David Scherer didn’t expect to be singing for God full-time. His career directive came as a surprise phone call his senior year at Gustavus. He was sitting in his dorm room trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life when the director of the National Lutheran Youth Organization phoned to ask if he would come to Puerto Rico and share his music with some young people. After his first performance, he felt confident in his musical talents—and he felt a strong pull to use them to share the Word of God. Today, he performs as AGAPE, touring as a Christian musician. He has performed hip hop outreach to youth from Brooklyn to Bosnia and combines rap, dance, and storytelling in his performances.

Gustavus is where he fell in love with music. “It’s where I met people who made me take my music more seriously. It’s where I fell in love with God, too. Seeing people who were serious about that, who showed love to me and were serious about their faith.” During his four years he was eager to explore the College’s diverse course offerings. “African American History courses, Native American Studies courses, a Latin American literature course. I just really tried to take advantage of all of those different classes and that happened because I tried to take initiative. That was the way I rolled. I would go to the LGBT meeting on Monday, go with the Evangelical Christians on Tuesday, and everything in between. Gustavus had so much to offer, so many forms of diversity. It definitely helped shape me into who I am today.”

Growing up in the city and going to school in a place with rural and suburban college students also had an important impact on Dave’s personal growth and his preconceived ideas of the type of person who lived in those places. “Going to college and meeting rural people, that was huge for me. It went deeper than whatever the label was. It’s funny that a city kid had to go to Saint Peter, Minnesota to become enlightened.”

Dave’s calling is to connect people to each other and to God. “Especially for folks who feel like they’re in very different places. Black or white, rural, urban, and people of different faiths. I’ve always been a bridge builder. When I get up in the morning, for me, the question is how can I use my passions and my gifts? How can I find the intersection of both?”

Dave’s ministry is a daily, public practice. “Since I’m a Christian public leader, in many ways because of that, I have 12,000 people I’m connected to on Facebook. I use that as a platform to try and speak out against things that are harmful to our world. Particularly as a white man—a cis, Christian, white man—I think about how can I speak to other white people, especially, to help them see more clearly and figure out what they’re going to do with this one wild and precious life. Sometimes I give my friends a punch and a hug. So, it can feel a little convicting, but I try to do it with love,” he says.

Love resonates behind everything Dave does. Whether he’s singing from a stage, talking one-on-one to a friend, or posting on social media, he exudes agape, a Greek word that means an overflowing love that seeks nothing in return.

Hip Hop Ministry

David “Agape” Scherer

Gustavus Class of 1999

Christian rapper