“I worship because I know a God that is loving and deserving of our worship! Plus it is really fun.” – Austin Vanderveer
Meet Austin! He is an extremely talented musician on the Grace Hills Worship Team, playing bass and acoustic guitar. Not only does he use his gifts on Sunday mornings, but he is involved in leading GH Students on Wednesday nights. Austin encourages and pours into the next generation and we are grateful to have him!
Hear a little bit of Austin’s story about how worship became such an important part of who he is, how and where he loves to spend time with God, and his desire to use worship to bring people closer to Jesus…
When I was born, my Dad was the youth minister and song leader at a small Church of Christ in the town I grew up in. Needless to say, I have been around or involved in worship since day one.
When I was about 1,3 I picked up a guitar, and later a bass. I played in a few bands through high school and college. Soon after, I started to develop my own faith and walk with God and I decided to start using my talents to help in worship. When I was in college, I played at a church locally and then moved up to Northwest Arkansas to marry my beautiful wife, Hanna. After a few months of being here, we started looking for a church to get plugged into. We visited Grace Hills one Sunday morning and fell in love with it! My hope, while serving at GH, is to help bring people to a genuine relationship with God. I feel like genuine worship can break down strongholds, convict areas of our lives that need convicting, and encourage people all at the same time. That is something I want to be a part of!
One of my favorite ways to worship and spend time with God is in nature. Whether it is before dawn in a deer stand, or some quiet time in a hammock after a hike, I love being outside and looking at all God created. It’s then, that I realize that the God who created it ALL knows the number of hairs on my head…that always blows my mind.
I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. Your every action must be done with love.”
I like this verse because, for me, it breaks down how to be a man’s man. It’s ok to be strong and stand firm and be a man. Even the disciples were rough and tough guys. Being a Christian man doesn’t mean being weak! But remember that everything we do must be done in love… So be the strong mans man, but do it with love.”
Austin’s story first appeared on the Grace Hills Worship Facebook Page.