A chart-topping Christian singer says Jesus freed him from meth addiction and placed him on a journey to proclaim God’s life-changing power. Stephen McWhirter soared to No. 1 on the iTunes Christian charts with his song Come Jesus Come and received two K-Love Fan Award nominations this year for that track, for Song of the Year and Breakout Single of the Year.
Two decades ago, though, McWhirter was a drug addict who hated religion. His goal each day was to find a way to pay for meth.
“I was in addiction for over 11 years and hated Jesus, hated Christians, hated it all,” McWhirter told Crosswalk Headlines. “People were praying for me.”
The turning point in his life, he said, came when someone handed him a copy of Lee Strobel’s book The Case for Christ.
“It’s a miracle I accepted it,” he said. “I had this encounter with Jesus reading this book at, like, 3 o’clock in the morning. …And I was just like, ‘God, You’re real. And I want to give You my life. I want to quit all this stuff. I want to quit it all. I don’t know how.’ And I just remember the Lord being like, ‘You won’t do it. I’ll do it.’ And I believed Him. I believed that idea, that thought that I knew wasn’t from me. I literally quit everything and started down this path.”
His path to singing Christian music was sparked by a comment from a friend who suggested, “You should get a job at a church singing.” Because of his past, McWhirter didn’t think he could be hired.
“But never underestimate how hard up a pastor is for a worship leader,” McWhirter recounted, laughing. “He’s like, ‘Excellent, we will take you.’… And that was it. That was the beginning.”
McWhirter penned Come Jesus Come in the middle of the pandemic. He was inspired to write it after reading Revelation 22:17, which says: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”
“I started learning that you love people better when you long for Jesus’ return. You build things that matter more,” he said. “We put the song out. We started going live on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, asking people if they want to come to Jesus because of the song.”
By McWhirter’s tally, 39,000 people have accepted Christ because of the song.
“And so this song, God was breathing on it,” he said.
His message to fans, he said, is simple: “God is real.”
WATCH: CCM Star Stephen McWhirter Says Jesus Rescued Him from Meth Addiction
Photo Credit: ©Jason Davis for K-LOVE Fan Awards
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.