Faith-Filled Christian Country Music & Devotionals

The Story Behind "Curt Brickley  - Music with a Mission"

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If you had asked me a few years ago whether God would one day use me in a music ministry, I probably would have laughed.

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I wasn't the guy who always had music playing. In fact, I've driven from the East Coast to western Montana without turning on a single song, podcast, or even the radio. I've always enjoyed the quiet. Those long miles were often spent talking with God, praying, thinking, and simply listening.

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Music ministry wasn't part of my plan. Then again, following Jesus has never been about my plans. His prayer, "Not My will, Father, but Yours be done," means exactly what it says.

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Before I go any further, I also want to acknowledge something. I have tremendous respect for the countless musicians, songwriters, producers, and artists who have spent years faithfully honing their craft. The discipline, sacrifice, creativity, and perseverance required to pursue excellence in music is something I deeply admire.

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My story is simply different.

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I don't think of myself as being in the music business. God called me into ministry decades ago. Long before I ever wrote a song, He gave me the privilege of serving as an ordained minister, Youth Pastor, Missions Pastor, Christian author, and church-planting missionary among an unreached people group in Southeast Asia. Over the years, I've preached in churches around the world, trained village pastors, smuggled Bibles and disaster relief funds into limited-access countries, and watched God faithfully build His Church in places most people will never see.

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Now, He's simply given me a different tool. The platform has changed. The calling has not.

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Music just happens to be the vehicle God has chosen for me at this time. If these songs entertain someone for a few minutes, that's fine, but entertainment has never been the goal. My prayer is that every song points people to Jesus Christ, encourages believers to open God's Word, and equips them to walk more faithfully with Him. This ministry exists to make disciples, strengthen the Church, and proclaim the Gospel. The music is simply the messenger.

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Whether I'm standing behind a pulpit, sitting across the table with one person, teaching pastors in a remote village, writing a devotional, or putting truth to melody, the mission has never changed. The method has changed. The message never has.

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Music was never my plan. But disability wasn’t my plan either.

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The birth of this ministry came through one of the hardest seasons of my life. A series of heart attacks (4), multiple heart surgeries (9), a right frontal lobe brain hemorrhage, cognitive changes followed by a year of compensatory cognitive rehabilitation, chronic kidney disease, and an unexpected medical retirement stripped away much of the life I thought I would continue living. Physically, I was broken. Spiritually, I was struggling more than I wanted to admit.

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Looking back now, I can see something I couldn't see then. I loved the Lord, but I was giving Him half obedience while quietly hoping for the rewards of full obedience. I was serving Him, but there were still areas of my life that I wanted to control. I wanted His blessing without complete surrender. Which sums up my entire Christian walk since age 15. It’s easy giving Christ your death, but a different thing entirely to give Him your life; you’re here and now, you’re coming and going, your job, your home, children, your breath.

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One day during prayer, the Lord impressed something unmistakable on my heart. He wasn't asking me to accomplish more. He wasn't asking me to start another ministry. He wasn't asking me to become a songwriter.

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He simply wanted all of me. No more half measures. I knew exactly what He was asking.

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There wasn't really anything left to say except...

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"Yes, Lord."

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That single act of surrender changed everything.

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Later that very week, I sat down with one of my old devotionals and decided to try—one more time—to turn it into a song. I'd tried many times over the years, but it had never worked. This time was different. The words came effortlessly, almost faster than I could write them.

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That first song became Coming Back Is Sweet.

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Then another song came.

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Then another.

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For the next two weeks, I wrote twelve to fourteen hours a day, every day. It felt as though a dam had broken. More than forty years of Scripture, ministry, missions, suffering, victories, failures, repentance, grace, hope, and God's faithfulness came pouring out into songs. I wasn't chasing inspiration. I was simply trying to keep up with what God was doing.

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One of the greatest surprises in all of this is that God chose to use something I would never have chosen for myself. The brain injury that permanently changed my life also unlocked a level of creativity I had never experienced before. What I once viewed only as loss became another reminder that God truly causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

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People sometimes ask me where the songs come from.

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The answer has never changed.

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They began with surrender.

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God wasn't looking for a songwriter. He was looking for my heart. The songs were never the goal. They were simply one expression of what He chose to do after I finally stopped negotiating and trusted Him completely.

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Today, every song, every devotional, every Bible study, and every ministry resource exists for one reason: to point people to Jesus Christ. If anything I write ever causes someone to open their Bible, return to the Father, find hope in suffering, or place their trust in Christ, then this ministry has accomplished exactly what God intended.

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Looking back, I can honestly say that everything changed with one simple answer.

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It started with "Yes."