Eden: Jamie, thank you so much for being with us today. It’s really a delight to get to meet you and to get to hear some of your story. I got to hear a little bit of it through YouTube, but I want the long version. So I’m excited for that. But before we hear your story, tell us, what are just a few things that bring you joy?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah. First of all, it’s great to be here as well. Thanks for having me.
And I think when it comes to joy, a big thing for me is I’m a big nature guy. So I love to be outdoors. And obviously, I’m kind of spoiled for it in Scotland. It’s such a beautiful country. I live by the sea, and I love the ocean. I love the mountains and the stars—just creation. Anything that can help me to appreciate how wonderful God is and how big he is and how powerful he is.
One of the things that made me realize I love the ocean so much is [that] when I lived in Nashville, I was landlocked. And so anytime I would get near water on tour, I’d be like, “Oh, can we stop here for a bit?” And so that’s just one of the things that I love that brings me a lot of joy.
And another thing would just be—probably sticking with the similar theme—animals. I’m a big animal-lover. I have a dog. I just love all kinds of animals and that sort of stuff. And actually, stuff like this—having conversations about the Bible, about my faith—[is] something that I find really encouraging. And I also like football. You guys call it soccer? And [ I love] good homemade food. So that’s some things that bring me joy.
Eden: I love it. And it sounds like you’re planted in a place now where all those joys are pretty close to home, which is so great.
Jamie Kimmett: Absolutely.
Eden: Well, I’d love to hear about the first time that you experienced the power of God’s Word. So you said you love talking about the Bible with other people. But what’s the first time that that really became powerful—that you recognized the power of God’s word?
Jamie Kimmett: I was brought up sort of nominal Catholic. So we were Christmas and Easter Catholics. And so I remember the priests would come in to school and would read out the Gospels. And I was always really drawn to it, but I never understood what was being said. And so I just thought, “Well, it’s just a story. It’s just whatever.” But the first time that I really encountered the power of God’s Word was in Los Angeles about fourteen years ago. I’d been invited to church a lot, and I wasn’t really interested in faith or Christianity. But a number of things led me to go to this church. And [the message] was from Genesis chapter three, and I realized, “Oh my goodness, this is alive. This is powerful.” And it absolutely changed my life—the reality of God and of his word. So that was fourteen years ago when I had that encounter.
Eden: Wow. That’s so awesome. And so you didn’t grow up in a Christian home. And you somehow got from Scotland to here [and] back to Scotland. So tell us a little bit about your journey. How did you first come to know Jesus? Did it start in that church in Los Angeles? Or what’s your journey to coming to faith in Christ?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah. So as I said, when I was younger, I had a family that loved me, but we weren’t Christian. We didn’t have a Bible in the house, and we were Christmas and Easter Catholics but not really practicing.
I studied music when I was at music school in Edinburgh. And so I ended up flying out to L.A. It’s funny because I remember my parents were like, “Who are these people bringing you to Los Angeles?” And they were like, “It sounds like a scam.” And then my dad was like, “Who’s paying for the flight?” And I was like, “Well, they’re paying for the flight.” And he’s like, “Why are you still here then?” And so, I ended up flying out.
And Michael Jackson had been a big influence on me musically growing up—Motown and Michael Jackson and things like that. This was like 2008, so probably fifteen years ago. I ended up singing demos for Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was still alive at the time. So one of his producers had heard me in a session, and they ended up using me to sing for Michael Jackson. And John Mayer was a big inspiration to me musically, and I thought, “Well, if I could be the Scottish John Mayer,” that was kind of my dream, you know? And that was happening. I met John Mayer’s producer as well.
But the funny thing was, everywhere I went, people were telling me about Jesus. And I remember speaking to a friend back in Scotland. They were like, “How’s it going?” I was like, “Well, the music stuff’s going great, but people in L.A. are really obsessed with God. It’s a bit weird.” And my friend was like, “Are you sure you’re in Los Angeles?” Because it’s like L.A, you know? But it was true, Eden. Everywhere I went, people were inviting me to church. I’d be in a session. “Do you know Jesus?” I was like, “Wow! This Jesus stuff—what is going on here?” I wasn’t pursuing faith, or I wasn’t really interested. I must have turned down about fifteen or twenty invitations to church, just politely: “It’s not really for me, but thanks anyway.” So that’s just an encouragement to anyone out there who feels like you’re sharing your faith, you’re inviting people, and you’re like, “Is this even making a difference?” Yes, it’s making a difference. Every invitation that someone was rejected was a link in the chain that led me to this moment.
And so I was in Starbucks, and this lady tapped my shoulder, and I was like, “Yeah, can I help you?” And she said, “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but do you know Jesus?” And I was like, “Man, I just want a hot chocolate. Like, who are these people?” And I’m now one of these crazy Christian people who tell others about Jesus. But I thought, “Well, you know, I’ll go to the gym. Surely all these Christians won’t be in the gym. So I’ll just go and work out, you know? So I went to L.A. Fitness. And when I opened up my locker, there was a book inside of the locker that said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). And so I was like, “Oh my goodness, did these Christians follow me here. Like, what’s going on?” John 14:6. And I just looked up, and I was like, “God, are you real?” I was like, “God, if you’re real, the next person that invites me to church, I’ll go,” thinking no one else will invite me. But sure enough, a friend of a friend was like, “Jamie, will you come to church?” And I was like, “All right, I guess.”
This was Bakersfield, California fifteen years ago. And I walked in, and it was a charismatic church at the time. I mean, I’ve been on a journey with my faith; I’m more, I would say evangelical, reformed theologically now and have been on a journey. But this church was just a little tin roof tabernacle church and “hallelujah” up and down the aisles. And I remember being like, “Wow, this is so different from Catholic school. But these people seem really joyful and really happy. There’s something going on here.” But it wasn’t really the vibrancy of the worship, it was the Word of God. And I remembered the story of Adam and Eve from Catholic school. And I remember thinking to myself in that moment, “This isn’t just a story. This isn’t just for morals or a nice story; this is powerful.” And I was weeping uncontrollably. No self-respecting Scotsman would ever cry in public, but it was so overwhelming. I realized that God was real, that I didn’t know him, and that the story in the Garden of Eden was real.
The man said, “It’s your sin that has separated you from God.” And I always thought sin was just like a Christian word, a word that Christians used. But I realized that even though there was record deals, there was good things in my life, there was an emptiness. There was a brokenness that was there. And the man said, “That’s your sin that separated you from God.” And I realized that actually my whole life had been about me and building my own selfish world. And there was an emptiness there. And he said, “But there’s good news: God sent Jesus into the world, and he died on the cross. And if you trust in him, you can have eternal life, and you can know God as your heavenly father, and you can go to heaven.” And I was like, “You know what? This is it. This is what it’s all about.” So yeah, the Bible changed my life, and the truth of God’s Word changed my life and brought me to a relationship.
There’s something that a preacher that really inspires me from Scotland always says. He always prays this before he preaches. He says, “May the written word lead us to the living word, Jesus Christ.” And so, I believe that that is what happened to me, that the written Word of God brought me to the living risen words of Jesus.
Eden: Wow. I love that, and I love how you articulate that. That’s something that we really want people to understand from the resources on our website: The point of opening our Bibles is to learn about Jesus and who he is and what he’s done for us. It’s not just a thing that we do because we’re religious people, but all of our efforts toward knowing the Scriptures are to know a person who spoke the Scriptures. That’s so powerful—just his work in your life. And it’s so encouraging to hear about Jesus’ pursuit of you, that he was just after you through his people.
Jamie Kimmett: Sometimes when I share this stuff, [others are] like, “Well, maybe Jamie, you’re just really special and God spoke to you in a special [way].” It’s like, “No, he pursues all of us. God reveals himself.” I don’t believe there’s anyone who naturally would want God. And we love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). That’s what the Bible says. But you’re quite right; it is mind-blowing that the God of the universe would choose to pursue us and to love us in such a radical way. Yeah, it is exciting.
Eden: Yeah. And it sounds like God started pursuing you at the beginning of your music career. Would you say that’s true? And it seems like you were on a trajectory to be involved in more secular, mainstream music and maybe even bring what you learned back to Scotland. But obviously now you’re singing on Christian radio. So, what did your musical journey look like? And what are you doing now as a ministry? How did your relationship with Jesus inform your music ministry?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah, so I’ve been doing Christian music probably for about half of the time that I’ve been a Christian. So let me explain that. I don’t know if I said this, but my dream was first to be a professional football player—a soccer player—and then I got this guitar when I was sixteen. And I thought, “Well, I want to be the Scottish John Mayer.” And so that’s the reason that I went out to Los Angeles and was working with all these producers and then found faith.
About two weeks after coming to faith in Jesus, I was actually offered a mainstream record deal with EMI—a major secular label. That whole deal and that whole opportunity was something that I was really hesitant about. I was excited about it, because it had been my dream. But I was like, “God, is this really what you have for me? I just don’t know.” And so, I said to the record label, “Look, this is an exciting opportunity, but I need to go back to Scotland. And I just want to make sure that this is the right thing, because I’m a Christian now.” And they were kind of like, “Okay, well, cool. You need to let us know, or the deal was gone in a few weeks.” And I was like, “no problem.”
And so, I flew back to Scotland. I flew from LAX to JFK, and I was googling Christian churches in Scotland. I mean, this is how naive I was. I didn’t know if all the Christians were in America, [or] if there were born-again Christians in Scotland. I remember one of the guys from the church that I had heard the gospel at was like, “Well, make sure you put ‘Pentecostal’ in there, because that’s important or whatever.” And I said, “all right.” So I’m putting in “Christian, Pentecostal,” and so I end up at this church in Glasgow—Pentecostal Church—and I go in and I’m like, “Hey, Jesus has saved me.” And the woman who opens the door is my best friend today, and also my manager, Lorna Farrell.
My latest song that’s just come out, “All of Me,” I co-wrote with her. My song[s] “Prize Worth Fighting For” [and] “Love Your Neighbor”—we wrote those songs together. She was the first Christian that I ever met. So that’s just another kind of little detail there for you.
But I said to Lorna, “Look, I have a dilemma. I’ve been offered a record deal. I don’t know what to do. Do you think the church would pray for me and maybe offer me some guidance?” And she said, “Well, God always speaks through the Bible. So, we’re having a Bible study, [and] if you want to come to it, we’ll pray for you.” And I was like, “Well, that sounds perfect.” And so I went to this Bible study and she, pretty quickly was like, “This doesn’t happen very often, but I just feel that I have a specific Bible verse I want to share with you. And it’s from the book of Leviticus.” And I was like, “What is that?”
And she was like, “Well, that’s in the Old Testament. And this is the verse that I want to share with you.” And I was like, “uh huh.” And she said, “Thou shall not sacrifice your firstborn child to the gods of Molech” (Leviticus 18:21). And I was like, “huh? Like child sacrifice? You sure it wasn’t supposed to be Psalm 23 or something? You know, like maybe a proverb, some wisdom, or something?” I was like, “You seem like a nice person, but you’re probably a little bit crazy.” And she was like, “Nope, God always speaks through his Word.” And I was like, “Okay, fine, no problem.”
And so I flew back out to L.A. with all these record-label people. It was like God just closed my mouth, and I couldn’t speak. And after a few minutes, this executive’s getting more and more exasperated with me. And he says, “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but there’s people who would sacrifice their firstborn child for this opportunity.” And so I’m like, “How do you know Leviticus?” You know, from the Bible study. It was insane. It was so clear. And I was like, “Okay, God, what are you saying here?” And it was like, “Turn this record deal down.”
Eden: Wow.
Jamie Kimmett: And so I was just like, “Hey, guys, I’m sorry to waste everyone’s time, but this deal was not for me.” And I flew back to Scotland. And it was kind of hard, because my family were not in the same place as me. They’re not Christians or anything like that. And so they’re like, “Why would a loving God take away your dream and our dream?” And “you want to do Christian music and like what?” So I just said, “God told me to say no,” which he did.
I went on a journey from then. I didn’t really like to read before I became a Christian: I wasn’t a big reading guy. But when I was saved, I just couldn’t put the Bible down. I was just reading and reading and fell in love with the Bible. And my songwriting was becoming more Christian gradually. And I moved to London and went to a Bible college. I ended up working for a church down there, and so I went from Pentecostal to Church of Scotland, Presbyterian to Anglican. And then I was working for a Baptist church, preaching there. And so it’s been such a journey.
I used to sing on the streets of London to pay my rent. So, when I lived in London and worked with the church and was at Bible College, I used to sing. (I don’t know if you’ve been to London or not.) So Big Ben—there’s a big clock tower in the center of London—and I used to stand across from the clock tower. I would sing pop music to pay my rent, and then once my rent was paid, I would worship God. It doesn’t sound very impressive, but it’s the truth. And it’s how I was getting by. One day I showed up, and I was like, “You know, God, I don’t even want to do the pop music anymore. I just want to worship you. But you know that I need to pay my rent.” And immediately, Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” came, and I just began to worship God. And this isn’t “become a Christian, and he’ll give you money,” but it’s just the faithfulness of God that he always provides. And so Christians from all over the world—from China, America, Spain—were coming up to me like, “You need to use your voice to sing about Jesus? Here’s £50.”
“You need to build up the church.”
“You need to use your gifts for God’s glory.”
I was like, “Oh my goodness. Like all these [different] people [are saying the same thing].” And so when I went home that day, I was like, “Okay, God, from now on—my music and my faith—they’re coming together. It’s all for you.”
All the way home, I just kept thinking about Nashville, which is weird because at the time I was like, “Nashville—that’s Johnny Cash. That’s like country music.” And so then I googled, “Christian music, Nashville.” And it was the home of Christian music. And I was like, “Oh, wow.” So I told Lorna—my friend, my manager—I said, “Look, God wants me to bring my faith and my music together, and I just keep thinking about Nashville.” And I told her what happened on the streets of London. And she said, “I think God might be telling you to go. Either you’ve had too much cheese in your pizza for lunch or something, or he’s telling you to go to Nashville.” And I was like, “Well, I don’t know anybody in Nashville.” She was like, “Well, God knows everyone in Nashville. So why don’t we just keep busking and save up some money? And you and I will fly out to Nashville with no contacts.” So that’s what we did.
We were literally staying in the Super 8 Hotel downtown Nashville, cold-calling record labels, “Hey, we’re from Scotland. God’s calling us to make Christian music. Can we come and see you?” And these people are like, “Huh?” But we actually—believe it or not—out of the five major labels, we actually met with two or three of them, who heard my voice. And we had favor. Within two or three weeks [of] being in Nashville, I was offered a record deal to make Christian music with Sony Provident. It was amazing. Seven years from the day that I turned down the secular deal, God brought about this opportunity for the Christian record deal.
It was really cool, when I flew back home, to take my family out for dinner and say, “Hey, God is a loving God, and when he takes one thing away, he opens another door that’s better, for his glory.” So that’s been me ever since.
One of the first tours I went on was with Zach Williams and then with Casting Crowns. We had some songs that really spoke to people and did well. And so it’s just been a real blessing to make Christian music now.
Eden: Wow, Jamie, that’s such a powerful story and implicitly highlights so many attributes of God’s kind character. Like you said, he speaks through the written Word. And he did that for you through his people. His guidance is so clear: He promises to lead us by his Spirit, and he does. He promises to provide for us, and he does, like a loving Heavenly Father. And it’s so neat to hear you articulate those things and to see them lived out in a person’s life—to see God’s work.
Jamie Kimmett: And sometimes there’s tough times where we’re confused in life. We don’t know which direction [to go]. There’s some things in my life, even just now, where I’m like, “God, what are you seeing? And what are you doing?” It’s really powerful to look back and to think of the journey—of how far he’s brought us up to this point—and say, “Well, do you know what? He’s not brought us this far to leave us.” God knows. [We must] lean not on [our] own understanding, but lean on him and trust him. And it’s just an encouragement to do that.
Eden: Yeah, absolutely. And so your ministry today—you’re not in Nashville. You’re in Scotland now; is that right?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah, yeah.
Eden: So what does life on mission for Jesus look like for you day-to-day now?
Jamie Kimmett: So right now, I’m really excited about the new music that God is giving me. It’s been really cool. So actually, I’ve been getting some more opportunities to preach recently. I’ve been tapping back in to those gifts and opportunities as well. I preached a sermon on The Lord’s Prayer at my church here in Scotland, which was great, a few weeks ago. I’m doing a lot of song writing. I have new music—a new song that’s just come out—and I have new songs that are coming out soon as well. So [I’m] really excited [about that]. And I’m actually going back to America in a couple of weeks. I’m still out in the US quite a bit, touring and putting on concerts. So, that’s really exciting as well. So yeah, there’s a lot going on, and mainly I’m really excited about the new songs that God has given me.
Eden: I don’t know how this works with releasing and everything, but could you tell us about one or two of the new songs and how God brought those to your heart?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah. So I have a song that just came out [recently], and the song is called “All of Me.” And it’s basically about the story of the woman with the alabaster jar who falls down and worships Jesus. She pours out this costly ointment; she just pours [it] out on him.
So Lorna and I—actually this wasn’t even a writing session—this was like a phone call. I was in Nashville at the time, and I had called Scotland just to [say], “Hey, can we pray together?” And so we were praying, and we ended up reading the story about the woman [with the] alabaster jar. And it’s a moving, powerful story of how she adores Jesus and pours out everything. I was really challenged by that. And I thought, “I don’t give Jesus as much as he deserves.” And then also I thought about love the Lord your God with all of your mind, all of your heart, and all of your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). And we were thinking about how Jesus sacrificed so much at the cross, and how great his love is and how worthy he is. And so, it’s a song of adoration, [and a] song of surrender as well.
It’s a scary thing to give all of me, but it’s also something that is so worth it. Jesus is so worthy, and he’s trustworthy as well. You know, we’re safe in that place when we surrender to him. And so, we wrote this song. It’s kind of a big anthemic song. We’ve already had quite a lot of churches message us saying, “Hey, do you have sheet music? We want to use this in our worship services.” And so that’s been really encouraging to see how God could use that in the church as well, [and] not just, “Hey, let’s get this on the radio to reach people.” That’s awesome as well. But actually [getting it] in the church. I feel like a lot of these new songs are songs that can be sung by communities and congregations and really help people to be discipled and to grow together as well.
Eden: Yeah. That’s wonderful. And to get someone excited to start listening to your music, I can vouch for you. You have an amazing voice—amazing. You said you were hoping to become like the John Mayer in Scotland, but for someone that’s never heard your music, how would you describe it stylistically? Are there people other than John Mayer that were an inspiration to you that might help someone gauge, as they’re listening to the podcast, “Okay, this is what to expect when I hear his music.”
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah, I feel like my voice is a soulful voice. For some people, they’ve got a big belt voice or they’ve got power. For me, it’s like the tone, the delivery, the soulfulness and kind of sensitivity [that you could expect]. I guess Michael Jackson, like I said, Motown and some of these soul singers and pop singers [have inspired my music]. So I would definitely say [the style is] acoustic/pop. There’s some folk in there. Somebody described it as Scottish-Celtic/Americana with soulful pop mixed in.
I feel like certainly the new song is really driven by the lyric and by the message of the song. I believe that the most powerful songs are actually ones that allow the Bible, God’s Word, and the truth of God’s Word to take the center stage there. And I think that that is where the transformation takes place. But also—as a musician and somebody who loves melody, somebody who loves music and sound—I want to bring excellence and great musicality as much as I can to that, and set up the Word of God so that it can really have the best possible impact, if that makes sense.
Eden: Yes, yes. I was just talking to a man that works with us to develop content, and he was sharing with me from the book of Colossians how God’s Word actually encourages us to turn into song when it says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, using psalms, hymns, spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). And I love that we have the opportunity to share with people the different gifts and talents that he’s given to his church members to make his Word go out and go forth in these powerful, creative ways. So neat.
So you’ve told us a little of your story and just about your music. We’re going to be linking to your new song in the description with our podcast and making sure people can find that. But lastly, we like to ask if there are any books or resources outside the Bible that have really helped your walk with Jesus. We’re trying to help those that didn’t grow up in a Christian home that maybe—as you were at the beginning—don’t know a lot of Christians, to find more resources to help them enjoy Jesus, enjoy his words. So what would be your answer to that?
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah. So a couple of things [come to mind]. First of all, there’s a Scottish preacher, (and I’m not just saying this because he’s Scottish), but there’s a guy called Alistair Begg, who has been so helpful to me in my journey. I just think that he is somebody who [is] faithful to the Bible—I think there’s a lot of faithfulness in accuracy and how he’s actually teaching the Bible—but I think that he really shows the relevance of how God’s Word applies in everyday life situations. There’s also a podcast that I’ve listened to. I don’t know if it’s a podcast or what it is, but it’s called “Ask Pastor John.” It’s John Piper. And there’s a lot of issues and things that come up in that where I’m just like, “Man, that’s so helpful.” I found myself looking at those two things. And also Tim Keller is another one, the late Tim Keller; he’s been a real blessing to me. And [for] a book, if I could just [recommend it]. This is an old classic book. There are modern English translations of this. And it’s John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. So, it’s just absolutely incredible. [Also] C.S. Lewis—I’m just throwing things out here.
Eden: Yes, yes.
Jamie Kimmett: C.S. Lewis and The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I would absolutely recommend getting a modern English translation of that book.
Eden: Yeah. Is there a favorite Lewis book of yours?
Jamie Kimmett: Honestly, there’s so many of them. I’m not sure if I should share my favorite one, but it’s [a] funny [story]. The first book that I was ever given, other than the Bible, (when I first came to faith, someone gave me a Bible) and then [this was] the next book they said, “Hey, you need to check this out.” And I was like, “The Screwtape Letters? What is this?”
I’m not sure that’s the first book you should give a brand new Christian, but I remember being absolutely blown away by C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. It’s one of those books that you’re like, “Oh, my goodness. The spiritual reality is actually real, and God’s kingdom is real. And there’s a battle between good and evil.” And it really just helped me in my prayer life. I think when we know the power of Jesus—that he’s the name above every name (Philippians 2:9–11), that there’s no other throne as high as his—that’s a really important place to start before jumping into something like that. But yeah, that one was really powerful.
Eden: Totally, totally. Yeah, that one is [a] powerful book and a great introduction to spiritual warfare, for sure.
Well, thank you for your time, Jamie. Thank you for sharing your story with us and your testimony. I’ve been so encouraged by listening. Actually, I love music. And so, I always pray, “Lord, would you send me new music to encourage my heart?” And in discovering you and getting to talk to you today, I feel like that’s an answered prayer. I get to go back to Spotify and listen to things that I know sound great and will also lead me to think about the things that God says in His Word. So thank you for your ministry and for giving your life and your gifts to serve Jesus and serve the church. We’re so thankful for your time today.
Jamie Kimmett: Yeah, it’s been great to get to share with you guys. And yeah, [I] just pray that God continues to bless and use your ministry as well. And it’s so cool to know that we live in an age where we can actually put out content, and we can share what God has done in our lives, whether it’s music, whether it’s podcasts. And actually he can use that to reach people and to point them towards Jesus. And certainly Jesus has given me such a hope. And even all these years later, I still have that hope. And so hopefully somebody is listening who’s thinking, “Do you know what? I’d like to learn more about that.” And yeah, that’s just really cool.
Eden: Thank you so much for listening to our podcast today. If you enjoyed our conversation, I would encourage you to like or subscribe to our podcast so that you can hear the next conversation. And if something that you heard today spoke to your heart or got you thinking, I would encourage you to not let the day go by without talking to God about what’s on your mind. We believe that he loves you and that he’s pursuing you today out of that love.