Young girls dream about becoming lawyers, fashion designers, nurses or mothers. Kari Jobe knew at 10 that she would be a worship leader.

Raised in a Christian home with a father who was a traveling minister, Kari began singing in church when she was only 3. She remembers her mother playing worship music in the house while growing up and even recalls the constant tug inside her toward worship. “I remember hearing a worship song that applied perfectly to a family that I knew and I knew then that I wanted to write songs like that for hurting people… songs that someone could speak to the Lord when they can’t find the words.”

Through high school and college, Kari watched God set the path before her as she began leading worship in various places. She spent time studying at Oral Roberts University, Christ For The Nations and Dallas Baptist University, where she finished her psychology and Pastoral Ministries degree. After graduation, she was hired by the Southlake, Texas-based Gateway Church (Dallas), her home church of six years. It was an opportunity that caught her off guard. “I thought, ‘Are you sure? Me be a pastor?’ But once again God was right on. I saw how God networked my life through ORU, Christ For The Nations and Dallas Baptist, giving me the tools to not only be a worship leader but a pastor.”

Whether leading worship at Gateway or in other settings around the country, for Kari, the work of ministry always comes back to people. “I am moved by people’s lives and stories, and I am amazed by who God is and who He says that we are. Music becomes a way to minister to people in times of trouble, to lead them to the feet of Jesus who can bring peace, life, hope and healing.”