William Newbern and Youth Hymns : The Music Ministry of the C&MA in South China in the Mid-Twentieth Century

Abstract

American missionary William Newbern (1900–1972), one of the first C&MA missionaries to China, is known as the father of the Hong Kong Alliance Bible Seminary. Newbern, a successful evangelist and educator, also made a major contribution to Chinese hymnology in the mid-twentieth century, especially in his editorial role in preparing Youth Hymns, whose hymns are still used in Chinese churches today. As primary sources, I use mainly his autobiography (The Cross and the Crown), his articles in Alliance Magazine, and his music commentaries Narrating Hymns (Shengshi mantan).