By
Yeside Odiase, DMA
Faculty of Church Music
Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Nigeria
+234 803 313 7975
ABSTRACT
Fanny Crosby is a Music Icon who deployed her life in writing music of world acclaim. As a legend, she wrote all-time hymns that have impacted so many generations reaching the unreached people groups- people who have not heard the gospel, and drawing them to the cross of Christ, in spite of her visual impairment at a very tender age. She has proved to the world that physical impairment or challenges should not in any way deter anyone from reaching out to the unreached people group. This paper examines brief history and life of Fanny Crosby, Fanny Crosby’s salvation experience, and reaching the unreached people groups through music. The study employed qualitative approach and content analysis was used to draw inferences from the hymns to sensitize Christians to the imperative of music as an effective strategy to reach unreached people groups. The study concludes that music is a very powerful strategy for evangelism and Fanny Crosby has proved this beyond any doubt. Blindness did not stop her from writing or helping in Christian rescue mission. She felt so fulfilled that she wished to remain blind so that the first face she would ever see will be the face of her blessed Saviour.
Key Words:
Fanny Crosby, Rescue the Perishing, Unreached People Groups, Music.
Introduction
Fanny Crosby is a Music Icon who deployed her life in writing music of world acclaim. As a legend, she wrote all-time hymns that have impacted so many generations reaching the unreached people groups- people who have not heard the gospel, and drawing them to the cross of Christ, in spite of her visual impairment at a very tender age. She has proved to the world that physical impairment or challenges should not in any way deter anyone from reaching out to the unreached people group. Her intellect, commitment and passion for lost souls through her missionary outreaches, is inspiring and has continued to encourage many Christians to reach out in an evangelistic manner, rescuing the perishing. Fanny J. Crosby is an enigma to be studied and emulated. This paper examines brief history and life of Fanny Crosby, Fanny Crosby’s salvation experience, and reaching the unreached people groups through music. The study employed qualitative approach and content analysis was used to draw inferences from the hymns to sensitize Christians to the imperative of music as an effective strategy to reach unreached people groups.
Brief history and Life of Fanny Crosby
Fanny Jane Crosby Alstyne popularly known as Fanny Crosby was born in the little village of Southeast, Putnam County, New York in the United States, on March 24, 1820 (Rohm, 2001, 219). It was a period when the weather was cold, and soon after her bath, she caught a cold which resulted to inflammation of her eyes. The family doctor was not available at that time, which made her parents call for a local doctor, who applied a mustard poultice which made her lose her sight immediately, becoming completely blind (ibid.). This experience brought great devastation to Fanny’s parents and great distress to the inexperienced doctor who hurriedly left town for parts unknown as the news spread like wild fire (Wholesome Words, 2023).
Crosby lost her father while she was a baby. This made her mother leave her in the care of her grandmother as she took up a job as house keeper. Fanny was trained by her grandmother to become happy and independent as she took her on long walks, taught her the names of flowers until she could recognize them by their smell. She climbed the tallest trees fearlessly, rode on horses and played with other children such that people who saw her did not realize she was blind (Rohm, 2001, 219).
Fanny Crosby was excellent in memorization. It is amazing that at the age of ten, she could recite eight Books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Old Testament) and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (New Testament) – two hundred and forty two chapters in all, simply by listening to her grandmother as she read the Bible to her (ibid.).
