As you might have read in another posts, I’m a Zach Williams fanboy!

Not to a weird or stalking level.  I simply enjoy his music, his ministry and the overall sound of his band; lead voice, piano, drums, bass, guitar and backing vocals.

It is a complete package of sound, messages and ministry.  If you have not experienced or listened to Zach Williams yet, then look at some of the videos I’ve posted or seek him out on YouTube or his web site.  Well worth it, and you will not be disappointed.

I first came across him when I was at my lowest during my heart failure adventure.  His music and ministry has stayed with me since.

I was not sure where my life was going.  Health was failing.  My mind was going into dark places.  I was filled with fear and burdens, unsure how to move on.

The first song I heard on the radio (Sound of Life) was ‘Survivor‘.  As I started to listen to the lyrics, I could relate to the message and bought his ‘Chain Breaker’ album.  Ever since then, I’m listening to his songs daily.

My Zach Williams collection has grown and I thoroughly enjoy listening to his albums and ministry when commuting to work.  It gives me a sense of calm and acceptance, and I get mentally stronger.  Some of the tracks will calm me down during stressful times and if I feel an onset of anxiety.

When I suddenly had the opportunity to go see him in concert, it was a no-brainer, and I bought two tickets; wife and husband date night.  It was the best money spend in a long time.  I even splashed out and bought the Meet n Greet tickets.  Spur of the moment thing!

It was the first time in my life I actually bought Meet ‘n Greet tickets, and I felt perhaps a little out of place that I would meet and briefly chat with Mr. Williams.  Surreal, but cool.

My wife and I are in our mid 40s and for both of us, these meet ‘n greet tickets was something that we had smirked about in the past when we heard of people buying these tickets.

Meeting a person you admire and whos music (and ministry) has helped you recover is very special.

Thankfully we did not have to worry about babysitters.  Our oldest daughter is very mature and responsible, and happily volunteered to babysit her siblings.  It was an opportunity for the kids to watch movies, eat pizza and have fun.  I used to love those moments as a kid too, where we could just do what we wanted.

My beautiful wife an I left mid afternoon.  It is about an hour drive to Stamford, CT, and the meet ‘n greet started around 5pm.  We listened to the albums in the car, preparing ourselves for a very new and great experience.  It’s funny, we were both excited about this, and yet apprehensive about meeting Mr. Williams.

We parked nearby and quickly walked to the venue, a beautiful old theater, with seating for no more than 1000-1200 people.  It was going to be a small and personal concert.

We checked in at the meet ‘n greet desk and got our special badges, and looked at some of the merchandise he had brought along.

Suddenly a voice rang out, calling all people to the lift to go to the meet ‘n greet area.

There was no showing and pushing.  People were all genuinely excited to meet Zach Williams, and we ha some small talk with various families.

Cheers and clapping erupted, and there he was.  Towering at 6′ 7″, with his iconic beard and smile, walking towards the greeting area.

I had no idea how and what I would say to him, and how these meet ‘n greet work, but anxieties and nerves had left at the entrance.  Nothing to be worried about!

It was our turn to meet Mr. Williams.  Now what?

My wife shook his hand and giggled as a teenager.  She’s 5′ 3″ and and standing next to him made her look even shorter.

I stepped forward, grabbed his hand and spontaneously gave him a quick man hug.  You know, shoulder to shoulder hug, and gently padded his shoulder.  Not sure if that was permitted, but it just happened.

We had a brief conversation and I explained how his music had helped me heal and recover from my heart failure.  I think he was genuinely pleased with my comments, and I could tell he paid attention to my comments and placed a hand on my shoulder with a smile and thanked us.

That was it.  Meeting over.  We walked away from the area, smiling, and had a great dinner afterwards, before the concernt, where we just shared our experiences.

Then we returned to the merchandise booth, where we bought perhaps a little too much, but it as a special evening and experience.

An hour and a half later, we sat down in third row, in the middle of the stage, and got blown away by a 2 hour plus concert.

Josh Baldwin kicked it off with a great performance; gracing the audience with tracks like ‘Raise a hallelujah‘, ‘King of my heart‘, ‘Our Father‘, and ‘Living hope‘.

There were tears of joy rolling down my wife’s face, as she heard these amazing songs, and I could tell that this was a special evening.

Then Zach Williams stepped on stage, and blasted us away with his ministry and powerful songs.  Each being performed with a short praise and story, and then delivered with emotions and power.

WOW – I was beyond words and simply swept away by this concert.  Trying to describe it is impossible.  He delivered most songs from all his albums, and had some amazing duet with Josh Baldwin, when he sang an all time favored ‘No Longer Slaves‘.

I was almost in tears too as he played some of my all time favorite tracks; ‘Survivor‘, ‘Walk with you’, ‘To the table’, ‘Old church choir’, ‘Fear is a liar‘, ‘So good to me’, and of course, ‘There was Jesus‘.

He wrapped up the evening with an excellent acoustic version of ‘Face to face’, supported by hos band and wonderful backing singer, as well as Josh Baldwin.

To say this was an amazing evening and experience does not do it justice.  It is impossible to describe in words how this affected us, and how we were inspired by his music and the ministry.

I never thought that I one day would be enjoying ministry and the teachings of God, but Zach Williams has certainly made a massive impact in my life.

I hope to one day to be able to sit down with him, talking about our stories and learn from each other.  Perhaps it will happen, perhaps not.  Either way, I’m feeling blessed that I had the opportunity, even if it was just 2-3 minutes, to share my gratitude to him and thank him for his music.

To you, the reader, please seek out his music and share your thoughts.