When Stuart Hine wrote ‘How Great Thou Art!’ he had no idea how popular it would become – or how the royalties would pour in. However, as Chair of The Stuart Hine Trust, Ray Bodkin, explains, ‘Money was not important to him. The main thing as far as Stuart was concerned was preaching the gospel and seeing God glorified.’
In 1934, Stuart began a 300-mile cycle ride through the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe, preaching and giving out Bibles along the way. Inspired by the incredible scenes of creation and salvation that he was seeing, and by the Russian words of ‘Mighty God’ by Ivan Prokhanoff, Stuart began to write. He said later, ‘The first three verses of “How Great Thou Art!” were born, line by line, amid my unforgettable experiences in those mountains.’
In 1948, the grief of refugees pouring into London from Eastern Europe prompted him to compose a fourth verse, full of hope for our true home with Christ.
‘A godly way to invest in the kingdom’
The hymn was tremendously popular in the UK and beyond. A version was even recorded by Elvis – but such success presented Stuart with a dilemma. He was a missionary, used to relying on God to meet his needs. ‘He really struggled with receiving money for the hymn,’ explains Ray.
Mercy, Sonia and Stuart Hine Eventually, Stuart’s solicitor suggested he set up a trust. His daughter, Sonia, joined him as one of the first trustees. Now, in addition to glorifying God in song, the royalties would also be distributed in service of the Lord. To date, The Stuart Hine Trust has distributed over £6 million for gospel work.
‘They could have been millionaires,’ says Ray. ‘Putting it into the trust was a godly way to invest in the kingdom.’
‘We pray that God will give us wisdom’
Ray has connected with hundreds of projects in his 30 years with the trust. ‘We’ve financed quite a lot in Ukraine over the years because that was where Stuart ministered,’ Ray explains.
Another of the trust’s main priorities is Bible translation. Stuart’s daughter, Sonia, served with Wycliffe in Ghana and Cameroon, and later trained others for Bible translation.
Stuart Hine ‘She believed, as we believe, that people need the Bible in their heart language, that God can speak to them through it,’ says Ray.
When the trust began, Sonia and Stuart included Bible translation in the principles that still guide the trustees in allocating funds today.
‘We are very much aware that it was formed by Stuart and Sonia – decisions are always made in the light of that,’ says Ray. ‘Our prayer at the beginning of every meeting is that God will give us the wisdom to be responsible.’
Part of that responsibility has included a vision for the future.
The copyright for ‘How Great Thou Art!’ will expire in 2059, and with it the ministry funding will cease. So the trust commissioned songwriters Matt Redman and Mitch Wong to create a new version of the hymn called ‘How Great Thou Art! (Until That Day)’ (see this Story for more on this). It was released in January 2024 in celebration of the hymn’s 75th anniversary and was performed at Prom Praise in the Royal Albert Hall on 4 May.
For the foreseeable future, all of the royalties will be used to support humanitarian aid and churches in Ukraine.
Mercy and Stuart Hine ‘It is very exciting to think that we have extended the impact of the trust,’ says Ray. ‘Hopefully both the original hymn and the new version will continue to earn royalties that can support Christian ministry. As far as Stuart and Sonia were concerned, the hymn was never the important thing. The important thing was that God’s kingdom should grow and people should be saved.’
