The Old Rugged Cross

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George Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, soon after the Civil War ended.  His father was a coal miner,   The family moved to Iowa, and George came to Christ through the ministry of the Salvation Army.  He hoped to train for the ministry, but his plans changed when his father died leaving him responsible for his mother and sisters.

Eventually George moved to Chicago, married and began in ministry with the Salvation Army.  Later he was ordained by the Methodist Episcopal church and became a traveling evangelist.

George prayed to fully understand the meaning of the Cross, and during this time of prayer and study the theme of this hymn came to him.  It took him a while to finish, but when he did, his friends Reverend and Mrs. Boswick were so moved that they helped pay the fee to have it printed.  It soon was appearing in hymnbooks across America.

Comments

[Sally]

That's the all time #1 favorite for most people.

[Meg]

Beverly,
Thank you. That song always moves me to tears, how fitting as I am on my way to lead worship at our Sunday service. Have a wonderful day in Jesus. Meg

[jeanne]

Good morning Beverly. I love that song and Jim Nabors does it justice in a beautiful way, I wonder what he is doing now. Maybe he is with the Lord by now. The history of that song is very interesting. I said to myself out loud, "I hope you have a happy day my dear friend." smiling!

Love you, Jeanne

[caren]

Beverly ~ You always have the songs that bring me back to my childhood. Doesn't seem like my church plays a whole lot of them anymore.....just occasionally. Unfortunately, this song reminds me of funerals as it always seemed to be played then. I still like it. My dad played in on the organ a lot.

[Denise West]

TFS! That is a classic hymn.

[Lisa]

What a song! What a message! Thank you.

[Cori. G]

Good morning Beverly,

This is one of my old favorites! The old hymns have so much more meat to them then the new ones. It's sad really.

Have a blessed Sunday!

xoxo Cori

[Regina]

Love the song! Thanks for sharing.

[laurie]

That was so moving and beautiful! Thank you for posting it. laurie

[Mary]

How very moving, Beverly. Thanks for sharing that with us today. Blessings...Mary

[nannykim]

I love how God gifts his people with music for worship. I love how He gifts his people in so many ways---what a wonderful body of believers we have.

[Ginger]

God is so wonderful! Thank-you again for such great information. I love this song.
God Bless,
Ginger

[Myra]

What wonderful memories, hearing this lovely hymn once more ~ this time, perhaps more meaningful for learning its background.

Thank you!

[Charlotte]

Wow! How great. I had never heard this story. Aren't we glad he wrote it and they had the foresight to have it published.
Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Charlotte

[Clif]

Tremendous! One of my favorite hymns. Very moving. Thanks for posting.

[LaVoice]

One of the most inspiring and touching post I have seen. Thanks so much Beverly for presenting a beautiful song, sung by the great Jim Nabors. This is one of my favorite hymns. Great message for all of us.

[Denise]

Thanks for sharing this.

[Sharon A. Kyser]

This has been one of my very favorite songs since my New Birth January 24, 1970! Thank you for sharing it with me. There is still no replacement for the "old time gospel" songs. I miss them.
Sharon

[Mary]

I've loved this beautiful hymn since I first heard it 55 yrs. ago! Thank you for the video...I so enjoyed it!

Mary