I Surrender All

I Surrender All Judson W. Van De Venter Winfield S. Weeden 1896 “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” -Isaiah 64:8 Songs about committing yourself to Christ often come from a personal experience in the songwriter’s life. This song paints a good picture of how these personal experiences can influence and change someone. Surrendering it all to God is not easy, and many people have struggled with the decision to surrender everything to Him over the course of their life. The writer of this wonderful hymn, Judson Wheeler Van De Venter, definitely struggled throughout his life, however, from his struggles came a hymn that relates to so many. Judson W. Van De Venter was born on December 5, 1855 in Dundee, Michigan to a farmer and his wife. At the age of 17, he accepted Jesus into his heart, but, he continued to struggle with surrendering it all.Once he graduated from college, he married his wife and lived with his in-laws, with their daughter and two sons. After college, Van De Venter worked as a painter and taught art in the public schools, and over the years, mastered thirteen different musical instruments, along with singing and composing music. He became very involved in the music ministry at the Methodist Episcopal Church and began to struggle with the call upon his life. He was torn between continuing his art teaching career at the school or entering the music ministry field, much to his friends encouragement. This led to the writing of one of the most popular hymns today. The hymn was written while Van De Venter was conducting a meeting at the home of the founder of Sebring Camp meeting Bible Conference, George Sebring. For some time, he struggled between developing his talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work, and as a pivotal new day came into his life, he surrendered all. He decided to became an minister and discovered an unknown talent, singing. A song was soon born in his heart, and of all the hymns he wrote, I Surrender All, is his best known.Life after writing this song wasn’t always easy for hi m or his family, especially when his daughter died at a young age. Winfield S. Weeden had a partnership with Van De Venter that lasted for years, and put the music to I Surrender All. He ended up loving the hymn so much that the words were put on his tombstone after he died. I Surrender All was first published in Gospel Songs of Grace and Glory, a book of hymns composed by Weeden in 1896. Van De Venter retired to Tampa, Florida and became a regular professor of hymnology, and remained active with speaking and ministry engagements even after he retired. On July 17, 1939 at the age of 83, he died and was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Dundee, Michigan. Billy Graham credits Van De Venter with influencing his life and ministry and wrote the following account, “One of the evangelists who influenced my early preaching was also a hymnist who wrote “I Surrender All” — the Rev. J. W. Van De Venter. He was a regular visitor at the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity Bible College) in the late 1930’s. We students love this kind, deeply spiritual gentleman and often gathered in his winter home at Tampa, Florida, for an evening of fellowship and singing.” What have you struggled to surrender to God?