The Family Room (The Quest)

John Paul Von Arx, musician, Coordinator of Worship at Franciscan University

John Paul Von Arx is passionate about raising awareness of people with Down Syndrome and showing the beauty of their lives. John Paul’s music video for his original song “He’s Different” is about his youngest brother, Sam, who has Down Syndrome, and tells the story of how Sam is different than he is in all the best ways – in how he sees life with joy and simplicity and loves people unconditionally. John Paul wants to bring hope to parents expecting a baby with Down Syndrome and express his solidarity with families of people with special needs. Far too often, there is a stigma surrounding people with special needs, and John Paul wants to combat and eliminate it and show their dignity to the world.

John Paul Von Arx started playing guitar when he was 11 and writing his own music at 15, which was also when he and his siblings started a family band. To this day, he has a love for performing covers of oldies that his family used to play. After high school, he traveled the country on tour with two bands as their lead guitar player and made lifelong friends and gained valuable live performance experience. After being on the road for four years, he decided to finish his undergraduate studies and raised the funds to finance his debut album, “Break Through,” via a Kickstarter campaign. Soon after beginning the recording process, however, tragedy struck his family with the passing of his brother Max. Above all else, this loss forced him to find answers for purpose in the midst of pain. With the grace of God and the support of his community, he began to fully embrace pursuing a music career without reservation. Since the release of his first album, he has played acoustic and full-band shows for a variety of audiences all over the United States and Europe. He also leads worship for conferences and parish events and serves as the Coordinator of Worship at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and their daughter.

Resources

• John Paul Von Arx’s website and original song, “He’s Different”
• Franciscan University website