When three adorable sheep ask you to sing their favorite song, how can you refuse?
My wife, Deb, is the pastor of DisciplesNet Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that gathers for worship on the internet. This online church has been holding worship for a little over a year now and has reached into more than 80 countries. I have enjoyed the privilege of providing some of the music for DisciplesNet, including The Ninety and Nine.
Methuselah, Brebis and Grace are just three of the sheep that play a critical role in the congregation. DisciplesNet posts worship in video that is shared online, so the preacher and others serving in the worship service may be speaking just to the camera or the few persons that have gathered when the core team meets for worship. The sheep serve as a present reminder of those beyond the camera lens who will receive this ministry.
The Ninety and Nine is among the 19th century American hymns written after the Civil War. The music was written by Ira D. Sankey, a gospel singer and composer associated with Dwight L. Moody. Sankey sang the hymn as an impromptu conclusion to a revival service, having just heard Moody’s sermon on the Good Shepherd. He had clipped the poem by Elizabeth Clephane from a newspaper en route to the service. It would become Sankey’s best known and most popular hymn.
Clephane wrote the poem in 1868 and died just one year later.