Guitar & Obedience: Guitarist Nathan Hoffman Talks about ORU Worship and How It Led Him to ORU
Hometown: Digital Marketing
Granbury, Texas
Your first choice, when it comes to college, might not be the right choice. For ORU’s Nathan Hoffman, his first choice was a choice to follow. With his good friend headed to Nashville for college, Nathan thought he’d follow along and go there too. But when Nathan saw the campus for the first time, something didn’t sit right.
“As soon as I set my eyes on that campus,” Nathan said, “my spirit started shifting. I got sick to my stomach. The campus was beautiful, and I thought I wanted to go there, but the Holy Spirit was telling me no, this isn’t the place.”
Taking a Step of Obedience
When the Holy Spirit tells you, “this isn’t the place,” you start searching. Nathan went to the Internet and began a search for “Christian colleges.” But his search didn’t return information about ORU, the University. Instead, he stumbled upon a video about ORU Worship, the team that leads chapel services and performs live around the world. Nathan—a musician and electric guitarist—had an immediate connection.
“I was looking through ORU Worship videos,” Nathan said, “and whenever I clicked on one, everyone in the audience would be worshiping. I thought, ‘This is college? This is crazy!’ It motivated me to visit campus. During my visit, ORU Worship stepped on to the chapel stage and started playing. It caused me to break down. The Lord spoke to me in that moment, and He said this is where you need to be. He told me to take a step of obedience.”
Taking that step, Nathan enrolled at ORU. During his freshman year, he joined Souls A’ Fire, a student gospel group that’s been part of ORU for over 50 years. He didn’t know what gospel music was, but he decided to give it a try. As a musician, Nathan says Souls helped him grow; but more than that, he says Souls helped him grow as a person.
“I come from a small town in Texas,” Nathan said, “where everyone was pretty much a cowboy. In Souls, I saw diversity I’d never seen before. I learned so much culture, and my best friends were from different countries. Musically, it was hard, but it really pushed me because gospel is different than CCM [Contemporary Christian Music]. It taught me how to follow the band, not play what I want to play, and not play by myself. It taught me to beentwined with the rest of the musicians.”
“Music is so important to worship. It gives us more ways to express our love for God. Worship isn’t just music; it’s also an expression. Through music, I express more of how I feel about the Lord's love. As a team, God’s always in front of ORU Worship; we’re always pursuing our relationships with the Lord.”
Worship: More than Just Music
“Music is so important to worship,” Nathan said. “It gives us more ways to express our love for God. Worship isn’t just music; it’s also an expression. Through music, I express more of how I feel about the Lord's love. As a team, God’s always in front of ORU Worship; we’re always pursuing our relationships with the Lord.”
Nathan, who wants to pursue a music career after graduation, says that without obedience to God, he wouldn’t be in the place he is today. Obedience is important to Nathan; it’s something he talks about when he discusses his life and the decisions he’s made. Without obedience, the choices he talks about wouldn’t be the right choices he’s now living out.
“When the Lord calls,” Nathan said, “it can push you as a Christian. You might ask, ’How do I do this? It looks impossible.’ What you do is take that step of obedience and put your faith in God. You surrender completely, and with that, you have everything. In life, I’ve grown the most when I’ve taken a step of obedience. The Lord shows up every single time.”
UNIVERSITY BRIEF
ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 15 years of consecutive enrollment growth. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, ORU offers over 150 majors, minors, concentrations, and pre-professional programs at the bachelor’s level, ranging from business and engineering to nursing, ministry, and more. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 151 nations in the last four years to be whole leaders for the whole world.
The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #8 university in the nation for student experience and one of America's Best Colleges (2024). This new category rates the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending. This ranking is powered by one of the largest ever independent surveys of verified college students and recent graduates in the United States. Niche recognizes ORU as one of the top 25 most diverse colleges in America, # 1 best Christian college in Oklahoma, and # 1 in Oklahoma for diversity. Princeton Review ranked ORU as the best regional college, and College Raptor ranked ORU as a Hidden Gem in the Southwest.
ORU has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as:
- #1 in Undergraduate Teaching
- #2 in Most International Students
- #3 in Best Value
- #6 in Best College for Veterans
- #7 in Best Regional Colleges in the West
For more information, visit www.oru.edu.