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Page 10 His Grace Magazine! September 2022

Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain, Journey's songwriter said Jesus saved him from near death twice

Jonathan Cain, who is Journey's songwriter ... the guy behind all their hit songs including: "Don't Stop Believin," said that he had two near death experiences that affected his Christian faith.

Jonathan, the now 72 year old artist, was in a video that was seen on YouTube by the Christian nonprofit I Am Second. He talked about his story, which included his father who was a God fearing Christian. Jonathan said, "I would go to church with him and watch him pray. And he would pray so fervently, and the tears would come down his cheeks. And I wanted that so badly, and I said, 'Can I go with you to Jesus?' And he said, 'You have to get your own walk with Jesus. Get your own relationship."

When he started to walk with Jesus, Jonathan talked about two of his near death experiences that he had when he was a child.

The first time Jonathan almost died was when he almost drowned on a

family trip to Arkansas. When he was in the water walking, he fell into a large hole on the bottom of the lake.

While Jonathan was fighting for his life, he remembered a hand that pulled him out of the water, and he was then given mouth to mouth resuscitation to be brought back to life. Jonathan said, "I said to my parents, ' I nearly died and it was only because of God I'm here.' It was also a wake up call that God was

preparing me to face life. You know, like this is not going to be easy." The second time Jonathan almost died was in 1958 when the Catholic school that he went to burned to the ground, the fire killed over 90 children and three nuns. Jonathan said, "There was a terrible fire that broke out, I was in third grade. And I watched 92 children die right next to the house of God and three nuns. And I felt just lost."

Even though he was grateful for surviving the tragedy, for the first time after the fire, he felt a peek of doubt. Jonathan said, "I wondered what happened that day, there was a big question in my mind, 'Did Jesus abandon us that day? What happened?'"

Watching his own son struggle with his faith brought about

Jonathan's father to take measures to help his son get back his faith. Jonathan talked about how his father began to encourage him to pursue a music career. This is the open door that would bring him back to Jesus. He said, "My father led me straight to music. He said, 'Son, you were saved for something greater and that must be music.' He got me straight to music school."

September 2022 His Grace Magazine! Page 11

Jonathan Cain

"And music seemed to be a redemption for me. I was able to set myself free."

Jonathan, who is married to televangelist Paula White-Cain, said that his musical gifts gave him a place in the band The Babies, which gave him an opportunity to cowrite many songs for the 1980s Union Jacks record label. Jonathan said, "My father, he always said, every time I had something great happen, "This is just a stepping stone to something greater, child.' And I would ask, 'What do you mean Dad, by just a stepping stone?' My dad wasn't impressed. He goes, 'This isn't' it. There's something else coming.'"

Jonathan never forgot what his father had said to him, from there he joined the famous rock group Journey in 1973. He would serve in many roles with the group, this included writer, keyboardist and vocalist.

Just before Jonathan joined Journey, he went through a very difficult time where he thought about giving up music. He said how he struggled to pay all his bills when he was chasing his dream. Jonathan said, "I had to call my father and I hated asking him for money. But, I said, 'Dad, I just wonder, should I give up on this

music dream and come home to Chicago and forget about it?' And there was silence for a minute. And then my father said: 'John, this is your vision. No. You're not coming home. Stay the course. Don't stop believing.'"

After talking with his father, Jonathan said right away he started writing what his father had said to him in a small lyric book. The words would become the foundation to the 1981 hit song, "Don't Stop Believin." He said, "It wasn't until five years later, Journey lead singer Steve Perry looked at me and said, 'You got another song?' And I said, 'Well let me look in my book.' And sure enough, there's what Dad had said." Jonathan also said, "I

wrote a melody to have 'a city boy and a small town girl on a midnight train going anywhere.' I came in the next day, and it was history. I believe that is what got us into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Thank you, Dad."

When Jonathan's father passed away years later, he remembered hearing the voice of God as he was crying at the piano and he realized at that point that he should have been thanking God for all his music. Jonathan said, "I didn't think I would be able to carry on. I always wrote for him. I said, 'Everything I did, every note I played, I can trace back to my father.' And then, God, His voice came to me, 'No, John, it has been Me. It's Me, John. It's always been Me through him. But, I am the source. I am where it comes from." He also said, "And I went, 'Oh man. How did I miss that? So

You were the Guy in the room when I wrote 'Faithfully.' 'I'm forever yours,

Lord, faithfully."

Those were the lyrics for another big hit that Journey had.

While mostly known for his secular music, in 2016, Jonathan had a Christian album called, "What God Wants to Hear," with all the songs that focused on Jonathan's faith journey.

As Journey continues to tour, Jonathan hopes the Lord will inspire me to continue to make new music once again with this Hall of Fame group of rock and roll. But for now, I will remain His humble servant and continue to serve Him with my new ministry.