Born on a farm Judson Van DeVenter learned to paint studied art and became an art teacher God however had a different plan for him Friends valued his work in church and urged him to go into evangelism Judson felt God calling him too but it was hard for him to give up his love for teaching art He wrestled with God but ldquo at last rdquo he wrote ldquo the pivotal hour of my life came and I surrendered all rdquo We can rsquo t imagine Abraham rsquo s heartbreak when God called him to surrender his son Isaac [... more]

Two men remembered for serving others for Jesus left careers in the arts to commit themselves to where they believed God had called them James O Fraser ndash decided not to pursue being a concert pianist in England to serve the Lisu people in China while the American Judson Van DeVenter ndash chose to become an evangelist instead of pursuing a career in art He later wrote the hymn ldquo I Surrender All rdquo While having a vocation in the arts is the perfect calling for many these men believed God called them to relinquish one career for another Perhaps [... more]