Once upon a time, a former meth addict underwent a radical conversion to Christ and became a singer-songwriter and worship leader.
His name is Stephen McWhirter, and this year he was nominated for the 2024 K-LOVE Fan Awards Breakout Single and Song of the Year, “Come, Jesus, Come.” He also performed during one of the weekend’s concerts and with Ryan Ellis and Blanca during the opening song of the Fan Awards show May 26.
Though McWhirter considered it an honor to receive the nominations and the invitation to be part of the Emerging Artists Showcase and Awards show, what the song has done for God’s Kingdom is much more important to him.
“Honestly, the thing about it is, it’s four years old. It’s not like a brand new song. ‘It was just for You and me, Jesus.’ We put it on Tik Tok and Facebook and Instagram, and it went viral. But it was people who were longing for Jesus to return. It didn’t feel like just a cool song.
“We started going live … and I would worship Jesus,” McWhirter continued. “It wouldn’t be like, ‘I’m an artist, go check out my music.’ I would just worship Jesus, share the gospel and share my testimony [about] going from a meth addict to a worship leader.”
He always asked if anyone wanted to give their lives to Jesus and would pray on the livestream with them. McWhirter had moderators who connected them with resources on his website as well as help them find a church.
To date, McWhirter has seen more than 39,000 come to Jesus during livestreams.
Hating Jesus and Christians
Brought up as a preacher’s son, McWhirter saw his father physically abuse his mother. He decided early on that if God was real, He wasn’t good. Both McWhirter’s earthly father and heavenly Father became villains in his story, and he hated Jesus and Christians. If he heard someone mention the name of Jesus, he would either “cuss you out or knock you out,” McWhirter admitted.
As a young teenager, he both used and sold all types of illegal drugs, and by the time he was 17, he was a crystal meth addict, using every day for more than six years.
Many were praying for him, and one day those prayers came to fruition. Someone gave him the book “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel. It was a miracle he accepted the book and another that he read it, McWhirter said.
“Fast forward — it’s 3:00 in the morning, there are drugs on the side table next to me. No one’s playing the harp softly in the corner. It seems like the most impossible place to get saved.
“And I just know He’s in the room; I just know He’s there. I have these thoughts that I know are not my thoughts. I’m like, ‘God, I want to give You all of my life. I want to put [away] all this addiction, all this darkness, all this anger, depression I’ve known for so long. But there is no way I can do it. I can’t imagine being someone else.’”
Then McWhirter felt the Holy Spirit say, “Stephen, you won’t do it. I’ll do it.”
He decided to believe Him, just “like I believe I’m breathing air right now,” McWhirter said. He fell to his knees and gave his life to Jesus.
New beginning
Quitting everything immediately and becoming a new person was not easy — his friends left him and some even said his conversion wasn’t real.
Then about a year later he was told he should try out for a job as a worship leader. He had been in heavy metal bands throughout his teens, so he knew how to play guitar but couldn’t imagine being chosen.
“What doesn’t look good on a job resume is ‘ex-meth addict,’” McWhirter joked, “like they’re going to want to hire me.
“But never underestimate how badly a pastor needs a worship leader,” he laughed.
They did hire him, and now McWhirter is grateful he was shown an outlet to sing about Christ.
McWhirter’s main message is, “Worshiping Jesus + Leading Others to Him.” He was very intentional in both word choice and order.
“Most people go, ‘This is just another guy talking about Jesus.’ But when I worship Him, typically the Lord uses that to draw people in. Then I share my testimony, and we see a lot of people come to Jesus.
“The Lord’s used my life, the music and that thing — whatever — whether it’s good or bad,” McWhirter said. “He uses it and draws people, and then I’m able to share the gospel and see people come to Christ. That’s my whole story when I look back over it.
“We come back to what’s important: what is it that matters here and now towards His return? Not just the followers you have, not just the number of awards or nominations, whatever. How many people are actually being drawn to Jesus through what you do? That’s been probably the most encouraging part of this whole journey.”
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