Grinding Gears: How Going 'The Extra Mile' Changed Everything for Worship Artist Evan Craft

Photo image courtesy Evan Craft Music
For anyone who has placed their foot on a bicycle pedal and set out on a journey of any distance, you know the impact it can have on you.

Beyond the grueling repetition of pedaling mile after mile after mile, sometimes in less than perfect weather conditions, one spends a lot of time processing the simplest intricacies of life. Questions of faith, family, and our personal foundation of moral clarity beg to be answered. Sometimes the answers flow freely, in other moments our ponderings drift away into the simmering heat of the roadway set before us.

Christian contemporary worship artist Evan Craft knows these feelings all too well. Best known for Latin hits “Tu Senor” and “Desesperado”, the Dove Award-winning Craft embarked on a coast to coast cycling trip across South America several years ago. What began as a search to rediscover the heart of his music ministry turned into a physically grueling and spiritually challenging adventure that changed his life.

So inspired by his journey, Craft wrote a book about it.

In The Extra Mile: An Extraordinary Cycling Journey to Find Faith and Purpose, Craft dispenses a wealth of valuable insight on how to break our routines and rediscover our purpose and why playing it safe might be the most dangerous thing for your soul.

I recently sat down with Craft to discuss the finer points of bicycle riding, practical wisdom for where God is calling you, and how to embrace discomfort as a spiritual discipline.

For every author, there always seems to be a moment where you say to yourself, “I have to write this book. It is negotiable!” For The Extra Mile what was that moment for you?

It's kind of an interesting thing. As a singer/songwriter, it's such a different way to convey a message. And I think what really made me want to do it (write the book) was I had done the bike ride. I had written songs about it. I had filmed everything, but I still felt like there was something deeper that needed to be communicated. And there's a very big difference between when you learn something in a film or you learn something in a song, as compared to when you read it, and when you tangibly have it in your hands. This was such a life altering experience for me. I don't want to give away the end of it, but I was able to see and help people who could not walk on their own.

I was able to see people who had no hope, then regain hope in Jesus. I was able to see lives restored. I wanted this experience to be timeless. Something that someone could maybe pick up in 10 or 20 years and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this crazy kid, this 27-year-old with a bunch of friends took a big leap of faith and look how God provided.’ And so, it's something that’s in your hands. It's a love letter that I have for other people that want to pursue Jesus. It's just a different way to communicate. I'm very grateful that I can actually leave it for people. It's a gift.

You were topping the charts and playing to packed venues. What inspired you to step away from your career to bike across a continent?

I didn't really have to step away from my career. I am from Southern California. I did not grow up in a Spanish speaking household, but through an incredible process, God called me to Latin America. I was able to experience some amazing things in my life, singing at some of the biggest, wildest events in churches across Latin America, learning the language, learning the culture, and making friends all over. And then, feeling like I kind of topped out at 25, when I had played for 80,000 people in Bogota, Columbia. What do you do after that? I decided to go on a bike ride. And it's not about the bike ride. It's not about pedaling. There's a lot of things I learned through that process. But what was this crazy thing to try to get attention from young adults and teenagers to be like, ‘Hey, why is this guy doing this?’

It wasn’t just to raise money for something. We can make our big plans and God knows what is going to happen. And so He orchestrated our steps to be able to come in contact with some amazing people. Our team was able to come around them and show them the love of Jesus.

And that is what changed their life, not my bike riding. It was the love of Jesus that was able to change their lives. And so, that is what the story is. I didn't have to do that. I could have just continued on. But that is what the point of the title is, The Extra Mile. It's that when someone asks you to go one mile, you go two. You don't stay with the status quo. If you want to live in excitement and faith, it requires you to get outside of your comfort zone and to say yes to Jesus.

How did a physically grueling cycling journey become a spiritual awakening for you, and what surprised you most along the way?

It was definitely difficult. My band quit while I was training. I was so tired at the end of training every day for four to six hours, burning through two to 3,000 thousand calories to be angry at them. But I felt betrayed. I was like, we're best friends. We're supposed to do this forever. And that was one benefit of just cycling. I think a lot of people today have a lot of anxiety, and a lot of depression. I'm in a small group at my church, and the leader was saying that someone in the group was struggling with depression. He says, ‘We're having some good weather. Go outside.’ He’s right. The physical exercise actually had a really great effect on my mental health. It had a really great effect on my self worth and my outlook on life. And so, it was my confidence. That was really amazing, just the actual bike riding. But above everything, it was seeing Jesus work. I thought I had this master plan, and it all fell apart very quickly. And so, to see God work in and around that was amazing.

How did this experience shift the way you view ministry, fame and your calling as an artist?

I just have to be faithful to what God has called me to do. My dad is in town right now meeting my two-week-old daughter. And we talk about learning to be content with what God has for us. I'm a very ambitious person. I want to go do five more of these bike rides. I've been planning them in my head for years but also realizing at this point that my biggest ministry today is my family. And so that's been a big shift for me seeing. It doesn't all have to be international big things, but learning to love and invest in the people around me a lot more. It's super easy to go be celebrated and come back. But to earn my wife's respect over someone at a concert is way more valuable and more difficult because she sees me in the good and the bad moments. That's where I think my ministry has changed a lot, where it's had to slow down, but it's also had to really value those deep relationships.

In your book you write about obedience over clarity. Why is this such a critical shift for people wanting to live with purpose?

It would be great if everybody had clarity all the time. And that would definitely take away a big element of faith. What I personally appreciate is that sometimes it's a leap of faith to choose the college you're going to. It's a leap of faith to say yes on an altar. It's a very big leap of faith to have kids. And I will tell you, there is very little clarity in what is going to happen in the future of your life. But being obedient is not dependent, it's not circumstantial. It's not situational. You can follow Jesus and be obedient to who God has made you to be and to His Word, whether or not you get into this college, whether or not you know where you're going. And so if there is a plumb line to success and growth, it is not clarity. It is obedience.

And that's a really hard thing for a lot of young people. I remember being 18 or 20 years old and having no idea what I was doing with my life, but I loved ministry. And I said, you know what? Until God calls me to something else, I'm sticking with what I'm doing right now. And I want to put my ear to His Word, but I need to continually be obedient to what He has called me to be, whether or not I have clarity. I'm going through a moment right now of not having clarity. I'm now a 34-year-old with two kids. I have a wife. And traveling like I used to travel is not possible. And so, I don't know what the next step is, but I have to continuously be obedient and seek the Lord to see where He's leading me in the future. Hopefully everybody buys this book and then we'll figure it out.

What’s the most important thing that God taught you on this journey that you took?

When Jesus talks about the parable of the water and the sowing, we give, we plant the seed, we put water on, and we hope it grows. But God gives the growth. And so, when I have moved in faith and been obedient, and not just in my bike ride, but in my marriage and having kids, I do everything that I can. And I've seen God bless it. I've seen God give the growth. That's one thing I've definitely learned from this. I do not have control. As much as I fight for it, I don't have it. And so I have to have the faith to trust that what I am doing, if I am seeking Jesus will have fruit.

Final question for you. And it's a simple question, but with far reaching implications. What's your greatest hope for the book?

I truly hope that whether it's young adults, teenagers, or people my age or older, that they read this and they feel challenged. I hope they feel challenged to get outside of their comfort zone and outside of their daily routine. I pray that they begin to serve in their community. I pray that they take The Extra Mile to heart. That is saying, I could give $100 dollars now, but I really could do $200. I could go and buy one person a coffee, but I know I could actually afford to give two. I know that God is calling me to actually have a bigger impact in my community. I know that I could serve once a month at the food bank, but why not serve twice a month?

Sometimes we go to church, and we believe that the minimum requirement is just that. I go and I listen, and a lot of the time I don't remember what my pastor says. He says, ‘If you don't take notes, you're going to remember about 2%. And so, how can I be more engaged with life? And I believe that that's going the extra mile. I think that that's going to look a little different in everybody's lives.

TO PURCHASE THE EXTRA MILE: AN EXTRAORDINARY BICYCLING JOURNEY TO FIND FAITH AND PURPOSE: