Click here to download the Jason Lovins song, “The Journey” »
When the Jason Lovins Band formed at Morehead State University in Kentucky 10 years ago, they had no idea they would be making an impact on the Kingdom of God. In fact, they hadn’t even planned on it. Jason Lovins, the lead singer, attended this particular school to play golf – not to become a worship leader.
“A few guys and I just started playing music together for fun, with no intentions other than to just play music for Jesus. But the Lord just kept opening doors as we were asked to play different places. One big step for us was in summer of 2002, when we were invited to lead worship at LifeWay’s Centrifuge camp. Through that, we started getting invitations to play all over the country,” Lovins remembered.
The band has been traveling ever since that summer, and have been pursuing full time ministry over the past five years.
A Partnership Through Song
Over the past year, their opportunities have seen a sharp increase. Among those opportunities have been a partnership with BGEA to promote involvement in the Greatest Journey, a discipleship program for children who are recipients of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.
Earlier this year, Lovins was approached about writing a song for the Greatest Journey as a feature for the December TV Special. Lovins had never heard of the Greatest Journey, but as soon as it was explained to him, he was invested and wanted to help make a difference.
“Ryan (one of the band mates) called me at 1:30 a.m. one morning and left a voice mail to tell me he had already written the chorus of the song. We got in the studio the next day to work more on it and had it finished in an hour. Steve Riley, our producer, and I finished the verse and the melody.”
Since writing the song, titled The Journey, Lovins and the band have been sharing it with their audiences and telling them about the Greatest Journey. He is encouraged by the enthusiasm he sees.
“The response I see from people when I talk about the Greatest Journey is amazing. My hope is that the response doesn’t end with their reaction, but with action on their part. I want to see people jumping on board with this,” said Lovins. “It’s great that the kids get a shoe box, but it also great to know that someone is sowing the seed and discipling the kids, making a Kingdom impact. Through giving and participation, people are opening doors to teach these children about Jesus. I am thrilled to play a small part in that.”
The Blessings of Being Used
Lovins is humbled that God uses him in programs like the Greatest Journey, and to bring his audiences to a greater understanding of Jesus. “I can’t believe He is using us to do all these amazing things. I’m so humbled by that. It’s such an honor to lead people in worship, and we don’t take it for granted. Another thing that’s so incredible to me is that through these economic times when bands are struggling, God has brought us through.”
He chalks the band’s success up to simply being available. “We’ve taken the approach of telling God we’ll go wherever we’re needed. When you get to that point, be ready, because He will use you!”
He is awed not only by the way God has used him and his band. He is awed by the way God has used Billy Graham to share a simple message.
“When I was walking through the Library for the first time, I was impacted as I saw the way Billy Graham was used to impact the world. His message was simple: Jesus. As someone with a platform, I can have all these elaborate things and bells and whistles, but if I’m not just simply pointing people to Jesus, I’m wasting my time,” explained Lovins.
Most weeks, the Jason Lovins Band is on the road. From opening for well-known Christian bands such as Mercy Me to leading worship at church revivals, they play in a variety of settings. “We have a lot of different opportunities come our way. I like that a lot, because it keeps us on toes. One week we might be doing southern gospel. The next week we might be doing something very contemporary for 3,000 students. Any time we have opportunity to lead worship we do everything to get there,” said Lovins.
“The bottom line is we want nothing more than to facilitate a worship experience. And to do that, we have to be able to connect with people.”
The latest album release from the Jason Lovins Band is their “New Hymns” project. Learn more about the band, their music and their ministry. Visit jasonlovins.com.
