Glasgow native Justin Cole has found his niche in serving and singing

By John Herndon, KentuckySings.com

For Justin Cole, the struggle was more than real. 

That inner conflict of how to best use his God-given talents was more than a simple tugging at his heart. Should he continue to pursue a lucrative career straddling that fence between gospel and country music or should he listen to his heart saying to put all of his energies into pastoral ministry and singing a bit of Christian country when he can.

“For a while, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” Justin said not long before he took the stage at the Ark Encounter on August 20. Justin was part of a billing that included the Ark’s house band, TrueSong, along with bluegrass stars Authentic Unlimited as part of the 40 Days and Nights of Christian Music festival.

“Did I want to make this into a full-time career or do this as a hobby, something I love to do,” Justin continued. “So I played anywhere I could for the past six to eight years, trying to book as much as I could. I was pretty successful in that. It was mostly country dates, a lot of farmer’s markets and a lot of dates like that. 

“I got married last year and so when you get married, your priorities kind of change. In my heart, I felt the Lord was calling me to get into more of a pastoral role.”

And that had really been nothing new. For about 10 years, Justin has been part of the staff at Glasgow’s Immanuel Baptist Church, currently serving as the church’s associate pastor of worship and students. 

And now, he’s fully committed to staying on that path.

“About a month ago, something that I had really been wrestling with, ‘Lord, what do I need to be doing?’ And the Lord made it very plain to me to pursue pastoral ministry and worship ministry and songwriting and things like that,” Justin said.

“It was honestly a sigh of relief, like a burden lifted. I still love country music. I still listen to it, but I feel like the Lord is truly leading me down the path that I need to be.”

An impressive 6-song set at the Ark indicated that Justin is more than content in simply letting the Lord guide his career. He showed his classic country roots with a deep baritone sound reminiscent of a couple of his musical influences, Randy Travis, Josh Turner and Alan Jackson.

“I listen to a lot of Brad Paisley as well, from the country side,” Justin says. 

Among Christian artists, Justin says he’s been influenced by Matt Boswell, Sovereign Grace, and Keith and Kristyn Getty. He’s also a big fan of Mo Pitney, who has had success in both country and inspirational country.

Justin brought the house down with a rocking cover of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In the Sky,” which had also been a big hit for the Kentucky Headhunters and Justin’s friend, guitarist Greg Martin. 

Other songs in Justin’s set at the Ark Encounter included “Fully God, Fully Man,” “Citizen of Heaven,” “Build My Life,” “Black Leather Bind,” and “I Wonder.”

He also played the Ark at the Faith Country & Bluegrass Festival in June. 

That Justin Cole was able to bring a 30-minute set in what is billed as the world’s largest Christian music festival is a story in itself as he admittedly has little radio airplay and relies on streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and Pandora. He also has a YouTube channel.

“I am extremely humbled that I get to do something like this,” he said. “I never dreamed I would be able to come to the Ark and do something like this. I pinch myself every day. I give the Lord the glory.”

Justin said that when he and his wife started dating a couple years ago, she had some connections and through her, he was asked to fill an open spot singing at Noah’s Village, an outdoor venue at the Ark Encounter. The promoters liked what they heard and invited Justin back to the main stage the last two years.

He’s also been invited to sing at the Restoring the Foundations Concert Series at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., next month.

It’s quite a gig for someone who believes his best path to serving the Lord is away from pursuing a career as a traveling artist playing both the country and gospel circuits.

Justin says the battle in his mind was intense, but earlier this summer, he announced on Facebook that he was canceling all of his country music dates and focusing solely on Christian music and his work as a pastor.

“When I was trying to do both country and gospel, I was like, ‘I could be doing more (for the Lord),'” he explained. “I feel like this isn’t the case for everybody because there are folks who are very successful in doing both. But for me personally, I felt I wasn’t able to give my all, 100 percent to the Lord. It was like 50 percent to country music and 50 percent over here and trying to straddle that fence.

“It kind of took a toll on me mentally. I feel like now I can focus 110 percent on serving the Lord.”

But what about those country music fans who might never walk through the doors of a church but could have a seed planted by one of Justin’s songs. He concedes it was a concern in the ongoing battle over the direction of his music.

“In the places where I was playing, those were people that needed to hear the gospel, and obviously, those places presented some opportunities,” Justin said. “But for me personally, you know, I played in bars some and the thing I struggled with the most as a student pastor, I might be playing this pub or this bar and how do you promote, ‘Hey students, come on out.'” I struggled with that a lot.

“There are a lot of artists who are successful in doing that but I try to be very specific in the songs I write. I try to encourage people in their faith.”

And Justin Cole is content in that. After studying at South Central Community and Technical College in Bowling Green, he went on to earn a degree in worship and pastoral studies at Boyce College in Louisville. 

His music seeks to combine the traditional country sound with the needs of a contemporary society. “One of my favorite things to do is take old hymns and arrange them in different styles. We do that a lot at church,” Justin said. “I have been experimenting lately. How can I mix that classic country sound with biblical worship lyrics? I am trying to hone in on that craft.

“I feel like where I am right now in the Lord, He is leading more into a full-time pastoral ministry in the church, but I still aim to do what I can do on the side, like here at the Ark and the event coming up in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of the Bible.”

Justin is happy serving at Immanuel Baptist. His main focus is on the ministry there, but he is available for homecomings, revivals and other events he can work in while serving in Glasgow. He also plans to occasionally work venues like the Ark Encounter and Museum of the Bible.

“My church has been extremely supportive,” he said. “They have had my back all the way.”

Even if they know Justin Cole by another name.

The young artist laughs about the irony. “My name is Justin Meredith. My middle name is Cole,” he grinned. “When I decided to pursue the country stuff, I thought Meredith is hard to spell because people spell it a couple of different ways. So I thought, ‘What about Justin Cole? That looks good on a t-shirt!

“Justin Cole Meredith is my full name, but Justin Cole is easier to remember. It’s kind of a nickname and it just stuck.”

And it looks like Justin Cole is sticking with his niche in Christian music.