Ira Sankey (1840-1908) - Dwight. L. Moody's Gospel Singer

Ira Sankey was a solid respectable civil , with a local reputation for musical talent, when a friend encouraged him to liven up an opening day convention being run by the evangellst Dwight L. Moody at Indianapolis in June 1870. A well intentioned singer was singing a hymn not in the most enlighten way. Ira got up and began to sing. He sang the first verse - There is a fountain - and the congregation were so transfixed they did not join in the chorus.
At the end of the service and Dwight came over to him and said, I have been looking for you for eight years. This came as a shock to Ira. 6 months later he became an itinerant evangelist.

Before this happened Ira had served in the American Civil War. He had often helped the unit chaplain and led his fellow soldiers in singing hymns. After the war he joined the Internal Revenue service and worked with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA

A partnership was formed which would last nearly 40 years. Within 3 years they were internationally famous.* Sankey would sing the gospel and Moody preached it.* Sankey’s untrained sweet baritone voice was a major ingredient in their success.

They came to the U.K. in 1973 to start an evangelistic tour. They left in the summer of 1875. Unknown when they arrived they quickly became the centre of religious revival. Through use of publicity and hard toil of a grinding schedule the two became a national sensation. A tour of the major USA cities followed. Huge audiences filled the auditoriums.

The notes I have read say that MILLIONS flocked to hear Moody’s simple but moving sermons and Sankey’s stirring gospel songs. They had the power between them to move both skeptics and admirers alike.

Ira wrote a great number of hymnals; the sales totaled over 50 million copies. Much of his wealth was given to Methodist and Moody projects. i

Where ever they went, on both side of the Atlantic, huge audiences filled each auditorium to hear the most famous preacher of their age and his equally famous music partner.

The combination of Preacher and Singer/song writer proved to be a great evangelical success.

I have included 3 brief histories.

Ambassadors for Christ contribution from Margaret Bendroth.
Wikipedia