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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...

From Christian Hall of Fame: Oliver Boyce Greene was born on February 14, 1915, in Greenville, South Carolina. He accepted Christ as his Saviour when he was twenty years old. Five months later the Lord called him to preach; and to prepare for this he entered North Greenville Baptist college. After attending College for two years, he entered the full-time Read more...

From Christian Hall of Fame: Alva J. McClain, the founder and first president of Grace Theological Seminary and Grace College, was born in Iowa and grew up in Sunnyside, Washington. Shortly after his marriage to Josephine Gingrich in 1911, he and his wife were saved under the preaching of Dr. L. S. Bauman. He had been attending the University of Read more...

Hymn History: His Way with Thee & Author: Cyrus Sylvester Nusbaum “Cyrus Sylvester Nusbaum … was one of the most outstanding evangelists of his time. He wrote these words [for ‘His Way with Thee’] at a time when economic need forced him to surrender to the will of God.” (Hinshaw Music)   The Origin of the Hymn “His Way with Read more...

Hymn History: Happy the Home When God Is There & Author: Henry Ware “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 Origin Read more...

From Wikipedia: Mordecai Fowler Ham Jr. (April 2, 1877 – November 1, 1961), was an American Independent Baptist evangelist, a Christian fundamentalist and temperance movement leader. He entered the ministry in 1901 and in 1936 began his long radio evangelistic career. He evangelized until shortly before his death in 1961. Ham was the son of Tobias and Ollie (née McElroy). He was born on a farm in Allen 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 W. 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 Naomi 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 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...