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“God was bringing all these people to talk to
me one after the other," he explains. "It got to the point
where I’d be in line at Starbucks and someone would ask, ‘Do you know
Jesus?' I'd say, 'No thank you, I'm just here for the hot chocolate." God's pursuit of Kimmett
was apparent.
Despite many invitations to church, Kimmett
distanced himself from anything relating to faith - even choosing to go to
the gym one day instead. When he got there he opened up a locker and saw a
book that said, "Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
"It was like I was on the Truman Show," he shares. "It was
at this moment I made a promise to God, saying, 'If you are real God, the
next church invitation I get, I'll go." Just a few days later Kimmett
received an invite, so he attended his friend's church where he heard a
sermon from Genesis 3 about the first sin and the fall of man. "I
realized then the Bible wasn't just a story,” he shares. “It explained
why the world is the way it is, why even though there were good things
happening in my life, there was still an emptiness, a brokenness that
wouldn’t go away.” The pastor explained that emptiness comes from
being separated from God by sin. “It’s the first time I understood sin
wasn’t just a religious concept, it was a reality in my own heart.” The
truth of the Gospel, that Jesus died on the Cross for him, became the most
beautiful and important hope in Kimmett's life.
Just one week later, Kimmett was offered a
major record deal. Although it was what he'd always wanted, he didn't have
peace about it and ultimately turned the deal down in obedience to God. He
began sharing the Gospel with anyone who would listen.
He then moved to London to attend Bible College
(Cornhill Training School) and worked as a pastoral assistant. Kimmett also
busked on the streets right across from Big Ben in order to pay his rent.
He performed all the latest pop hits until he'd make enough money, then
he'd take the last hour to sing worship songs and share the Gospel.
However, one day God told him, "Seek first the kingdom of
God," from Matthew 6:33. Within three hours, he had three times
the usual daily amount in his guitar case. Kimmett knew this was God's way
of saying, "Put Me first, and I will provide. It
wasn’t about the money, but about the Lord’s promise to take care of
me." Honoring God is all Kimmett wanted to do, and in that moment he
knew his music and faith had to be together.
He found
his way to Nashville, eventually meeting with Provident Label Group/Sony
Music who offered him a publishing and record deal. Yet, Kimmett
is very clear that success isn’t the end of the story. “When
music was my identity, I was only as good as the next song I wrote or the
next performance,” he explains. “Finding a relationship with Christ has
been the most fulfilling thing in my life.”
Now with
his new six-song EP, which includes the hit single "Prize
Worth Fighting For," which shares the encouraging message
that there’s hope beyond this world and
Jesus Christ is the prize worth fighting for, "Burdens,"
his current radio single accompanied by a new music
video, that encourages listeners to lay their burdens down at the feet
of Jesus, and "Since
I Met You," which sings of his transformation of being a broken man to a man full of hope, Jamie Kimmett's truth-fueled songs and soulful pop vocals
are set to carve a new ministry path - combining his gift for songwriting
with his passion for sharing the Gospel.
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For the most updated tour dates with Casting Crowns and
other tour information, please visit JamieKimmett.com.
For his full bio and for interview inquiries, please
contact [email protected].
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