
One Welsh missionary was able to convert a man, his wife, and two kids. They were not greeted with love, however. The region known as Assam consisted of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and sometimes aggressive.Ī group of Welsh missionaries spread the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ to these communities. The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Garo, Assam.Ībout 150 years ago, a great revival took place in Wales.Īs a consequence, many missionaries went to North-East India to spread the Gospel.

A Lutheran writer noted, “It definitely has a different meaning when we sing it than it did for the person who composed it.‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus’ is a Christian hymn originating from India. This has led to its exclusion from some hymnals. His version became a regular feature of Billy Graham’s evangelistic meetings in America and elsewhere, spreading its popularity.ĭue to the lyrics’ explicit focus on the believer’s own commitment, the hymn is cited as a prime example of decision theology, emphasizing the human response rather than the action of God in giving faith. The melody is also Indian, and entitled “Assam” after the region where the text originated.Īn American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement which was included in the 1959 Assembly Songbook. The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. He is said to have recited verses from the twelfth chapter of the book of John as he and his family were killed.

Job, the lyrics are based on the last words of Nokseng, a Garo man, a tribe from Meghalaya which then was in Assam, who converted to Christianity in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary.


THE HISTORY ~ “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus”Ī Christian hymn that originated in Assum, India.
