Cliff Barrows

“The Christian faith is a singing faith, and a good way to express it and share it with others is in community singing.”

Profile

These are the words of Cliff Barrows, music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, who for more than six decades led congregational singing and Crusade choirs around the world with Billy Graham.

Mr. Barrows, who died at 93 on Nov. 15, 2016, first met Mr. Graham while on his honeymoon with his first wife, Billie (now deceased), near Asheville, N.C., in 1945. Music played a significant role in Billy Graham Crusades, and Mr. Barrows was responsible for that music from when the first Crusades began in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1947.

Together, Mr. Barrows and Mr. Graham shared the Gospel around the globe.

From the beginning of Mr. Graham’s Crusade ministry, George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows were the nucleus of the Crusade musical team. They were joined in 1950 by pianist Tedd Smith, and through the years, organists Don Hustad and John Innes provided additional accompaniment.

“I’ve had no greater joy than encouraging people to sing,” said Mr. Barrows. “Every great moving of the Spirit of God has been accompanied by great singing. I believe it will always be so!”

Mr. Barrows remained active in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association well into his 80s. He served as host of the Hour of Decision radio program for more than 60 years, and was also host of the Hour of Decision Online radio program, which posts weekly on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association USA site, BillyGraham.org. He also served for many years on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Board of Directors.

In addition to singing at Franklin Graham Festivals and Will Graham Celebrations, Mr. Barrows regularly hosted Senior Celebrations and Christmas events at The Cove in Asheville, NC, and helped with BGEA’s Schools of Evangelism ministry for more than 40 years.

In recognition of his significant contributions to Gospel music, Mr. Barrows was inducted into the Nashville Gospel Music Hall of Fame in April 1988, and into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in February 1996. He was also inducted, with Billy Graham and Beverly Shea, into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists’ “Hall of Faith” in 2008.

“His (Mr. Barrows’) uncanny ability to lead a Crusade choir of thousands of voices or an audience of a hundred thousand voices in a great hymn or Gospel chorus is absolutely unparalleled,” Billy Graham wrote in his autobiography, Just As I Am.

“But all of that talent is not the secret of Cliff’s effectiveness,” Mr. Graham wrote later. “It is his humility and his willingness to be a servant, which spring from his devotional life and his daily walk with Christ.”

Mr. Barrows was born and reared in Ceres, Calif. He was married to his first wife, Billie, for nearly 50 years. Then God brought Mr. Barrows and his second wife, Ann, together after the death of both of their spouses to cancer. He and Ann made their home together in Marvin, N.C.

Mr. Barrows, who passed away on Nov. 15, 2016, at the age of 93, had five children: Bonnie, 1948; Robert, 1950; Betty Ruth, 1953; Clifford (Bud), 1955; and William Burton, 1962.

Biography

Born

  • Cliff Barrows
  • April 6, 1923
  • Ceres, California

Died

  • November 15, 2016

Parents

  • Harriet M. and Charles Tilson Barrows (both deceased)

Married

  • Ann Prince
  • Billie Newell (deceased)

Vocation

  • 1944: Ordained to ministry, Baptist Church, Ceres, California
  • 1944-1945: Assistant Pastor, Temple Baptist Church, St. Paul, Minnesota
  • 1945: Music and Program Director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team
  • 1950-2014: Program Director and Host for “Hour of Decision” radio program, broadcast around the world for more than 60 years
  • 1950-2000: Board of Directors, Vice Chairman, BGEA (Emeritus 2001)
  • 1956-1995: Board of Directors, The Navigators (Emeritus 2009)
  • 1962-2007: Board of Directors, Blue Ridge Broadcasting (Emeritus 2008)
  • 1965-1970: President, World Wide Pictures
  • 1971-1972: Interim Pastor, Taylors First Baptist Church, Taylors, South Carolina
  • 1989-2013: Board of Directors, Crowley-Shanahan (Emeritus 2014)
  • 2014: Host, “Hour of Decision Online” weekly Internet radio program

Education

  • 1940: Diploma, Ceres Union High, Ceres, California
  • 1944: B.A. in Sacred Music, Bob Jones University HONORS
  • 1968: Honorary Doctor of Sacred Music, John Brown University
  • 1988: Inducted into the Nashville Gospel Music Hall of Fame
  • 1996: Elected to Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame (NRB)
  • 2006: Received the National Religious Broadcasters’ Milestone Award
  • 2008: Inducted into the “Hall of Faith,” The Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists

Children

  • Bonnie, 1948
  • Robert, 1950
  • Betty Ruth, 1953
  • Clifford (Bud), 1955
  • William Burton, 1962

Residence

  • Marvin, North Carolina