By Michaela Gordoni
MercyMe singer Bart Millard has a unique way of reaching people through his music.
“The one thing we [people] have in common is we understand what hurt and what pain is,” he explained in a K-Love podcast.
“I kind of grew up in the church and just had a pastor that one day told me when he saw me singing by myself in an empty sanctuary ‘cause I love the way it echoed,” Millard recalled, “and he was watching me, and I got embarrassed when he saw me, and he said, ‘Man,’ he goes, ‘If you can figure that out, how to, you know, to peel open your chest and let people see your heart, they’ll follow you anywhere.’”
Millard has carried that transparency with him throughout his music career.
“Sadly, that a lot of times is connected with hurt and pain that we go through. Not all the time, but it definitely does. And it’s just for me; it’s this weird way of making sure that…all of this hurt and loss doesn’t go in vain is not to write a radio hit, but to hopefully connect with somebody else.”
Related: How Forgiveness Healed Bart Millard’s Relationship With His Mother Before Her Death
He knows that if he’s hurting, then there’s always someone else hurting.
“Typically I write the song for myself selfishly, and then when it does connect, it’s like okay that’s a huge bonus because it was just to get me through originally and never had the plan past that, but when it does connect with somebody, it’s this weird, amazing feeling of knowing oh yeah I’m not alone in this,” he explained.
Millard channeled his pain and hopes into one of MercyMe’s biggest hits, “I Can Only Imagine.”
The singers dad died from cancer when he was in his late teens. His dad had been abusive all of his life until close to his death. He died a “Godly” man, and Millard felt like he had finally got the dad he always wanted.
When he died, Millard was angry with God. He was inspired by a phrase his grandmother said at the funeral: “I can only imagine what your dad’s seeing now.”
“So I wrote the song, which was incredibly personal and special to me, but I had no idea the impact it was going to have,” Millard said. “I didn’t care what other people would think about it when I wrote it — it was almost like therapy to me.”
His whole story is told in the 2018 movie I CAN ONLY IMAGINE with Dennis Quaid.
Part of Movieguide®’s review of the movie reads: “I CAN ONLY IMAGINE is a powerful, heart-rending story of redemption and reconciliation found in Jesus Christ… Bart Millard described his father as a monster and someone he hated, but who transformed into a man and who became his best friend and a role model.”
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE won the Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie at the Movieguide® Awards in 2019.
Read Next: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 Lands Spring 2026 Release
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