Victory in Jesus: Jackson Mayeux

Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood

He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood

“Victory in Jesus” is my favorite song and probably will be for the rest of my life. 

For some context, I have been playing piano since the 4th grade and did orchestra throughout all of middle and high school. This gave me experience in mostly classical music, which is very different from hymns like this.

Last summer when I went to visit a new church that my brother had been going to, he volunteered me to play music for them. This was very difficult because I had never played any Christian music, let alone a hymn before, but I practiced every day until the next Sunday and was able to play “Victory in Jesus”. Ever since then, I was hooked. I learned three new hymns and performed for the church every week. They had been previously listening to recordings instead of live music, so they were glad to have someone play music, and I was glad to perform for them. This also gave me a reason to show up for church consistently, which used to be a lot more difficult.

All of the hymns that I play are from my Baptist hymnal, but I am starting to learn some more contemporary songs that my mom likes to listen to. I’ve also done a few piano lessons with my grandpa, who also plays the keyboard for his church.

Overall, this completely changed my outlook on music. I used to listen to and play music for no other reason than to have a hobby to dedicate myself to, but this really opened my eyes. Now I see music as a way to worship the Lord in a way that makes more sense to me than just prayer alone. I also believe that this is what really kick-started the deepening of my relationship with Him. Every morning while I drink my coffee, I play the keyboard I have set up in my room and practice a new hymn or try to make one I’ve played before sound better. This is my way of morning prayer even though it’s different from what is considered normal.

Now that I’m back at Louisiana Tech, I’m unable to play for my church at home, but I’ll still practice so that I can play better for them when I return. 

Last quarter Adam Guillory invited me to a small group Bible study at the Wesley, and it has opened up many new pathways and opportunities. I now regularly attend the Well (The Wesley’s weekly worship service) on Tuesdays, as well as small group meetings on Thursdays. Personally, my favorite part is the music that is played toward the end of every Tuesday service. The worship team is very talented and never fails to bring the church together. Getting to know all of Wesley people has made my school life feel much more satisfying and fulfilling because I’m able to surround myself with godly people. This is in contrast to the majority of my classmates never talking about God or even religion, so I am thankful for that. 

I have also had the chance to read Sacred Reading by Michael Casey with Adam and our pastor Ryan. Sacred Reading is a book about the origins and methods of meditating on biblical texts. We meet once every other week and discuss a new chapter. I’ve found being able to read a book like this and then having a thoughtful discussion has been really important to me. I went from never reading the Bible to looking over potential books for doing lectio. 

In summary, from this past summer to now, I’ve grown a lot as a person and in my relationship with God. I’ve found that my passion for music was my calling from Him. I also discovered that the Christian community at Tech was larger and better than I had previously thought.

Jackson Mayeux is a Sophomore Mechanical Engineering major at Louisiana Tech. Since becoming a member of the Wesley community, his consistent presence and easy going nature have been a source of encouragement to our ministry. We’re so grateful to worship with him and look forward to his continued growth in his faith!