How Alpha Youth helped a depressed and anxious teenager find joy – and fresh purpose as a Christian rapper
“I saw things in my family that affected me a lot – fights, comments I shouldn’t have had to hear,” reflects Kempes, 19, as he walks through a busy Madrid neighbourhood. “To add to that, I was bullied at school for eight years. I had problems with depression and anxiety, and I didn’t have any real friendships.”
Although he grew up attending church with his family, he didn’t have a deep faith to tap into. “It never felt real to me,” he admits.
There was one thing that Kempes was passionate about, which provided a temporary escape from his worries, and that was rapping. “I love rap battles,” he smiles. “In fact, that’s how people know me – as a rapper.”
Fresh path
It was through his love for rap that his life was set on a fresh path.
“I met a Christian rapper who invited me to a rap event. And I said, why not? I went along and there they invited me to these dinners every Friday. They said, ‘Hey, we want to invite you — and all the dinners are free.’ I thought, free dinners? Why wouldn’t I go?”
That’s how Kempes found himself attending Alpha Youth with his new friends. To his surprise, it wasn’t the free food that kept drawing him back.
“I met people who were genuinely interested in what was going on in my life, people who loved Jesus – and I was able to experience the love of Jesus through them. From that moment on, my whole life changed. I don’t struggle with depression anymore. I don’t struggle with anxiety. I know who I am. No more depression. No more anxiety. Just complete joy in Jesus.”
Two passions
Now Kempes has two passions: rap and a deep desire for other young people to experience the life-transforming love of Jesus. “I stopped writing lyrics about values that go against God and now I rap from a foundation – the Cross of Jesus,” he shares. “I’ve already had the opportunity to rap my testimony to quite a few people.”
He has also developed a talent for public speaking, and was delighted to share his story with hundreds of young people and youth leaders at the launch of the new Alpha Youth Series in Madrid in June 2025.
“It felt really good – I felt the Holy Spirit strongly, and I could see how my testimony touched many of them.”
