S10:E24 | Jim Cato

Cedarville Stories

A Man With a Purpose

After leading students at Cedarville University to worship the Lord for 40+ years, Jim Cato has retired. Celebrate his story on this episode of the Cedarville Stories Podcast.

Jim Cato quickly learned as a young man that his skills were better used off the field than playing football. So he tried Bible college, which didn’t work out either, and he eventually dropped out.

But after getting married, he and his new wife learned about this small school called Cedarville College in Ohio. They packed up their belongings and moved to Ohio, before even applying or knowing where they were going to live.

Jim went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in music, still without any clue of what he wanted to do with his life — or how he would use a degree in music. But the Lord began opening doors, including the opportunity to lead a music team on a missions trip to Australia.

Shortly after, a position became available in Cedarville’s Christian Ministries department. The position was focused on training music teams to travel and minister overseas. Even with Jim’s limited experience, he got the job — and he’s never left!

Jim has faithfully served with Christian Ministries for over 40 years, including taking various trips with Global Outreach, including one providing hurricane relief after Hurricane Harvey.

And, instead of solely ministering to the residents in Houston who were affected by the hurricane, in the end, Jim was the one who needed care.

After a few days of working in homes with Cedarville students, Jim began to experience headaches. But these were not his typical headaches, as the pain increased each day.

Eventually, the pain led Jim to wake up his roommate in the middle of the night and ask to be taken to an emergency room. And the trip to the hospital proved challenging, as neither the driver nor Jim knew Houston well enough to navigate the trip.

After being rushed to the hospital, and doctors performing a battery of tests, Jim learned that he had a brain tumor that needed to be removed immediately.

As Jim outlines, not only did he find a hospital to care for him, he went to the hospital best known in Houston for brain surgeries. Only God could direct Jim’s path this perfectly.

After several days in the hospital, Jim returned to Ohio, and the Lord used that time to strengthen his faith and reinforce his purpose — to worship God and teach others to worship Him.

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