Global pop star Shawn Mendes has shared a deeply personal moment that marked a turning point in his spiritual journey, revealing that a worship video from Maverick City Music moved him to tears and reshaped how he understands faith, music, and meaning.
Speaking candidly, Mendes explained that while he once identified as a skeptical atheist, the experience of watching a Maverick City Music worship video on YouTube triggered what he now describes as a spiritual awakening. The raw, communal expression of worship and the way the music centered on God and Jesus confronted his long-held assumptions about faith.
"I'm now becoming much more spiritual and really being sure there's a God, or sure there's a higher thing, or the universe or whatever you'd like to call it," Mendes said. "Music was the thing that did that for me."
He recalled sitting alone, watching the video, when the emotional impact caught him off guard.
"I'm sitting there watching this YouTube video and they're singing about Jesus and I just start crying," he shared. "I'm like, how is something that my whole life I've grown up to believe is fanatic, and not science, and not the truth, feel like home because of this song?"
For Mendes, the moment was not about theological argument or intellectual persuasion, but about encounter. The music bypassed skepticism and spoke directly to something deeper, revealing, in his words, "a powerful force pointing to something greater than myself."
Maverick City Music, known for its spontaneous worship style and emphasis on authenticity, diversity, and lived faith, has become a defining voice in contemporary worship globally. Their songs frequently blur the line between performance and prayer, inviting listeners into a shared experience rather than a polished spectacle. For Mendes, that authenticity appears to have been key.
The singer's reflections add to a growing number of testimonies from artists who describe music not merely as self-expression, but as a conduit for transcendence. In Mendes' case, what began as a casual viewing became a moment of profound inner disruption, reframing both his understanding of faith and his own vocation as a musician.
While Mendes has not aligned himself with a specific religious tradition, his comments suggest an ongoing journey, one shaped not by doctrine first, but by sound, emotion, and a sense of "home" he did not expect to find.
