Tell Us Your Story: Jim Coates

Tell Us Your Story: Jim Coates

October 19, 2020 | Jake Each


Transcript

Jake

Hey Veritas we're here with Jim Coates, you may recognize him on stage playing pretty much any instrument that we need each week. Jim and I have known each other for a while we've been in connection group at different times, and this is just a chance for you to get to know different people in our church. So Jim tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jim

All right. Been here a Veritas since we moved in this building so we were trying to figure that out. It was twenty six sixteen I believe. We'd actually come a few times before when it was over at the hotel and I have known Jake and Marcy, mainly Marcy, through music for a number of years. Father of five. I have two kids that go to that one school out in Ames which my wife Ashley and I don't claim because we both went to the one down at Iowa City. But yeah two college age kids two high school aged kids and a junior high aged kid who are also involved in stuff here at the church.

Jake

Yeah. What do you do for a living? What's your job?

Jim

I am a manager for the systems engineering group over at Collins Aerospace — design radios for the military.

Jake

So you've been a part of this church for a while, you lead on Sundays you play a lot of instruments, you've have quite a musical background, you lead people in connection group. Just been a faithful leader in our church — it's been a blessing. How did you become a Christian? Like when did that happen for you?

Jim

So kind of an interesting story. I grew up in a I'll say a faith based house, but I won't say a Christian house. Grew up in a denomination that has a big church up the street here. I have an uncle who is a pastor, cousins who are pastors, but really hadn't made my relationship with God something that was a priority until about my sophomore year in high school I think was the year. I was struggling with some identity as far as what made me a person, what made me important, where I should put my value, was struggling with some depression during that time and actually went to a concert of a Christian artists here in town over at Paramount.

Jake

Who was the artist?

Jim

Degarmo and key. So nobody's probably heard of them but they're near and dear to my heart, and I went simply to hold hands with my girlfriend at the time — who became my wife…

Jake

Pastor's daughter.

Jim

Pastor's daughter. So that was my whole motivation behind that. And through the sharing that Dana Key did, he was the guitarist and singer for that group, I really started to see where my work came from and what having a real relationship with God would mean. And so I put my my trust in Christ's death and resurrection that night. I will say though that it was probably a number of years later before I really understood what that meant to me in my life and probably in my early 20s when Ashley and I really started looking at how we should live because of that and what that meant for how we carry out our day to day activities.

Jake

So what has being a Christian — What difference has Christ made in your life?

Jim 

Well it gives me a different standard to hold myself to. Obviously if you look outside the world there's a lot of opinions and a lot of standards that people claim are important. Being a follower of Christ gives us a true identity and a true purpose gives me something that's beyond myself. So it's not my own abilities that I look for it's not my own ambitions or my own achievements but really it's it's furthering God's work in our community God's work in our world not because he can't do it without us but because he offers us the opportunity to be a part of what he is doing which was a really cool thing. So it kind of changes from an inward focus to an outward focus and it's through that that I know how to deal with my wife and my kids my employees and bandmates and fellow believers here in the church that really focuses that worldview.

Jake

Yeah that's awesome. As much as an amazing musician Jim is that you see him playing a variety of instruments on stage and we're so thankful to benefit from your gifts and leading from worship. But Jim is even more just a Godly man and a great leader that's been a blessing to Veritas and so many people so we're thankful for you hopefully you guys get to know Jim a little bit more you'll recognize him on stage and feel free to say hi as we try to make a big church feel a bit smaller and more relational. So Jim thanks for all that you do.

Jim

Thank you.

Jake 

See ya guys.

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Jake Each

Lead Pastor