Christian artist, Jordan St. Cyr never felt like he had a ‘come to Jesus moment” but through his life he learned that you can make the choice to live all in or only half in. A powerful transformation happens when you learn to jump fully into God’s call on your life.
Special thanks to our sponsor Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, who have been serving the homeless population and helping the lost become found for over 90 years. Our vision is to see every homeless neighbor — beloved, redeemed, restored. Find out more about them at ugm.org.
Transcription:
Jordan St. Cyr: I always thought my story didn’t have any power because I didn’t have that, you know the drug stage or the drinking stage or the, you know, chasing the worldly things. But God had a, a path for me, nonetheless.
Narrator: We’ve all experienced it. You run into a friend from the past, but there’s something different. They are changed. Maybe there is a calm where there once was a storm. Maybe there is gentleness instead of harshness. There’s a new passion; a new life. What changed? Welcome to Brought Back To Life; a podcast where we explore stories of ordinary transformation.
Producer Luke: Hey, Luke here. I’m the producer for this episode and I just wanted to pop in to let you know that at the end of this amazing testimonial with Jordan St. Cyr, that we have something to tell you from our sponsor, Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. It’s an incredible story that you won’t wanna miss, so stick around.
Jordan St. Cyr: Hey everyone, this is Jordan St. Cyr, and you know, in my life I never really had this come to Jesus moment. He’s always been so present in my life. There was never just this conversion moment, right, that, that a lot of people have. However, there have been significant times in my life where God has, has, you know, I’ve experienced something and I’ve just gone so much deeper in my faith with him and given him a greater part of my heart throughout these, these times when he’s just drawn me in so close. So, I grew up in a, a very small town, about 1200 people. Farming and trades community. And so, you knew who went to church and you knew who didn’t.
You know, I think we had six or seven churches in our tiny community. And that, that always kind of rubbed me the wrong way because I was the one that went to church, and I had two of my brothers that were kind of the prodigals. They kind of, you know, they were like, No, we’re not, we’re not doing this. And now looking back at, at that and to see where we are all today, You know, fearlessly chasing after God’s heart, it’s, it’s really a beautiful thing. So, if you’ve got people in your life who aren’t following God now, don’t discount them. They’ve got a story. But for mine, I always thought my story didn’t have any power because I didn’t have that, you know the drug stage or the drinking stage, or the, you know, chasing the worldly things. But God had a, a path for me, nonetheless.
I was raised in a Christian. Went to church all my life. My dad tells this story of… so my dad was a worship pastor. My mom worked in children’s ministry. And my dad tells this story of, of looking out in the congregation and seeing his three boys, my older brother to the right of me, my younger brother to the left. And I was that weird kid that was just into church.
And I was only 12 years old, but I kind of had this understanding of fellowship and, and sung worship was an opportunity for my spirit to rise to God’s. And, but my brothers couldn’t have been less impressed. And my dad tells the story of, in that moment, he looked out, he saw us, and he saw the, the the polarization between myself and my brothers. And he just knew at that point he was done. He was done serving in this capacity. He wasn’t done with God or his faith. Rather it was just an opportunity for him to pour into his family in a different way. And this story just stuck with me. So, my parents took a step back from church. And again, I was that weird kid and I just kept going.
So, I started to walk to church on my own as a 12-year-old and I just, I just dug in with my, with my local church and my small community. And there were so many people there that just poured into my life and were, you know, the human example of God in so many ways. And so early on in ’13, ’14, I just had this real passion for music. Not to play it or sing it, but it just moved me. And worship music began to just really drive me to the father’s heart of God. It’s just what took me there, these simple truths. I think around 15 years old; I had started picking up the guitar. I was terrible. I’d always like try and sing and I’m like, I wasn’t great, but I was passionate.
And I think if you’re in a small town and you kind of have, you know, sort of an inkling that you might wanna maybe, Sing or lead worship, You’re the guy, right? And so, my youth leader just kind of called me, said, Hey, you know, you’re, you’re part of the youth. It would, it would be very impactful if, if you would, you know, maybe lead us. Would you be open to doing that? And I said, I said, absolutely. I, I’d give it a shot. And I could strum every song with one strumming pattern on the guitar. But that really opened up and showed me what was possible. Just serving, serving my, my people, my church. And so, I was a super competitive person, and I took that guitar and, and those worship songs into my room, and I’d play 3, 4, 5 hours a night and I just lock myself in there. And really, While I was working on my craft, God was using that competitiveness and gearing it towards… I was building a relationship with God. And so, I look back on those times and those were sweet. They were pure. They were times of just me and God just building this relationship a as I slowly came into, into becoming a man and eventually serving my church, becoming a worship pastor.
Around 1920 is when I released my first kind of singer songwriter, faith-based album. It was just me in a guitar, in a studio. And Again, it was one of those beautiful, pure seasons. The songs weren’t great, but the heart was, you know? And so, shortly after I had joined a rock band with my brothers, so I just. , I, I always knew that I was gonna be close to them. And so, we were in a rock band for six years, and if anything, if all that came outta that season was we just grew tighter. The beginning of that, that season, we were butting heads like crazy, and God just used this season to, to kind of refine us and, and soften our hearts towards one another.
Shortly after that, I released a couple singer- songwriter albums, kind of pushing. not pushing my faith away, but pushing the Christian music industry away, because it still didn’t sit well in my heart. So, I was kind of just operating on the peripheral. I was leading worship this entire time. So, you know, I would, you know, we’d headline a show at 1:00 AM in the bar with the rock band, and then I’d go show up at 7:00 AM and I’d lead worship. And I just knew that God had me right where he wanted me. And I think he was, He was educating me. He was showing me that people are just longing for connection, and we do it in healthy and unhealthy ways. In the bar, in the church, wherever we are. But he was teaching me to just be me. And I think ultimately that is what we want for ourselves. God, how do I just be me more? And the only way to do that was to know him more, and his heart for his people. And so, that, that season is just something I look back on. While, you know, any worldly success through it. It was a spiritual success for sure. So, he had taken me from this, you know, you know, singer songwriter album to this six-year phase. Working in a, a bar band to let’s see, maybe four or five-years doing kind of the singer songwriter thing, playing in coffee shops and pubs and, and churches as well. And I had gotten to this point where I was doing this western Canadian tour; I played this one Christian college and it was the one show of the whole tour where we kind of packed out the place and it was just me and a guitar, and I just, I started off with some original songs and just went into worship music.
And it was in that moment where the light bulb just clicked. It’s like Jordan, I just felt God say my name. You know Jordan, you don’t always have to push through. Sometimes the gifting I’ve given you. It come, you come by it easy. And so, I had just gotten to this point where I think I had been living kind of one foot in, in the calling of God and one foot in and on my calling, you know? What I determined to be my calling and I just felt really just the presence of God. In part in my heart, this message of, Jordan, imagine what we could do with both feet in. And, you know, not everybody is made for Christian music. You know, It is a, it’s its own thing.
I believe everybody’s made to sing to God. I believe everybody’s made to give their heart to God. But Christian music in it of itself is a, it’s a different thing. And Christian radio had my heart since I was like 12 years old. It was just something that just ministered to me. And so, I just, yeah, this season of playing at this Christian college, and it was just like, Okay. Okay. I’m, I’m willing to kind of turn the ship. And it took about three years before I released my first Christian single to Christian radio in Canada. And that was just the progression that started everything that we see today. And I just got to the point where the only name worth singing for me, was Jesus.
And so, now I’m at a point where I’m doing everything that I feel I was made for. And you won’t find me singing about anything else.
Producer Luke: Thank you so much, Jordan, for sharing your story with us. It’s incredible to watch God transform lives. He’s been doing that at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission for over 90 years. Here’s one of those short stories from our sponsor.
Narrator: Helping the Lost Become found with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.
UGM Story: Before coming to Hope Place, I, I was homeless. I was homeless for about six months and. I had been in and out of every, every homeless shelter in Seattle, in King County. And I just didn’t feel safe or comfortable anywhere.
I was lost, broken, completely humiliated of who the person I had become. And my family told me about Hope Place about five years ago. My sister’s best friend graduated from the program, and my family would just remind me like, You should go to Hope Place. You should go to Hope Place. It just became something I could only dream of.
When I think of Hope Place, I think of safety. I think of a place where I can feel comfortable at. Hope Place became a dream and eventually just became a reality. I just didn’t want the help to the point where people just stopped helping me, and then I had nothing left. You know, I couldn’t provide for myself anymore.
I always relied on other people. I was very codependent. I mean, I’ve always known God was in my life, but, but this time it was completely different. I went through a spiritual journey before coming here. The battle was real, and I believe God fought for me hard.
What’s changed the most for me has been my confidence knowing who I am in Christ today. When I walked in these doors, I couldn’t even hold my head up. I was broken. And now today, like I can hold my head up high. I have friends today and I have the support that I’ve always dreamed of. If I have any advice for somebody, it would be, stick with it. One thing that’s gotten me through was having something to look forward to. Whatever milestone it is. So, you’ve hit that 30 days. Then you’ve hit that 60 days, that 90 days. And whether it’s just like, I’m a big fan of parties. Okay, So, whether it’s just like a group of girls meeting for, you know, tea at night, or something like Saturday Night Tea and Worship. Like something to always having something to look forward to is something that got me through this program. And I believe in each and every single one of these women. And I know that if they put their heart in it and let God do the work that they can make it.
Narrator: Jesus said in the Bible, I am the resurrection in the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? We are telling these stories of transformation so you can know and understand the power of Jesus in your own life. If you’d like to learn more about Jesus and how he can bring you back to life, visit us at onpurposely.com/whoisjesus. And if you like Brought Back To Life, please give us a five-star rating and a review. You can follow Brought Back To Life on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or wherever you’re listening right now.
You can also just tell your smart speaker, “Play Brought Back To Life Podcast. And thanks for listening to Brought Back To Life from Purposely.
