How Pain Laid the Foundation for This Worship Leader’s Ministry
By Movieguide® Contributor
Musician Josh Baldwin described his path to full-time worship ministry and explained how the Lord used trials and pain to refine his faith.
Baldwin grew up in a Christian home with his father as the pastor of his church. However, his world shattered during his senior year of high school when his parents got divorced. After graduating, he went off to college, not because he wanted a degree but because he wanted to get away from his hometown troubles.
“I was a horrible student. I didn’t go to class. I was a good person, I loved Jesus, I didn’t do anything, I don’t have any bad stories about, you know, going down a weird path; I just didn’t go to class,” Baldwin told Iris Global. “I kind of just hated school, I’d stay in my dorm room and play guitar and worship and listen to new songs and try to write.”
When the opportunity came to go into full-time ministry after his sophomore year, he took it, attending a Bible school before sharing the Gospel for his job. This career took him around the world, though he eventually felt called to return to the States.
READ MORE: WORSHIP LEADER RECALLS EXACT MOMENT GOD CALLED HIM TO MINISTRY
“I heard the Lord, and the Lord spoke very clearly to me, like, I want you to move to the States, build a foundation for your family, build a foundation for your ministry and build a house. [I heard Him] clear as day to the point that right when we moved back, somebody offered me a million dollars…to go and start a prostitution rehabilitation center in Thailand which is what I was like, ‘Okay, we’ll come back to the states for a little bit, chill out, and then go back to missions,” Baldwin said.
“But it just ended up being a season of death and pain during my whole marking of that time in Moravian Falls,” he continued. “My marriage was falling apart and my ministry was falling apart, and I got a job at Lowes for like $5.30 an hour or whatever it was, and I was living off of like $500 a month. So it was one of the lowest seasons [of my life] and, like, I got into some of my vices again, but I had a whole community there that saw me at my worst, in a season of dying, and still loved me.”
While this season was, understandably, very difficult for Baldwin, it eventually helped him find even more strength and purpose in the Lord and laid the foundation for him to write incredible worship songs that pull from that time.
In the decades since, Baldwin has written song after song that points to the Lord and has helped millions deepen their faith. He now tours internationally, bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
READ MORE: JOSH BALDWIN SAYS HIS SONGS SHOW ‘WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE FOR ME’
Baldwin released his latest album, Made For More, in February.
It’s inspired by Isaiah 43:1 — “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, ‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine’” — and through it, Baldwin encourages his listeners to look to God.
“This album has been such an important project for me. What I love most about it is that all of these songs came out of different seasons my family and I have been and are still walking through — calling on the Lord to be our help and our Prince of Peace through all of the ups and downs of life,” Baldwin told Air1. “These songs are anthems that I’ve been singing over myself and my family, reminding myself who the Lord is in me and who He’s called me to be. The heart of this album, and my heart for every person who listens, is that they would be reminded that they’ve been redeemed and called by name.”
