Both words and music of this very popular hymn were written in 1913 by George Bennard while a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Albion, Michigan. During a real soul struggle he was meditating on the theme of the cross and the importance it occupies in Christianity. After further study and reading of the Scriptures, he saw Christ and the cross inseparably joined in the well-known verse,“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”(John 3:16). The title words,“The Old Rugged Cross,”came into his mind, and then followed the melody. In vain he tried to fit words to the tune, trying on various occasions in different cities. Finally freedom of poetry came, and the words flowed freely from his mind. He sang the completed hymn at the parsonage of his friends, the Reverend and Mrs. L. O. Bostwick atPokagon, Michigan, and asked them diffidently, “Will it do?” Their answer was that they liked it so much that they would pay for its printing. The hymn was printed in Heart and Life Songs, 1915, edited by Bennard and two others.

Bennard was born on February 4, 1873, at Youngstown, Ohio, and was converted as a child in a Salvation Army meeting at Lucas, Iowa. When he was 16 years old his father died, and he supported his mother and four sisters. He moved to Illinois, married, and his wife worked for the Salvation Army. He resigned to become an evangelist in the Methodist Church, and conducted campaigns in Canada and in the north and central states of America. He died at Reed City, Michigan, on October 10, 1958. To commemorate him and his popular hymn the Reed city officials erected a wooden cross 12 feet high just outside the city.