Music in the Archival Sphere

April 15, 2022April 19, 2022 / Emily Banas / Leave a comment

Music is an intricate part of every human culture, including not only the production and enjoyment of sound itself, but the place it has in shaping memory and the tone of everyday life.

*Song sheet from a 1948 YFC rally in Nimes, France. (CN48, Folder 14-50)*

While an expression of art, music can also be a demonstration of deep-held values, hopes and fears, both for individuals and communities. As one of the central missions of Buswell Library Archives & Special Collections includes preserving the history of evangelism and evangelical Christianity, we have sought to document the music of evangelism, in all its variety and multitude.

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A Call to United Action: Commemorating 80 Years of the National Association of Evangelicals

April 1, 2022January 19, 2023 / Emily Banas / 1 Comment

Buswell Library Archives and Special Collections holds the records of many national evangelical organizations – From Youth for Christ (CN 48) and Christianity Today (CN 08) to Christians for Social Action (CN 37) and Prison Fellowship Ministries (CN 274). These collections provide valuable and fascinating insights into the history of evangelical Christianity in the United States. But few offer as broad a view of American evangelicalism in the last half of the 20^th century as the National Association of Evangelicals (SC 113), which celebrates the 80th anniversary of its founding conference this month.

Meeting on April 7^th 1942, the group of 147 evangelical pastors, leaders, and educators gathered together in St. Louis to answer: Who could speak for evangelical Protestantism in America?