“Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”: Will Thompson’s invitation hymn

At the end of many evangelistic meetings, the preacher invites people to come forward, and the choir begins to sing softly. “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”, written by Will Thompson in 1880, has accompanied countless altar calls. Its gentle tune and plea to “come home” have made it one of the most loved invitation hymns ever written.

Will Thompson and the hymn

Will Lamartine Thompson was born in 1847 in East Liverpool, Ohio. He studied music and wrote popular songs as well as hymns. He became known as the “Bard of Ohio”. Thompson earned money from secular songs and later started a music publishing business. He used his wealth to travel and share his hymns. “Softly and Tenderly” was published in 1880. Its chorus calls: “Come home, come home, ye who are weary, come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!”

Moody, funerals and films

The hymn pictures Jesus waiting and watching for sinners to return, echoing the father in the parable of the prodigal son who runs to meet his son. The evangelist Dwight L. Moody is said to have told Thompson that he would rather have written this hymn than anything he had accomplished in his ministry. The hymn is often sung at funerals, where its call to “come home” takes on a meaning of comfort.

The hymn has appeared in films and television, often to evoke faith or the American South. Invitation hymns, sung at the end of sermons to encourage people to respond, became central to evangelical worship in the nineteenth century. This hymn is among the best known.

African churches and lasting appeal

African churches use the hymn at crusades, revivals and altar calls. Choirs often sing it slowly while preachers pray with those who come forward. Thompson died in 1909 in New York. Thompson wrote both words and music. The tune rises and falls gently, matching the tender call of the words. The hymn has been recorded by many gospel and country singers.

Hymnals across many denominations still include the hymn, and it remains a common choice for revival meetings. Will Thompson made his money writing popular songs. The one that outlived all of them was a gentle call to come home.