Learning to Trust: Lead Singer Mike Donehey Shares How Tenth Avenue North Began at PBA

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet," wrote Frederick Buechner.

These words resonate deeply with Mike Donehey, Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) Class of 2003, and co-founder and lead singer of the band Tenth Avenue North. He feels it's the best advice he could give to someone seeking to discern God's calling for their life.

To Mike, it is not about finding God's will for his life but rather asking God to change his life to align with God's will. Since his time at PBA, Mike has come to recognize that God cares less about what you do and more about how you do it. To him, this means figuring out the thing that makes you come alive and how to do it in a way that helps people.

Finding PBA

When Mike Donehey first visited PBA, he came on a whim after learning about the theater program from a friend. Mike was also pursuing theater, with big goals of one day making it to Broadway. While preparing to play Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a high school play, Mike read almost everything Bonhoeffer had written. He was left with the thought that he needed to "act for the glory of God," and in a last-minute decision, he committed to PBA to study theater.

Rooted in Worship

On Mike's second day on campus, while in his room in the Rinker residence hall, he heard singing. Venturing outside, he came across a group of students worshiping in the Rinker Pit. After noticing the pretty girls, Mike grabbed his guitar and headed down to join them. God used that worship session to completely flip Mike's motivation. Looking back, the impromptu worship moments are where he sees God the most at PBA.

Mike's freshman year at PBA was a crucial period in his life. After giving a speech titled, 'How to Teach Someone to Play the Guitar if You Don't Know How to Play the Guitar Very Well,' a classmate approached him and asked him to participate in a brand-new PBA event called Coffeehouse. Coffeehouse features performances by student musicians, and Mike was hesitant. After some convincing, Mike set out to find some friends to join him. After some jam sessions in his friend Jason Jamison's Weyenberg residence hall room, the group was ready for their first show.

That same year, Mike became very involved in Thursday Night Live (TNL), a student-led worship night now known as Anchor Worship. In the early 2000's, TNL often saw crowds of 200-300 students worshiping. In his book, "Finding God's Life for My Will," Mike writes, "It was in the midst of enjoying God for God alone that I began to grow in what…I like to call worship facilitating. I truly believe that if I hadn't spent this simple time worshipping God for Himself, I would never have become any good at helping others worship Him."

Starting the Band

In 2000, Mike Donehey, Jason Jamison and Bryan Homan officially formed Tenth Avenue North. Needing a name before a local show, Mike suggested "10th Avenue North" after reading it off the street sign of the road they lived on.

Mike had no intention of starting a band or being in a band - he was convinced that acting was God's will for his life. There was just one problem. Year after year at PBA, Mike was not cast in any shows. At first, this was frustrating. Looking back, Mike realized this was a gift, as it provided time to write songs and play with his band. By his senior year, Mike turned down a role in a play because the band was playing at student events around the state.

"Learning to Trust"

Since taking the pressure off of finding God's will for his life, Mike and Tenth Avenue North have released 10 full-length records, sell almost two million albums, win multiple Dove Awards, and play countless shows. But it was, and never will be, about the fame or awards.

Instead, for Mike, the real trophies are the stories you get from the songs and how they carry people. The mission of Tenth Avenue North is to lift people from shame one song at a time. Mike and the band are determined to stay true to this through intentional shows where they can more clearly connect with the people who attend. 

Tenth Avenue North returned from a four-year-hiatus in 2024 ready to see how God will continue to use them. While there are a few new faces, their deep convictions remain unchanged. With the goal of creating music that is a life raft for people to cling to in troubled times, Tenth Avenue North speaks the truth without hiding from the realness of life.

In May of 2025, Tenth Avenue North released their tenth studio album, "Learning to Trust," 25 years after their PBA debut. On February 6, they will return to where it all began with a special concert during PBA's Homecoming & Family Weekend. Purchase tickets here.