“The one thing I miss the most is my KitchenAid mixer.”
Rachel Hollis never saw herself as the RV type when she married Jeremiah two-and-a-half years ago.
“I’m the type of person who wants my own home … and wants to settle down,” she said. Yet with both of them involved in music and wanting to travel more, she said God gave her the idea for a home on wheels.
Now the pair is crossing the United States, leading worship one state at a time. The RV part is fairly new, but the actual journey began when Jeremiah was just 4 years old.
“I remember being at our local church and seeing a guy onstage playing a white electric guitar while singing as he led worship,” says Jeremiah, a native Australian. “I thought in that moment, ‘I want to do that someday.’”
Jeremiah got his first ukulele shortly after, and by 10th grade, was performing in his school’s talent show. From there, he started leading worship at church.
From 2008 to 2012, Jeremiah was part of the band Downside Up, based in New South Wales, Australia. Their music made it to Christian radio but they disbanded so members could pursue other callings. Later that year, Jeremiah released his solo album, Made New, and a year after that, he married Rachel from across the pond in New Mexico.
They met at a wedding—she was a bridesmaid, he was a groomsman.
Just a couple years into marriage, they traded their four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot rental for an 8-by-38-foot RV.
“I do miss having things set up in separate spaces,” Jeremiah said, but at the same time, “It’s funny how much you don’t miss.”
Their RV tour began in January, and since then, they’ve logged thousands of miles, playing in several states—Jeremiah on guitar, Rachel on keyboard.
“My songs are trying to get people thinking outside those boxes we can get comfortable in,” Jeremiah said. “Jesus doesn’t call us to be comfortable. … I don’t ever want to get comfortable or cushy. …
“We’re not reaching out for the full potential that John 10:10 talks about,” he continued, citing a verse about living the abundant life. “We get stuck in these patterns, just going through the motions. Our whole purpose is to live for [God], not to live for the next thing.”
Over the past four months, the couple has played for churches, high schools, a summer camp, a Navajo reservation, a Christian music festival and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Jeremiah says for many people he meets—especially youth, Christianity is “more of a cultural thing than a life-transforming thing.”
“There’s such a history of ‘My family goes to church, that’s what we do, we sing two songs, we sit down,’” he said. His goal with music is to tap into “why we’re worshiping and Who we’re worshiping.”
One song he and Rachel co-wrote is called “Everything I’m Not,” about how Jesus is all the things we aren’t—we’re full of doubt; He’s faithful.
The three 3s on Jeremiah’s website, T-shirts and first album cover also speak to God’s faithfulness. They stand for Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV):
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
The pair has experienced God’s faithfulness in their marriage, too, whether it’s navigating, driving a huge RV or being in close quarters for long stretches of time.
“We’ve learned how to be more patient with each other,” Rachel said.
She paused before adding, “You also learn to open cupboards carefully.” Their glassware tends to shift en route.
While it’s hard for the pair to be away from family, they say they know this is where God wants them. They plan to keep their music on the road “until God says otherwise” and hope to reach more non-Christians as they go.
“I’m just honored to be a part of what God is doing,” Rachel said.
