Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Bissell.
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in church and around music, so both were always part of my world. I wrote my first song at 13 on a whim. I don’t even remember what prompted it, but I remember being hooked on the process. Trying to say exactly what I meant while landing the right rhyme felt like solving a puzzle I couldn’t put down.
I kept writing through high school with a couple bands, but songwriting never really felt easy to me. It actually felt like work. I wanted the songs to be great, and I could tell they weren’t. They felt amateur, and I think that made me question whether I was actually good at it. Over time, that turned into a pattern of starting songs and not finishing them. Choruses without verses, ideas without follow through. And if I’m honest, I didn’t have the discipline to stay with it and get better. Eventually, I just assumed songwriting wasn’t something I was meant to pursue seriously.
Around that same time, I stepped into a full time role as a music director at a church in Georgetown when I was 20, and that became the lane I gave myself to. Over the next ten years, I grew a lot. I learned how to lead teams, plan services, care for people well, and carry responsibility. It was a really meaningful season, and it shaped me in ways I am still grateful for.
But even in the middle of that, the desire to write never really went away. It wasn’t loud, but it was constant.
I remember having a conversation with my pastor during that season where he told me he felt like God was calling me to pursue songwriting. And honestly, I didn’t receive it that way at first. I walked away thinking he was really telling me I wasn’t a great leader, that maybe I needed to pursue something else.
But over time, that conversation stayed with me. And as I kept writing, and people around me started responding to the songs, I began to realize he had seen something I couldn’t see yet. He wasn’t calling me out, he was calling something up in me.
It wasn’t a sudden moment. It was gradual. But eventually, I got to a point where I couldn’t keep pushing it off. I made the decision to take songwriting seriously. To stop dabbling in it and actually give myself to it. And that shift changed everything. What I had written off for years started to feel like a real direction for my life.
For a couple years, I held both things in tension, my role at the church and growing as a songwriter, with a lot of support from the people around me. And then in January 2024, my wife and I made what felt like a pretty wild decision at the time. I stepped away from my job to pursue music full time as an independent artist.
We didn’t have everything figured out. We still don’t. But we had a clear sense that it was time to take that step.
Since then, I’ve been writing and releasing my own music, collaborating with some incredible people, and continuing to lead worship both locally and on the road. It still feels like I’m walking it out in real time, but at the core, I just want to write songs that feel honest, that meet people where they are, and help them recognize God in the middle of it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s been so much good that’s come out of my story, but it hasn’t always been an easy road. One of the biggest struggles has been my own desire for safety, just wanting to know that my family is taken care of.
So stepping away from a steady, full time job while being married with kids was honestly one of the most uncomfortable and uncertain decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve always been someone who thinks ahead, tries to make the smart decision, and leans toward what feels predictable. Letting go of that has not been easy.
I’ve also had to walk through a lot of uncertainty and delayed clarity about what I’m actually building. Not because I don’t know what it is, but because the path itself isn’t always clear. It takes a lot of turns, and most of the time you don’t see very far ahead.
A lot of that has exposed things in me too. Wanting to be right. Wanting to do things the “right way.” Not wanting to fail or look dumb. That’s been something I’ve had to face head on.
And then on the practical side, the path itself just requires a lot. A lot of discipline, a lot of patience, and a lot of quiet, unseen work. Just showing up day after day and doing whatever the moment requires, writing, recording, promoting, building, even when it feels slow or unclear. And in today’s world of music promotion, social media, and virality, there’s a constant temptation to chase influence instead of authenticity. That’s been a tension I’ve had to actively fight against.
But I’m learning that my uncertainty creates space for trust in the One who called me to this in the first place. I have everything I need because He’s got me. And as I’ve kept moving forward, even when I can’t see very far ahead, things have started to come into focus. Not all at once, but enough to keep going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Right now, I spend most of my time writing and releasing music as an independent artist, while also leading worship in my local church and in different environments on the road. A lot of what I do lives at the intersection of songwriting and ministry, but I don’t really separate those things. For me, the songs and the moments around them are meant to do something, not just be listened to.
When I’m writing or leading, what matters most to me is honesty. I’m not trying to create hype or force a moment. I want people to actually understand what they’re singing, to connect with it, and to engage in a way that’s real for them. A lot of my songs come out of the tension of real life, things like waiting, uncertainty, and learning to trust God when things aren’t clear.
I think what people tend to resonate with is that it feels grounded. I’ve had friends tell me the songs don’t just sit with them, they move them. They cause them to dig deeper, to make changes, to actually pursue God in a more intentional way. Others have walked through really difficult seasons, and it hasn’t just been the music, but the way I’ve tried to show up for them, praying with them, sending voice memos, being present in it with them, that’s stuck.
Even in ministry settings, I’ve had leaders tell me there’s something different about the environment we create. Not just on stage, but off it too. That means a lot to me, because I don’t want what I do to feel like a performance. I want it to feel like people are being led well and cared for.
What I’m most proud of isn’t a specific song or moment. It’s that people are actually being impacted in real ways. That the music is part of their story. That it’s helping them process, grow, and stay connected to God in whatever they’re walking through.
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what sets me apart, but I do know I’m not trying to chase what’s working or what gets attention. I’m trying to stay honest, stay consistent, and create from a real place. And I think people can feel the difference when something is real versus when it’s trying to be.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is that people would know they are loved and understood by God. That they weren’t created by accident, but on purpose, and that He’s actually aware of what they’re walking through.
I’ve seen how much pain and brokenness people carry, both in my own life and in the lives of people around me. And I don’t have every answer. There’s a lot I still don’t understand. But I do know that God cares. I’ve experienced that in my own life.
And over time, I’ve come to believe that Jesus really is the only place where true and lasting healing is found. Not in a surface level way, but in a way that actually meets people in the middle of what they’re going through and begins to restore them from the inside out.
That’s why it matters to me. Because I know what it’s like to need that kind of hope, and I see how much people are still searching for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joshbissell.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshbissell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshbissellmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshbissellmusic
