The Story Behind My Journey

Hearing the Call

In the fall of 1983, during my last semester at West Chester University in West Chester, PA, I first heard God’s call to full‑time music ministry. Music had always been a big part of my life, but I never imagined God would call me into ministry at that point. During my college years in the early 1980s, I began listening to more Christian artists, and their music shaped me deeply. My biggest influences were Keith Green, Phil Keaggy, Whiteheart, and Petra. I was also influenced by artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jim Croce, and John Denver.

Early Steps and Confirmation

I was a Health and PE major, and I began my teaching career in January 1984 as a substitute teacher. After subbing for a year and a half, I joined the Christian missions touring group The Reach Out Singers. We toured from the fall of 1985 through the spring of 1986. Based in Sioux Falls, SD, we traveled throughout the Midwest, the South, the Southeast, and the Northeast, and even toured in Israel, Egypt, and Belgium. It truly was the tour of a lifetime—hard to believe that was 40 years ago.

I went on that tour hoping it would either confirm that my calling was truly from God or show me it was just a passing desire from a guy in his early to mid‑20s. The tour confirmed the calling. But I couldn’t afford to raise support for another year, so when someone on the tour told me about a teaching job in Dallas, Texas, I applied and got it. I moved from Dallastown, Pennsylvania, to Dallas, knowing the call to music ministry was still there.

Years of Faithfulness and Waiting

Even though I wasn’t full‑time yet, I stayed involved in music ministry from my college days onward—playing on praise teams and doing solos in the churches I attended. In 1989, I moved back home and got a job at West York School District in York, PA. I taught there for four and a half years before resigning to pursue music ministry full‑time. However, I couldn’t sustain enough income to keep it going, so in 1995 I returned to substitute teaching in York County. In 1999, I landed a full‑time teaching job in Boiling Springs, PA, where I taught for 20 years before retiring on June 4, 2019.

That same month, I finally stepped into full‑time music ministry and became a Compassion Music Artist Ambassador. After 35½ years, the calling I first heard in 1983 had finally come to life.

The Heart of the Song

My Journey is written from two perspectives:

the very real risk of making a major career change, and

the deeper truth that God had been leading me the whole way.

The waiting was long and often difficult, but the calling has now been realized. And even when we’re living in God’s will, the journey isn’t without hardship. Following Him doesn’t guarantee smooth roads—it means His grace and love will carry us through whatever we face.

That’s the heart of the chorus and the bridge: the miles are long, the road is hard, and yet the journey has just begun. The song is intentionally open‑ended because each of us has our own journey with God. But we can rest assured that His love and grace will see us through anything we face along the way.