How The Song “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, No Turning Back’ Writer got the Lyrics
Story Behind The Song “I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (No Turning Back)”
About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, England.
As a result of this, many missionaries came all the way from England to northeast India to spread the Gospel.
The region known as Assam comprised of tribal communities that were quite primitive and well known for being hostile and aggressive.
The tribesmen were also called HEAD-HUNTERS because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible, hence a man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected. Therefore youths of marriageable age would try and collect as many heads as possible and hang them on the walls of his house, as the more heads a man had, the more eligible he was considered.
Into this hostile environment came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ but naturally they were not welcomed.
However, One Welsh missionary who was warned to go back because of the tribe’s extremely hostile nature but ignored the warnings because he believed even these savage headhunters should have the opportunity to hear about the mercy of God, finally succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children.
The man, a Garo tribesman from the tribe of “Meghalaya” named ‘Nokseng’ and his family heard the Gospel and received Jesus as their Savior. The good news was too good to keep to themselves and they shared the Gospel with others in the tribe.
This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity.
Angry, the village Chief summoned all the villagers, He then called the family who had first converted, to renounce their faith in public or face execution.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man sung his reply,
“I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.”
Enraged at the refusal of the man, the Chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children and they did.
As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the Chief asked, “Will you deny your faith?
You have lost both your children already. You will lose your wife too.”
But the man replied, again singing,
“Though none go with me, still I will follow, No turning back.”
The Chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down and she was. In a moment, she joined her two children in death.
Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”
In the face of death the tribesman looked the chief in the eyes and replied,
“The cross before me the world behind me no turning back, No turning back.”
The chief could not believe his ears and shot the tribesman dead like the rest of his family.
Jesus said if a grain of wheat dies it bears much fruit, and that day many of the villagers who witnessed the persecution of that tribesman and his family also decided to follow Jesus – even the chief himself became a follower of Jesus Christ.
The tribes man’s last words became the song of the village and today a hundred years later it is sung all around the world.
“I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back, no turning back.”
