♪ But couldn't shake my faith ♪

- [Narrator] He has shared the stage

with the likes of KennyChesney and Leanne Rimes.

He also made the quarterfinals in season one

of NBC's talent show, "The Voice."

He's award-winning Christiancountry music artist

Curtis Grimes.

♪ To bring me back toJesus and amazing grace ♪

- [Narrator] From thetime he accepted Christ

at eight years old,

making it big for Godwas Curtis' game plan,

just not as a musical artist.

- Growing up, I remember telling my dad,

"Hey, when I'm big I wannaplay Major League Baseball,

"and I wanna use that platform

"to tell people about Jesus."

- [Narrator] And formuch of his young life

Curtis pursued baseball with a passion.

By his freshman year of high school,

he was starting pitcheron the varsity team.

That's also when he starteddrifting from his faith.

Now hanging out with his teammates,

Curtis began indulgingin drinking and sex.

- At that point it wasjust to fit in, to be cool,

to hang out with the boys.

I wanted them to feel like

I was as cool as them at the time.

And then fast forwardwhat four or five years

and now I couldn't tell youthe last time I went to church.

- [Narrator] Still, as AllState pitcher his senior year,

Curtis took his high schoolto the state championship

and earned a scholarshipto Centenary College.

His plans for Major LeagueBaseball would soon be derailed.

Curtis fell in love,

or so he thought.

- I got engaged and I quit baseball,

and then we broke up.

When I wanted to go back

and try to do it again I was ineligible,

so here I was left holding the bag.

Just to quit for a girl,

and then to throw it all away,

talk about regret.

- [Narrator] Now partying even more,

it was then music entered his life.

He picked up his roommate's guitar

and discovered a talent for music.

Just like baseball, Curtis went all in,

pouring himself into writing,

performing with this band,

and partying.

- The drinking, partying,playing the guitar,

trying to play and sing andwrite these Texas country songs

was what I replaced everythingin my life that I had known

up until then with.

- [Narrator] Then a year later, in 2008,

Curtis won a radio contestto open for Kenny Chesney.

That momentum lead to an opportunity

with "The Voice" in 2011,

making it to the quarterfinals.

- I got a national bookingagent and management,

and started pushing radiosingles with the promoter.

The natural thing to do

was to chase this as long as it lasted.

- [Narrator] Curtisspent the next few years

writing, touring and living a life,

all the while professingto be a Christian.

- Drinking and partying,

hanging out and hookingup with girls on the road.

I knew how I was living was wrong,

so I had that internalbattle going on as well.

I think I was just soashamed of what I had done

that I didn't wanna face reality.

I didn't wanna fess up.

Instead of facing it, I just ran from it.

- [Narrator] Eventually Curtis realized

he wasn't only hurting himself,

he had strayed far fromhis childhood plans

to use this stage to serve God.

- I was really a horrible representation

of a Christian in prettymuch every aspect,

my lifestyle, the songs I was putting out,

the lyrical content.

And I had changed somuch from where I was.

Here I was with the platform,

with the opportunity toinfluence and reach people,

and up until this point Ihadn't done that at all.

I had actually done the complete opposite.

- [Narrator] In the fall of 2015,

he heard Andrae Crouch'ssong "Through it All."

- That's what spurred the thought of

through of all of this,

through all of how I was living,

God never gave up on me.

He still loves me.

And he just wants me to make things right.

And live my life walking with Jesus.

It was the breaking point.

That was the moment where I said

"You know what?

"I messed up and I'mgenuinely sorry about it.

"And I don't wanna keep doing that."

And I remember lying on the floor

and just praying,

and just asking God just to forgive me

of how I've been livingthe last several years.

Just getting it all out there was,

that was a huge weightlifted off my shoulder,

and a huge burden removed.

- [Narrator] Afterwards,Curtis wrestled with

whether to leave the music scene.

- And then God put on my heart no,

I put you in this enviornment

and in this place for a reason.

I've given you an opportunity

to go in here and witness to people

who have seen you overthe last five years,

and will see this change in you.

- [Narrator] So Curtisdecided to tell his managers

and record label there was a new plan.

- I said "Hey guys, I've made a lot of

"changes in my life lately,

"stopped drinking,sobered up, put God first,

"and I want my music to reflect that."

I didn't wanna continue doingdrinking, partying music,

I wanted to do positive, faith based,

more traditional sounding country music.

- [Narrator] Within threemonths they all dropped him.

- On the surface it lookedlike I had lost everything,

but in reality the orad had been cleared

for me to really go in

and do it exactly how I wanted to,

with the songs I wanted to do it.

And there wasn't anything in my way.

- [Narrator] Curtis wenton to record over a dozen

number one hit singles,

and was voted Top Country Christian Artist

at the Texas Country Music Awards.

He also married andbegan raising a family.

Curtis founded 10 Finger Ministry

in his grandfather's honor,

where he uses proceedsfrom his faith-based album

to buy Bibles and distributethem free of charge.

He's committed to using the gifts

and the stage God gave him

to point people to Jesus Christ.

- The message that I wanteveryone to take home every night

is no matter where you are

or what you've beenthrough Jesus loves you.

I'm going hey, I get it, I was there.

I know what it's like and Iknow what Jesus did for me,

and I know what Jesus is doing through me.

And that's the good news I have for you.