In June Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Ryan Ofei released his debut album Restore, after three years with the Atlanta-based Maverick City Music touring across the U.S. (RyanOfei.com).
He’s still reflecting on a brush with death “wakeup call” that preceded all the success. Ofei was returning home from a birthday celebration in Montreal when the car he was travelling in nearly crashed into an 18-wheeler truck during a blizzard.
“I feel like it was the hand of God or an angel that moved the truck out of the way because it just didn’t make sense. But as we passed it we looked behind and we saw nothing else there.” At that pivotal moment Ofei says he and his friends began repenting, crying and singing worship songs.
“That near-death experience, I think, showed me that I had held onto this thought that, Oh, I’m going to give my life to Christ when I’m 50 and all that,” says Ofei. “You just don’t know when your day could be, and you don’t know where you’ll end up, and the impact and legacy you would have left behind.”
Ofei says this experience opened the floodgates for his Christian music ministry and had a major impact on Restore. This particularly rings true for his song “Celebrate.” Ofei explains the song explores the story of the prodigal son. “There’s a father that loves us so much and sometimes we choose to do the wrong things. But he’s not just waiting for us,” says Ofei. “He’s actually running to meet us.”
Ofei says he hopes Restore will reach three groups of people. First, believers and nonbelievers, making them fall more in love with Jesus Christ, and giving them a fresh perspective on the gospel and hope. Another group is people who might have given up.
“Realizing that the things that you consider failures create the foundation for what it is God wants to do in your life, such as realizing that He’s not done working and that He can restore even the most broken person, even the most broken situation, even the most messed up thing. There’s really nothing that He can’t do.”
This article first appeared in Canadian national magazine, Faith Today. The article was first published in the January/February 2025 edition. For a free sample copy of Faith Today, please call toll-free 1-866-302-3362.