Christian singer and YouTube icon Jamie Grace brings ministry to central Pa.

Two-time Grammy-nominated contemporary Christian artist and YouTube icon Jamie Grace knows a thing or two about love — specifically the importance of not rushing it.

“During my middle and high school days, all my friends were dating, and I started asking, ‘am I supposed to be dating, too?’” she said. “My parents would always respond by asking if dating was where you found your worth?”

The 26-year-old Grace, who will be performing Sept. 8 at an outdoor concert at the Rohrbach Farm Market near Catawissa, Pennsylvania, instead focused on her music by creating songs that resonated with young girls and their parents about the importance of being patient with relationships, developing positive self-worth and prioritizing God in all aspects of life.

Her April 14 marriage to Aaron Collins after just a five-month engagement won’t tweak that focus.

“I’ve always been passionate about worth and value, and since my wedding, those are still important topics that are pressing on my heart,” she said. “I may be a wife now, but it isn’t my first title, which is being a daughter of the one true King.”

Grace, the daughter of a pastor and who developed a passion for singing at the age of three, is also an advocate of overcoming adversity — something with which she has plenty of personal experience.

“When I was in middle school, I started having symptoms of Tourette syndrome (a neurological disorder that can cause uncontrollable tics and compulsive utterances or obscene outbursts) and was diagnosed at age 11,” she said. “It seemed to shift everything in my life at that point and made things much more difficult. However, I decided I wasn’t going to let this take over.”

She made numerous life changes and over time learned to manage her Tourettes and keep it from affecting her ability to sing and share God’s word.

“I’m 26 now and deal with full-on Tourettes, ADHD and anxiety. Some days that gives me more to deal with than others, but I came to realize that I can’t always do what everyone else can do, and that is OK,” she said. “There is no map of normal. There is something that stands out about each of us that makes us unique and can give us each a different perspective. Thankfully, God can help us find our own individual normal and lead us to a point where we can use that to help others.”

Grace experienced that personally after starting a YouTube channel around the age of 14, developing a following of millions between numerous social media platforms since and creating a unique avenue to help others their their own periods of adversity.

“I had people commenting that they had Aspergers and a certain video helped them. But I didn’t have Aspergers and didn’t know how my situation could help someone who did,” she said. “I realized that we all have something making us feel overwhelmed, but ultimately we are children of God, and if He is for us, who can be against us? It has been an incredible experience.”

Grace said that concert-goers should expect a playlist of some of Grace’s most popular songs, including “Hold Me” and “Beautiful Day,” but to expect something unique and special.

“I write in the first song and the last song and see what the crowd is into from there. If someone has a big poster for a certain song or a group seem especially excited for something, I hope to give them that,” she said. “I try to be intentional in loving every crowd. I’m a pastor’s kid and an entertainer, but ultimately what I do is an extension of God’s ministry. Even though I’m an entertainer, my first job is to love on people and serve people.”

The concert is slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Rohrbach Farm Market, and tickets can be purchased through www.eventbrite.com (click here for the event page), according to Denise Bosworth, owner of the family owned venue.

“It is hard to find great opportunities for families to hang out and experience something special that is truly family friendly,” she said, adding that the event will be much more than a concert.

“We decided we wanted to make this an intentional way to let people know about some amazing ministries and give them a chance to share with a captive audience what they do,” she said. “We’ve invited the Refuge (an after-school program in Sunbury) and someone is sponsoring their tickets for their after-school kids. We’ve invited HumanKind to participate, which is an organization where when you buy a bottle of water, proceeds go to helping people in third-world countries get water. We also invited Camp Susque to be here representing what they do.”

Concert-goers can also expect Bason Coffee and Big Dan’s BBQ to be in attendance, along with the farm market’s famous apple dumplings. Outside games will be set up for people to enjoy and fire pits are available on the peripheral where “people can hang out and enjoy a campfire,” Bosworth said.

The concert will be held rain or shine and people are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or a blanket. Parking is free. Small purses and diaper bags are welcome, but organizers request that people don’t bring large purses, coolers or outside food or beverage.

One song Grace is sure to share is one of her most recent — and currently her favorite — “Wait it Out.”

“It is very special to me because it talks about maintaining purity until marriage,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I’d get to share it, but it brings everything full circle, especially with recently getting married and the music video for it includes clips from our wedding. I get to hear it while I’m watching this video of my dad walking me down the aisle. It’s special for me, and I feel strongly about the message behind the song.”