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Wilbur Eugene Nelson (September 25, 1910 – August 22, 2003) was an American Christian radio broadcaster, church minister, gospel singer and composer, and published author. He produced and hosted the nationally-syndicated ''Morning Chapel Hour'' radio program in the 1940s–1990s. In addition to pastoring churches in California, he sang as a tenor soloist throughout his career. Nelson's radio ministry continues today, now known as ''Compassion Radio''.


Early years

Nelson was born in
Brighton, Colorado Brighton is a home rule city located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Brighton is the county seat of Adams County and is a part of the Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The c ...
, on September 25, 1910. He attended Pilgrim Bible College in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
, before moving to California. He attended the old Country Church of Hollywood in the 1930s, where he married his wife, Ethyl, in 1936.


Singing career

A talented tenor, Nelson sang in a quartet at the Country Church of Hollywood in the 1930s, later singing on the popular '' Old Fashioned Revival Hour'' radio broadcast in the early 1940s. Pianist
Rudy Atwood Rudolph Atwood (December 16, 1912 – October 16, 1992) was an American Christian music pianist, known primarily for his years as accompanist on the long-running ''Old Fashioned Revival Hour'' radio program led by Charles E. Fuller from 1937 to ...
, who frequently accompanied Nelson on the program, praised him as "one of the truly great singers of our day", writing, "Whether he sings the old hymns, or the contemporary gospel songs, his magnificent voice and dedicated life is a blessing to people everywhere". Among his many singing roles, Nelson sang at
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
's crusade in Los Angeles in 1949, while pastoring Grace Church in
Huntington Park, California Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, Firestone Park, Graham, and Walnut Park, California. As of the 2020 cen ...
.


Church ministries

Nelson was founder and pastor of Grace Church of Huntington Park, California, in the 1940s–1950s, which advertised itself as the "Singing Church". While pastoring Grace Church, he also held open-air summer tent meetings drawing thousands, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reported in 1949, publishing a photo of Nelson, shirtsleeves rolled up, driving tent stakes into the ground. The goal, he said, was to overcome the "summer slump in church attendance". Nightly meetings were held in the 500-seat tent, which he called "The Canvas Chapel". For two years, Nelson led the
Youth for Christ Youth For Christ (YFC) is a worldwide Christian movement working with young people, whose main purpose is evangelism among teenagers. It began informally in New York City in 1940, when Jack Wyrtzen held evangelical Protestant rallies for teenager ...
movement in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, one of the largest at the time on the West Coast, and organized and conducted their mass rallies at the
Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
. Known as the "singing evangelist", Nelson both sang and preached at his church, as well as when making frequent guest appearances at other churches. In the 1960s–1970s, Nelson was minister at Metropolitan Bible Church in
Paramount, California Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 53,733, down from 54,098 at the 2010 census. Part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Paramount is bordered by ...
, in addition to continuing to make singing appearances as a soloist.


''Morning Chapel Hour''

While pastoring the Grace Church of Huntington Park, Nelson founded the Grace Evangelistic Association to produce a daily half-hour radio program, ''The Morning Chapel Hour'', beginning in 1944 on KGER in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. The broadcast was eventually syndicated to radio stations around the United States and internationally. In later years, it was also carried by the
Bible Broadcasting Network The Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is a listener-supported global Christian Conservative Christian radio radio network, network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey, who was the network ...
during the 1970s–1990s. On each broadcast, a choir sang gospel hymns, often as backup with Nelson singing lead, preceding a short devotional message given by Nelson to encourage and comfort listeners. The program's motto was, "Songs and Thoughts that Lift the Heart". He made guest singing and speaking appearances at churches and special events around the country, such as the Western Pennsylvania Bible Conference in June 1974. As the program's popularity grew, Nelson extended its international outreach. In the early 1950s, for example, the ''Morning Chapel Hour'' broadcast sponsored the building of the Evangel Children's Home in Hong Kong, a Christian orphanage for refugee children from mainland China. He also built a 2000-seat chapel/auditorium for Isabelle Christian School for Girls in Pusan, Korea. The auditorium was named "Nelson Hall" in his honor.


Recordings and published works

Recordings made by Nelson and the ''Morning Chapel Hour'' singers include: ''The Morning Chapel Hour: Wilbur Nelson and the Chapel Singers'' on the
Word Records Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records). History In ...
label, ''Great Day!'', ''Memory Melodies'', and ''O Come, O Come Immanuel: Songs of the Savior's Birth'', a self-produced album of Christmas music performed by the ''Morning Chapel Hour'' singers accompanied by orchestra and directed by Nelson. On the latter album's
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
, Nelson wrote of the ''Morning Chapel Hour'' music: "A diligent effort has been made since the program began to present Gospel music in a way which leads the listener to an experience of reverence as well as listening pleasure ... with the prayer that it may bring cheer and blessing". Nelson wrote several books, including some of his song arrangements and collected meditations given on the ''Morning Chapel Hour'' broadcast over the years, among them: * ''If I were an Atheist'' * ''The Confident Christian'' * ''Inferior Feelings — is this your problem?'' * ''Anecdotes and illustrations'' * ''Believe & behave'' * ''Singing faith: souvenir selections from the Morning Chapel Hour'' * ''Talks on the Holy Spirit: a series of radio messages presented on The Morning Chapel Hour''


Later years and legacy

Nelson received honorary doctorates from Talbot School of Theology and
Pusan National University Pusan National University (PNU; , also called Busan National University) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in South Korea. It is the first national university established after the National Liberation Day of Korea. There ar ...
in Korea. The
National Religious Broadcasters National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint com ...
honored Nelson with their "Award of Merit" and "Milestone Award". Nelson died on August 22, 2003, at age 92 in Laguna Woods, California. He was predeceased by his wife, Ethyl, who died in November 2000. Their son, Norman (1939–2017), then took over the radio ministry and later renamed the broadcast ''Compassion Radio'', shifting its focus away from music and inspirational sermons to emphasize overseas needs and missionary work. He recalled that his father in later years deplored the way some evangelicals had become politicized, instead of being focused on Christ. ''Compassion Radio'' continues to be produced as an over-the-air syndicated radio program as well as a
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
in , under current president Bram Floria.


References


External links


74th Anniversary of ''Morning Chapel Hour''

''Compassion Radio''
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Wilbur 1910 births 2003 deaths People from Brighton, Colorado Oklahoma Wesleyan University alumni American evangelists 20th-century American Christian clergy American Protestant ministers and clergy Radio personalities from California Writers from California Writers from Colorado 20th-century American clergy