Cody Stafford
Cody is an Atlanta-based drummer, producer, and content creator with a heart for worship and bringing music to life. From playing at Passion City Church and working in his studio to producing music and creating drum content, Cody has built his career around a lifelong love for music, a desire to serve people well, and a commitment to stewarding the gifts God has given him with excellence.
What dream are you currently turning into reality?
My dream is to build a life and career around music—specifically as a drummer, producer, and creator. I already get to live out that dream in so many ways, and I want to continue playing and creating music that I believe in, working alongside artists and people I love and respect, and using the gifts God has given me at the highest level I can.
A huge part of that for me is worship. I love getting to play drums and make music in environments where what we’re doing has a purpose beyond just the music itself. Ultimately, I want to seek first the Kingdom and trust God with everything that follows.
When did you first realize you discovered your dream?
Honestly, music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My first dream was actually to be the frontman—but I can’t sing.
One afternoon, while listening to Blink-182 on my CD player, I started playing drums on a Yamaha kit in the youth room at my old church. I was nine years old. Once I experienced what it was like to play music with other people, I knew it was something I wanted to spend my life doing.
Over time, that dream grew and changed. During college, I wasn’t a full-time musician. In a lot of ways, music felt like something I “used” to do. I was really only playing on Sunday mornings, and that was about it.
Then, in 2018, I started producing music, and something just clicked. It became something I wanted to do every day.
Everything changed again when my wife and I felt prompted to move to Atlanta in 2019. God used something that felt very scary and uncertain at the time to create such a beautiful life—one we never could have planned for ourselves. I think that’s when I really began to see the dream becoming a reality.
How does your faith go hand in hand with pursuing your dream?
They’re really inseparable for me. Following Jesus has changed the way I define success. Jesus is the goal.
Of course, I have goals and things I want to accomplish, but I don’t want achievement to become the thing that gives my life meaning. I believe God gave me the ability and desire to make music, and pursuing that gift with excellence is one of the ways I can honor Him.
But even before music, I want to love people well. I want to have a burning desire in my life for people to experience the joy and freedom that come from following Jesus. Music is a gift, but ultimately I want my life to point beyond the gift to the One who gave it to me.
That’s also an important reminder for me—and I think a major challenge for a lot of creatives. My faith has to continually remind me that my identity isn’t determined by how many opportunities I get, how many people follow me online, or how “successful” my career becomes.
I want to be faithful with what’s in my hands and trust God with where it leads.
What’s one or two practical steps you take to keep moving forward?
One is consistency. I’ve learned that you can’t always wait until you feel inspired or motivated. Whether it’s practicing, producing, creating content, writing music, or reaching out to someone I’d like to work with, I try to continually put something in motion.
Here’s one of my favorite practical things to do: when you’re struggling to start a project, set a timer for 30 minutes. Make an agreement with yourself: “As soon as this timer goes off, I get to walk away.”
Then start working. No distractions. Just give it 30 minutes and see what happens.
The alarm will eventually go off, and you’re free to be done. But if you’re anything like me, you may have just reached a flow state—and suddenly that timer is getting extended another 45, 60, or 90 minutes.
The goal is simply to start somewhere.
And if you do walk away after those 30 minutes, appreciate the fact that you got to spend that time using a gift. Let that be enough.
The second is staying teachable. I’m constantly listening, watching other musicians, studying what they’re doing, and asking myself what I can improve.
There are so many drummers I’ll need to personally thank one day because I wouldn’t be the drummer I am today without their gifts and their willingness to share what they know so the rest of us can learn and grow from it.
Choose the hard things that are worth doing. Stay faithful when they get difficult. Trust God with the fruit.
What encouragement would you share with someone who’s going after their dream?
Don’t let a slow season convince you that you’re going in the wrong direction.
There have been seasons where I’ve felt overlooked or wondered why certain opportunities weren’t happening yet. But I’ve learned that you can’t build your life around waiting for somebody else to recognize what you’re capable of.
My late grandfather, the great evangelist “Wild” Bill Stafford, used to encourage me with something along these lines:
“People are gonna have a lot to say about what you should or shouldn’t do. God knows, God sees, and He’s gonna have you do exactly what you’re supposed to do.”
Keep showing up. Keep getting better. Keep creating even when nobody is watching or cheering for you. Be faithful with the opportunities you have instead of only focusing on the ones you wish you had.
And if God has genuinely placed something in your heart, trust Him enough to keep walking it out—even when the timeline looks different than you expected. Because He’s gonna have you do exactly what you’re supposed to do.