How a Disney Star Found the Peace He Needed in Jesus
By Movieguide® Contributor
Singer-songwriter and Disney star Joshua Bassett says accepting Jesus as his savior helped him find the peace he had always been searching for.
“I never actually identified with [Christianity],” he explained while appearing on THE ZACH SANG SHOW. “I kind of was forced to go to church. My mom had to drag me. I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
He said he was “vehemently opposed” to Christianity as he got older, even talking about it in interviews.
“I mocked God on this couch!” Bassett said at one point, referring to an earlier appearance on the show.
Despite turning away from Christianity, Bassett was dedicated to finding a higher purpose and power outside of himself.
“I spent my entire life seeking truth, trying to find peace, knowing that peace is out there, but not feeling it inside of myself,” he explained. “Most of the people in my life were pretty supportive of that path until I actually found the peace I was looking for in Jesus. Then I was crazy, and then it was like, ‘Okay, no, he’s lost his mind.’”
Bassett explained that, after a troubling drug experience that made him aware of Satan’s influence on his life, he started seriously thinking about Jesus. One day, while meditating, he got the answer he had always been looking for.
“I [sat] up and immediately I felt the Holy Spirit, which I had never felt before, come upon me, and I just knew in that moment that I needed Jesus,” Bassett explained. “This light turned on, and I got on my knees, and I called my dad, and I said, ‘Can you help me accept Jesus?’”
Bassett’s father had been encouraging his son to turn to Jesus for years and was overjoyed to hear him ask about faith.
“He pray[ed] me through a prayer of repentance,” Bassett said. “I literally cannot express to you the peace I felt in that moment. Every path I was going down looking for peace, I found the moment I accepted Jesus.”
Now, Bassett is outspoken about his faith, sharing it on social media and onstage.
While accepting a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award this year, he thanked God in his speech, saying, “I want to say something. There are a lot of people here who are burdened, broken-hearted and have been beaten down by life. I’m here to tell you: for those of you who’ve lost hope, there’s a very real God who loves you more than you will ever possibly know. His promise is peace, and my testimony is my healing.”
In a series of 2023 tweets, Bassett wrote, “Jesus Christ is the only way. His death and resurrection are historically documented. turn away form hate, seek forgiveness and come home to Him.”
“the gospel is GOOD NEWS for all willing to love and obey Him who keeps your heart beating,” he added.
Movieguide® previously reported on Bassett’s baptism:
Pop icon and Disney Channel star Joshua Bassett recently got baptized, sharing a snippet of his testimony on Instagram.
“No other teacher gave me anywhere near the peace that Jesus Christ did,” Bassett said. “I’m here to publicly declare him as my Lord and Savior.”
“I grew up Christian,” he shared. “And I ran the other way as far as I could go, in pursuit of ‘truth,’ and that only ended in addiction, depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorder, etc.”
“The gospel is GOOD NEWS for all willing to love and obey Him who keeps your heart beating,” he added on Twitter.
Bassett’s baptism is the next step in his spiritual journey, which began earlier this year following two encounters with Jesus that reopened his heart to faith.
Movieguide previously reported:
“Tonight at church I prayed to God, ‘so I will know for certain that you are Jesus, and He is the only way, please send someone to touch my back and I will shout it from the rooftops,’” Bassett shared, “moments later, two people came up behind me, saying that God put it on their hands on me and pray.”
Then he wrote in another post, “a few months ago I asked God to ‘send me a sign’ when I write the truth.”
Bassett said that when he typed “Jesus is the way” that “nothing happened,” but when he added “Jesus is the *only* way” that “the light turned on in my living room.”
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