Written by an invalid who felt useless, sung at thousands of altar calls: “Just As I Am”

At the end of a Billy Graham crusade, the choir would begin to sing: “Just as I am, without one plea.” And people would start to walk forward from the stands.

“Just As I Am” became one of the best-known invitation hymns in the world. It was written by a woman who felt she could do nothing useful.

Charlotte Elliott

Charlotte Elliott was born in England in 1789. As a young woman, she was lively and gifted, a portrait artist and writer of humorous verse. Then illness left her an invalid for much of her life, often in pain and unable to take part in the activities around her. According to the story told by her family, in 1835 her brother, a clergyman, was raising money for a school for the daughters of poor clergy. The household was busy with preparations. Charlotte, confined by illness, felt useless and troubled by doubts about her faith.

She remembered advice a minister had given her years earlier: come to Christ just as you are. She wrote the hymn as a statement of that faith.

The words and tune

The hymn repeats the same simple idea in each verse: I come to God as I am, without any plea except that Christ died for me. The verses describe doubts, fears, poverty of spirit and inner conflict, and in every case the answer is the same: “O Lamb of God, I come.” The hymn is most often sung to the tune “Woodworth” by William Bradbury, the American composer who also wrote the music for “Jesus Loves Me”.

Billy Graham and Africa

The American evangelist Billy Graham used “Just As I Am” as the invitation hymn at his crusades for decades. As it was sung, people came forward to commit their lives to Christ. Graham titled his autobiography Just As I Am. Graham’s crusades took the hymn to stadiums around the world, including in Africa. In Ghana and Nigeria, the hymn is sung at revivals, crusades and altar calls, often slowly, while people come forward for prayer.

Why it lasts

Many people believe they must fix their lives before they can approach God. The hymn says the opposite, and that message still draws people forward at the end of services. Charlotte Elliott thought she had nothing to give to her brother’s good cause. Her hymn has been sung at more gatherings than almost any fundraising event could reach.