow..we must be old, eh?) We did have cassette tapes too for a while. But today all our music is on CD's. You can see all our recordings on our PRODUCT page with lists of the songs on each one.
Do you have a fee? The Watchmen love to sing but we do have expenses, especially with the escalating cost of fuel today. Our members travel from several areas to reach a performance location. This can be discussed in further detail with our booking gentleman, Dave Jantzi (who is also our baritone singer). Simply click on the contact link at the top left of any of our other pages (or our Contact page) to send Dave a note. He will discuss the details with the entire group at his first opportunity and then we'll respond back to you.
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