I grew up watching my dad, David L. McDowell Sr., live out faith every single day. He was my mentor, my example, the guy who showed me what it looks like to serve Jesus without fanfare. He never gave up on people, no matter how far they strayed. That stuck with me deep. When I finally answered the call to ministry later in life, after raising my daughter Kendra, after years of ordinary days, it hit me hard: God’s love doesn’t wait for us to get it together. It runs after us anyway. That’s the heartbeat of THIS MATTERS.

As senior pastor at Victory Christian Fellowship in Reno, Nevada, I’ve seen it play out in real time. People show up broken, angry, or just done with church. Some mock the whole thing like that thief on the cross who wouldn’t turn. But God keeps pursuing. I preach it, I live it, I write about it because I’ve felt that chase in my own messes. Grace isn’t polite or earned, it’s relentless. It leaves the ninety-nine to find the one who’s hiding or fighting back. My wife Kristal and I have been married for over twenty-five years now, and we’ve learned together that extending that same grace at home changes everything.

This book came from those moments, watching God not quit on the rejectors, the wanderers, the ones society writes off. I dedicated it to my dad because he taught me first that nobody’s too lost for hope. Through the parables, the cross stories, the real lives I’ve walked with, I wanted to remind us all: this pursuit matters to God more than we realize. It should matter to us too. If we’re found, we’re called to join the search.

So here I am, just a pastor who’s still learning, still chasing, still amazed at how far God’s love goes. THIS MATTERS isn’t a theory for me, it’s life. My prayer is you’ll read it, feel that same pull, and maybe start running after your own “one” who’s out there. Because when we do, we reflect the heart of the Father who never stops.