Aaron Cole moved to Nashville, Tenn after signing a record deal with Christian music pioneer TobyMac last year. Still, he hasn’t forgotten his small Bristol, Va hometown.

The 19-year-old singer and rapper recently returned home where he performed at his high school in order to raise money for Cross Pointe Church in Bristol, Tenn. The experience was an emotional one for Cole who called it a dream come true.

“Last night was a dream come true.. I know I say this a lot but everyone on my feed…. YALL BETTER NOT EVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS,” he wrote on Instagram Saturday. “Too many people is gonna try to get you to quit your dreams cause they don’t believe in their dream. Be comfortable in your own skin and know that you are special and you are cool and you don’t have to try to be cool for anyone to like you.” (sic)

Cole said he was humbled to be used by God.

“I would’ve never thought things like this would happen so I’m just humbled God chose to use me cause I’m not deserving at all,”  he said. “Thank y’all for supporting the regular underbite kid from Virginia.”

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Aaron had aspirations of being a performer since childhood. His father Kelly Cole told the Bristol Herald Courier  about the times before Aaron performed in front of thousands on tour.

There was once a time when a young Aaron entertained people at local churches.

“Aaron performed in nursing homes, at the Bristol Mall, Lee Street Baptist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, A Day in the Park, the Paramount, the Cameo, Border Bash — anything and anywhere you can think of,” Aaron’s father said. “He went from performing on a $20 microphone from Walmart in the Bristol Mall to performing for 10,000 people a night opening for TobyMac on a 30-date tour earlier this year.”

The singer is the same age as his father when he came into the world. Born to a 17 year old mother, he told the Herald Courier that the pair thought about aborting him.

Instead, Aaron has lived to top Billboard’s Christian Hot AC/CHR National Airplay chart earlier this year for his duet with TobyMac called “Right On Time.” His song “One More Day” also sits at No. 1.

Now that he has been able to return home and raise money for church, Aaron cannot stop expressing his gratitude.

“I’m a regular kid from Bristol, Virginia,” Aaron Coles said. “God just so happened to use me to do something I love to do. It’s an amazing thing, bro. Gratitude. Humbleness. That’s who I am, bro.”