“Jesus Shall Reign”: Isaac Watts’ missionary hymn built on Psalm 72
Isaac Watts published "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun" in 1719 as a Christian paraphrase of Psalm 72. It became one of the great missionary hymns…
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“Here I Am to Worship”: the Tim Hughes song that crossed every church border
"Here I Am to Worship", also known as "Light of the World", was written by the English worship leader Tim Hughes and released around 2000 through…
Thomas Birch Freeman: the Methodist missionary who built Cape Coast’s first chapel and went to Kumasi
Thomas Birch Freeman, born in England in 1809 to an African father and an English mother, arrived on the Gold Coast in January 1838 as a…
“O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”: George Matheson’s hymn written in five minutes
The Scottish minister George Matheson, who lost most of his sight as a young man, wrote "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go" in 1882.…
“There Is a Fountain”: William Cowper’s hymn of hope in the darkness
"There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" was written by the English poet William Cowper around 1772 and published in the Olney Hymns, his collection with…
Peter Anim and the Asamankese prayer group that started Ghanaian Pentecostalism
Peter Newman Anim's prayer group in Asamankese, formed in 1917, is widely credited as the origin of classical Pentecostalism in Ghana. It later became the Christ…
Janani Luwum: the archbishop who confronted Idi Amin
Janani Luwum, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, was killed on 16 February 1977 after challenging Idi Amin's regime. The government claimed he died in a…
“Jesus Paid It All”: the hymn written on the flyleaf of a hymnal during a sermon
Elvina Hall wrote the words of "Jesus Paid It All" in 1865 on the flyleaf of her hymnal during a sermon at a Methodist church in…
“Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour”: the prison cry behind Fanny Crosby’s hymn
Fanny Crosby wrote "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour" in 1868 after hearing a prisoner cry out, "Good Lord, do not pass me by." Set to…
The girl in the trance: how Cherubim and Seraphim began in Lagos in 1925
The Cherubim and Seraphim church traces its beginning to June 1925 in Lagos, when the prophet Moses Orimolade Tunolase was called to pray for a teenage…