I Love to Tell the Story
A song about telling others the story of Jesus and his love.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“I Love to Tell the Story” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The singer says she loves to tell the story of Jesus and his love, because it has met her own need, and wants to keep telling it in heaven as a new song.
It rests on Jesus sending his followers to preach the good news to every creature (Mark 16:15) and to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8).
It is sung in the season after Pentecost, at mission festivals and in Sunday school. Katherine Hankey, an Englishwoman who taught Bible classes, wrote the poem in 1866; William Fischer added the tune and refrain in 1869.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Arabella Katherine Hankey, 1866 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | HANKEY · William Gustavus Fischer, 1869 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.