The Iron Lady clutched her throat.

Jonathan Pierce had just finished singing for a seminar where the former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher, was scheduled to speak. Now the woman, who had earned the nickname "Iron Lady" while in office, stood before Jonathan with her hand gripping her neck.

"Young man," she said in a crisp English accent, "how do you sing with such power?"

Truth be told, Lady Thatcher wasn’t the first person to take notice of Jonathan Pierce’s powerful lungs. That honor goes to Jonathan’s mother. When he was a bashful seven-year-old, she gently coaxed him into standing beside the piano to learn a song. Before his eighth birthday, little Jonathan had notched his first performance, singing "Cup of the Cold Water" at his church.

"I don’t remember a lot about my childhood," reflects Jonathan, "but I do remember my mom getting me to sing." Then he grins, "I was very shy then."

To look at him today one would have to wonder what Jonathan Pierce was so shy about. In recent years he’s performed almost nonstop, filling successful stints as a vocalist first for the Imperials, then for the Gaither Vocal Band. In addition, he’s performed regularly as a soloist for the high-profile Peter Lowe Success Seminars and released a critically acclaimed debut album, One Love. That album garnered him nominations for several Dove awards—including Male Vocalist of the Year—and paved the way for his most recent Curb Records release, Mission.

Along the way, he’s made fans of people like Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, George and Barbara Bush, General Colin Powell, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Christopher Reeve and thousands of Christian music listeners who’ve propelled Jonathan’s songs up the inspirational and contemporary hit radio charts. 

Working with Jonathan Pierce on the production side of his career has made Claire Parr, Vice-President of Curb Records, a vocal supporter as well. "What makes me a fan of Jonathan Pierce," she says, "is his incredible vocal ability and the power he presents as one of the finest singers I have ever worked with...

"I've [also] had the opportunity to really get to know Jonathan and his wife, Denise," Parr continues. "They’re an incredible example of a great Christian family. My respect for him personally has even eclipsed my admiration for his talent."

Still, the fan who’s made the biggest difference in Jonathan’s life was a 10-year-old girl named Rebecca.

Jonathan explains, "I did a lot of Gaither [music] videos... And there was this little girl, and she was in Oregon. She picked me out to be her hero. And she would watch the videos with her grandparents and anytime the camera came on me—whether I was singing a solo or not—she would pick me out.

"This little girl happened to be dying of an incurable disease. Before she died, we got a call from one of the nuns at the hospital that was taking care of her, saying that if there was anything that I could send her or if I could send her a tape or a picture or call her, it’d make her day."

So Jonathan made the call, and for her birthday made Rebecca the "First Honorary Member" of the Jonathan Pierce Fan Club. Rebecca was thrilled, but Jonathan was changed.

"That little girl has changed everything for me," he says now. "[She] changed my life, made me see people that write me letters, people that come to concerts, [she] made me look at them as family."

He shakes his head, then continues, "You know I changed the fan club in her honor. When she passed away, I said, ‘You know what? This isn’t a fan club. This is my friends, my family.’ So now it’s called ‘Jonathan Pierce and Friends.’ No more celebrity status. It’s all changed. It’s about people."

That renewed perspective on people shows up in Jonathan’s sophomore album, Mission. In fact, if you ask Jonathan what his own personal mission in life is, he’ll respond without hesitation, "All my mission is to the broken-hearted, to people who have had a rough life."

Over the past three years, Parr has witnessed Jonathan performing this mission. She testifies heartily to this mission’s success, saying, "I've seen [Jonathan] become a stronger and more passionate Christian. I've seen him deal with family trauma and challenges with grace and patience and real maturity. I've seen him reach out to young people more and make himself more available and accountable to others."

Jonathan’s newfound passion is evident as he talks more about the album, Mission. "The ‘mission’ of this album, above all, is to make sure that [people] understand that there is grace and there’s forgiveness and there’s mercy...I want Mission to be something that gives people the time to hurt, to heal from the hurt, and to trust again."

He continues, "I’ve been there. I mean, these songs, this record is me. They’re my questions. They’re my need. They’re my successes and my insecurities."

Parr agrees, saying "Of course, he’s still the awesome vocalist as always, but...so much of the album's material has shown me increased depth and maturity [in Jonathan] as a Christian and as an artist."

One song from the album, "To Be a Christian," was inspired directly from a time of need in Jonathan’s life. A close family member was near death, and so Jonathan, his wife, Denise, and other relatives all gathered at the hospital to grieve, cry, worry, and pray together.

While there, Denise noticed a family sitting across the room. The family was wracked with sorrow and tears. Denise got ready to leave the room but before she could walk out she felt God nudging her toward that family.

"I’m going to see what they need," she thought. "Maybe I can offer a prayer or something." Turns out the family’s mother was having heart failure and wasn’t expected to live.

"They didn’t have any hope," Jonathan relates. "So there for just a brief moment, my wife said, ‘I do believe in prayer and I do believe in Christ.’ And so she began to pray with them. A couple days later, she saw them just beaming and laughing and carrying on in the hallway of the hospital. The whole thing had turned around and the mother was going home in a couple days. She was doing great."

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s family member recovered as well. Although he knows that not every story has this kind of happy ending, it was that experience that inspired Jonathan and Denise to collaborate with Guy Roche to write "To Be a Christian."

"[That song] talks about laying down the struggle and the burden in your own life and carrying someone else’s," says Jonathan. "And then, while you carry their pain, yours is going to heal too."

This idea of those who are weak reaching out to help others who are hurting brings to mind 2 Corinthians 12:9. There, the Apostle Paul quotes God as saying "My power is made perfect in weakness." And perhaps that’s also the answer to question posed by the Iron Lady, the reason Jonathan Pierce can sing with such power.