Worship leader Patrick Mayberry is mourning the death of his father, Ronald Lee Mayberry, sharing an emotional tribute that has revealed the painful reality behind the songs of faith he has spent years singing.
"My dad went to be with Jesus yesterday," Mayberry announced, identifying his father as Ronald Lee Mayberry and reflecting on the bond they shared-including the same middle name.
But Mayberry did not sugarcoat what losing a parent actually feels like.
"It's surreal and strange to exist as a son without a physical father on the same planet," he wrote. "I already miss him deeply."
Perhaps most heartbreaking was Mayberry's admission that their story still felt unfinished. The singer said there were things he and his dad had yet to discuss and experiences he thought they would still get to share together.
"We had a lot still to do together," Mayberry confessed.
Yet grief quickly gave way to gratitude. Mayberry thanked God for his father's life, for everything Ronald had instilled in him and simply for allowing him to be his son.
"I will carry so much of him with me," he wrote.
For fans familiar with Mayberry's music, one part of the tribute may hit particularly hard. The worship leader said he is finding comfort in Jesus as the Good Shepherd-the very image at the center of one of the biggest songs of his career, "Lead On Good Shepherd."
"The One who has carried my dad home, and who will carry me through the days ahead," Mayberry wrote.
That connection makes the tribute especially poignant. "Lead On Good Shepherd," featuring Zahriya Zachary, became Mayberry's breakthrough hit, reaching No. 1 at Christian radio and earning a nomination for Worship Song of the Year at the 2025 K-LOVE Fan Awards.
Mayberry has been enjoying a significant season professionally. In June, he released his six-song EP Anybody Else, whose title track grew out of a remarkable ministry experience at Louisiana State Penitentiary involving inmates on death row responding to the Gospel.
He has also toured alongside some of Christian music's biggest names, including Crowder, Elevation Worship, Phil Wickham, We The Kingdom, Anne Wilson and Pat Barrett, while writing songs recorded by artists including Passion, Chris Renzema, David Leonard and Mack Brock. Mayberry currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife Jenny and their four children.
Now, however, the worship leader is facing a much more personal test of the faith he sings about.
His final words to his father were simple:
"Until we meet again, Dad. I love you."
For an artist whose best-known song asks the Good Shepherd to lead him, Mayberry's heartbreaking tribute gives those words an entirely new weight. This time, the Shepherd he has sung about on stages across the country is the One Mayberry says he is trusting to carry his father home-and carry a grieving son through what comes next.
Patrick Mayberry Official Website
