Nearly two years ago, gay Disney star Joshua Bassett was the talk of the town after being baptized at a Bethel Chuch service. Within days he hosted a pop-up religious show in LA where he played worship songs, gave a mini-sermonette to fans in attendance, and shared his testimony, giving thanks to “my savior, Jesus Christ,” at the Kids’ Choice Awards.
After his baptism hit the media, many of his fans lamented the news and expressed concern over Bethel church’s anti-LGBTQ theology, prompting Bassett to clarify that he strongly condemned gay conversion therapy and wasn’t aware of Bethel’s stance on it before being baptized there.
Though many took his testimony and declared with absolute certainty that Bassett was saved, we insisted that all the usual cautions should apply. The evangelical landscape is littered with celebrities that believers have been burned on, desperately pointing to every little morsel and scrap of religiosity as some vindication for their faith, and as a result nothing should be assumed.
Still, we enjoined folks to be hopeful that he’d been saved and and that the Lord would be patient with him as he begins the messy process of sanctification, including making public errors, and that above all else, we should pray that he gets surrounded by faithful Christians who will lead and disciple him.
That was almost two years ago, and by all accounts, the prayers of the saints have not been in vain. In a recent interview with the Zach Sang Show, Bassett opened up about his faith in Christ and what the last two years have been like. Some of the highlights include:
“I kind of was forced to go to church. My mom had to drag me, I didn’t want anything to do with it…the very fact that I am here before you talking about Jesus and believe in Jesus is a testament to the fact that there might be something there because I was so vehemently opposed.”
Bassett also said, “I spent my entire life seeking truth, trying to find peace, knowing that peace is out there but not feeling it inside of myself, wanting to find love, trying to understand the mysteries of the universe, right, like very spiritual, always seeking, always reading. And… most of the people in my life were pretty supportive of that path until I actually found the peace I was looking for in Jesus. Then I was crazy.”
Bassett reveals years of drug use and addiction, including tripping on Ayahuasca, which opened him up to the spiritual elements, including visitations from evil spirits and then a series of visions of Jesus appearing to him. In the depths of despair, he says he sought God, and “immediately I felt the Holy Spirit, which I’d never felt before, come upon me. And I just knew in that moment that I needed Jesus. “
He called his father, a Christian, to pray for him over the phone and lead him to the Lord, sharing:
And I literally cannot express to you the peace that I felt in that moment. Literally every path I was going down, looking for peace, I found the moment I accepted Jesus. So that happens. I’m like, I feel this new lease on life. I felt more peace than I’d ever experienced in my life. I’m like literally jumping for joy like I was a child again.
I just want to tell everyone that I see (about Jesus), but a lot of people get offended by it. And so that’s where I’m trying to find the balance of telling people in love, that there is an answer to what you’re looking for.
He continues:
I think that’s the beautiful thing too about it, is to know that God like actually cares about you and he actually loves you and he designed you and he knows the hairs on your head, you know, he knows you better than you’ll ever know yourself. It’s like, to be known and loved by God is all you could ever ask for. Like take it all away; anything in my life, doesn’t matter. I’d rather be on a remote island with the presence of God than have all the wealth and success in the world and be empty.
At one point, the host touched on Bassett’s sexuality (he came out as LGBTQ in 2021) and controversy within the church over Christianity’s treatment of LGBTQ people and how “Christianity is synonymous with homophobia.”
Bassett suggests he’s disappointed with unkind treatment of gay folks by Christians and insists that Christians are commanded to walk in love with all people, even if they may disagree with their choices.
It’s not a particularly strong response, but it’s worth noting that immediately following his baptism, Bassett seemed like he was distancing himself from Bethel Church on account of not affirming same-sex relationships. And yet Bassett himself deleted all his social media posts about his fluid sexuality and announcements about coming out of the closet, suggesting he’s growing in this area.
