Check Out Aaron Kirkland’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Kirkland.

Hi Aaron, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m married to my beautiful wife, Precious Joy Kirkland. We have an angel baby named Ariah Jai, and we now have our “Sonshine” baby on the way. He’s due in early April. We may have made the public announcement depending on when this is released. If not, we would like to keep him a secret. I grew up in a two-parent, entrepreneurial, Christian household. I have an older sister, a little brother, and brother in law. Being in a Christian household and both parents being pastors set the context for my life. By design, I discovered my place in ministry through music by playing drums early on. Music was the first development stage for me that led me to develop social and business skills from playing for my local church at the time and other various artists locally and out of state. The drums gave me a foundation to branch out to other instruments, which led to arranging music and eventually starting a group named One Accord.

Although music was a huge thing for me from a young age, I always felt the call to speak (preach), but not by what I saw. I wasn’t to best communicator by far, but I had a way of communicating with my community which was my peers at school and other youth and young adults I would run into at gigs or services I was a part of. In middle school, around 8th grade, I wanted to lean into it because the feeling and idea never faded. Long story short, I put an event together for my middle school. It was a packed crowd, standing room. The response and feedback led me to start pursuing the call to communicate (preach), but how God made me vs. religious organizations were made to at that time.

I have recently discovered a hiding gift within the last year that has put me in rooms that music and speaking haven’t yet, which is a videographer. I always knew I wanted to do it, but I needed more time and space to commit to it due to the demand for music and speaking. During the pandemic, my wife and I were serving as youth and young adult pastors at a local church in town, and like everyone, we had to figure out how we would connect with students and have services. The video was the only way. So through tests and trials. I developed a new love and appreciation for a video I had never had. I took many classes in school and did well, but life never gave me a chance to stretch out and learn more than the average person what it takes to get a good quality video. What caused me to lean in and go all the way is at the end of 202o, I decided to do a New Year’s eve virtual concert with our group. I want to think the idea was amazing.

I met with a local videographer and chatted out the plan. I seated up about six cameras. And though this is going to be great for us. Nope. Again great idea and concept, but functionally it was a huge failure, and we couldn’t deliver. That bothered me because a lot of time and money was put into it, and I was really upset for the next few weeks. I remember having a convo with myself, saying, you can stay mad and not learn from this situation or you can be mad and figure it out and never be in the situation again. I choose to figure it out. I picked up a camera, started shooting content and editing, and haven’t stopped since. I’ve been best to do this full-time for quality clients now. Super grateful!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Big no. I’m extremely passionate about what I believe and what I believe in. Much of that is centered around people, so I’ve experienced a lot of hurt, loss, rejection, misunderstanding, etc., while still having to show up and produce. Everything happens for a reason and in seasons. My prayer is always to serve whatever season I am well. I’ve focused on not allowing moments to define things; instead, I define the moment.

The biggest hurt here is never being able to meet my children. Two of the greatest blows for me were in 2019 when my wife and I lost our daughter at 38 weeks (stillborn). Never felt that level of shock, confusion, pain, and frustration. The second blow was recently losing my aunt. We lost here tragically due to a car accident similar response with hers as well. She influenced me as a child, and I always dream of my children sharing that same opportunity with her.

Please tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others.
Music – I arrange and produce music pretty music. I focus on Christian music just because of what it does for the community I serve and with me.

Speaking – I am a faith-based communicator. I love being able to be a different voice from what has been developed over the years in organized religious groups. I bring ancient scripture to a modern-day context to that people can have an easier and better view of following Jesus and even maybe see themselves in the scripture and be encouraged. That’s the win for me. More than having successful Christian gatherings and what ministry group is popping up on socials, the point is people understanding and getting the faith and Jesus we talk about. Those are some of the things I hear after speaking. People love seeing themselves in what you’re trying to convey, whether they want to. It helps them form better thoughts and perspectives vs. being forced into one way of thinking.

Videographer – I love this new season. It’s new energy and very therapeutic. I serve fantastic people and organizations by helping them bring their visions to life through video. It’s a hybrid between music and speaking wrapped into pressing a record button. My greatest joy is being able to chat through designs, sets, and plans to bring what a client may think is small and average and then see how it comes to life on screen. It’s amazing! The main feedback I get from my work is my ability to story tell on camera, piece moments together, and catch candid moments that were known or planned to make the vision come together. They also love my ability to step in as a creative director and help produce when the moment calls for it.

The thing that sets me apart in all three things is that I care more about the individual than the product. If you add value to the person, it only comes out in the product. The product will do only what the person can do. I love adding value and seeing people go from potential to greatness, moving fully into what God created us to do and be.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Confidence goes a long way. Whatever measure you have, use it. People can teach the skill. You can even catch it, but nobody can give you confidence. People are more willing to work with you when you show up with something. Never show up empty-handed. Get a community around you that won’t interfere with God’s plans for your life. Your circle of influence matters. Vision will only come if it has a safe place to be. Don’t have a homeless vision. Don’t be afraid to connect with new people, even if they’re better than you. That’s great. Never settle for comfortability because that’s where you’ll go dull. Remember, the family often is the first to doubt and the last to see. Don’t take it personally.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: iamaaronkirkland
• Facebook: Aaron Kirkland
• Youtube: Aaron Kirkland

Image Credits
Reggie Alexander @childistart (Instagram)