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From Wikipedia: Casper John “Jack” Wyrtzen (April 22, 1913 – April 17, 1996) was an American youth evangelist and founder of Word of Life ministries, which operates Christian camps, conference centers and Bible institutes. Wyrtzen produced the Word of Life radio program, heard by a nationwide audience. He led the organization for fifty years until his retirement in 1991. Wyrtzen spoke in many churches and venues, holding meetings from the streets to stadiums; Read more...

From Wikipedia: Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875) was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called the “Father of Old Revivalism“.[1] Finney rejected much of traditional Reformed theology. Finney was best known as a passionate revivalist preacher from 1825 to 1835 in the Burned-over District in Upstate New York and Manhattan, an opponent of Old School Read more...

From Christian Hall of Fame: Warren Wendel Wiersbe was born on May 16, 1929, the third and youngest child of Fred and Gladys Anna Wiersbe, in East Chicago, Indiana. Just before his 16th birthday in May 1945, Wiersbe attended a Youth for Christ rally where a 26 year old Billy Graham preached the Gospel. Wiersbe accepted Christ as his Savior Read more...

Hymn History: Happy the Home When God Is There Author: Henry Ware Jr.   “He was kind to children, and had a happy influence with them.… He said he did not wish to set the child an example of obstinate willfulness, but would rather let him see that the strongest must and could yield sometimes.” (Samuel A. Eliot)   The Read more...

You are standing where the tradition of baseball spring training began. In 1886, baseball legends A. G. Spalding and Cap Anson brought the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) to this field to train and play spring games. They were joined by fellow Hall of Famers Mike “King” Kelly, John Clarkson and future evangelist Billy Sunday. On March 28, 1887, Read more...

Inscription: A gospel singer, composer and publisher, Homer Rodeheaver was evangelist Billy Sunday’s music director for twenty years. He recorded for Gennett from 1921 to 1924. Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, April 29, 2023 for HMDB.org Read more...

Hymn History: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow   “He was the most popular poet of his day, widely read at home and abroad …” (Kristine Frederickson)   The Origin of the Hymn “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” Few Christmas carols carry the emotional depth and historical weight of “I Heard the Bells Read more...

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House was built in 1785–1786 for General Peleg Wadsworth and Elizabeth Bartlett, maternal grandparents of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Henry’s younger sister Anne Longfellow Pierce was the last person to live in the house. Widowed at an early age, Mrs. Pierce lived in the home until her death in 1901. Desiring to preserve it as a memorial Read more...

Hymn History: I Surrender All Author: Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter   “The author of this beautiful hymn … definitely struggled. However, from his struggles came a beautiful hymn that shares the sentiment of so many.” (Diana Leagh Matthews)   The Origin of the Hymn “I Surrender All” Among the great hymns of personal consecration, few have spoken more powerfully or Read more...

Hymn History: I Will Praise Him Author: Margaret Jenkins Harris   “Very little is known about Margaret Jenkins Harris … but untold numbers have been blessed by the singing of her hymn ‘I Will Praise Him’. … Her name will probably not be remembered by many.” (Melody Publications)   The Origin of the Hymn “I Will Praise Him” Among the Read more...

Hymn History: I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go Author: Mary Haughton Brown   “A tiny woman who lived in Boston, she travelled around in evangelistic work, accompanying her singing on a zither or autoharp.” (Robert Cottrill)   The Origin of the Hymn “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” Among the many hymns of Christian consecration and Read more...

Hymn History: In My Heart There Rings a Melody Author: Elton Menno Roth   “One hot summer afternoon … I walked up and down the aisle and began singing, ‘In my heart there rings a melody’ … I was thrilled, as it seemed my whole being was transformed into a song.” (Elton Menno Roth)   The Origin of the Hymn Read more...

Hymn History: In the Garden Author: Charles Austin Miles   “The song [‘In the Garden’] has always been one of my favorites. … Charles Austin Miles … was a very talented man. Along with being a successful songwriter he was a church music director, a pharmacist, and a photographer who developed his own photos.” (Blind Pig & The Acorn)   Read more...

Hymn History: In Times Like These Author: Ruth Caye Jones   “She is said to have tears come to her eyes when she watched George Beverly Shea sing her song on a Billy Graham telecast. She said: ‘I can’t believe I had any part in writing this song. I just feel that God gave it to me, and I gave Read more...

Hymn History: Is My Name Written There? Author: Mary Ann Pepper Kidder   “Mary Ann (Pepper) Kidder … was a Civil War widow in New York City whose pastime of writing poetry became the primary support of her family. … She, Crosby, and Pollard were referred to as ‘the Trio’ at the Biglow & Main publishing house because of their Read more...

Hymn History: It’s Just Like His Great Love Author: Edna Randolph Worrell   “Virtually nothing is known of the author …” (hymnstudiesblog)   The Origin of the Hymn “It’s Just Like His Great Love” Among the many gospel songs that celebrate the steadfast love of Christ, few express it as simply and sweetly as “It’s Just Like His Great Love.” Read more...

Hymn History: Ivory Palaces Author: Henry Barraclough   “Twenty-four year old Henry Barraclough’s path to a hymn he was writing was circuitous … He might never have imagined the words to ‘Ivory Palaces,’ except that he had agreed to be the piano player for a touring preacher.” (David Cain)   The Origin of the Hymn “Ivory Palaces” Few gospel hymns Read more...

Hymn History: Jesus, I Come Author: William True Sleeper   “I never wasted a moment. When I was not at work, I always took my singing-book or some other book which I was studying, and was thus learning something.” (William True Sleeper)   The Origin of the Hymn “Jesus, I Come” Among the many invitation hymns that have echoed through Read more...

Hymn History: Jesus Saves Author: Priscilla Jane Owens   “… of Scotch and Welsh descent, she spent her entire life in Baltimore. … She was a public-school teacher there for 49 years. … For 50 years Miss Owens has interested herself in Sunday-school work, and most of her hymns were written for children’s services.” (Hymnary.org)   The Origin of the Read more...

Hymn History: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee Author: Henry Van Dyke   “He was first and last a ‘fisher of men,’ … a minister of God, a minister of his country, … And no doubt what he said of the Other Wise Man he would have said of himself: that if he could live his earthly life again he would Read more...