Carol Owens

Carol Sue Owens (1931–2023) was an American Christian songwriter, author, and music-ministry leader whose work became closely associated with the Jesus Movement and the growth of contemporary congregational music. Born in El Reno, Oklahoma, on October 30, 1931, she studied at San Jose State College and at the Cathedral School of the Bible in Oakland, California. Hymnary identifies her church background as Foursquare. She married church musician and arranger Jimmy Owens in 1954, beginning a long creative partnership that combined songwriting, recording, publishing, teaching, and large-scale musical productions.

The Owenses became known for Christian musicals such as Come Together, If My People, The Witness, and The Glory of Christmas. Their children’s project Ants’hillvania was a Grammy and Dove Award finalist, and in 1986 Jimmy and Carol received the Christian Artists Music Achievement Award. In 1991 they founded the School of Music Ministries International, through which they taught Christian musicians and worship leaders in many countries. They also wrote about worship and songwriting; their later book God Songs: How to Write and Select Songs for Worship, co-authored with Paul Baloche, received a WorshipMusic.com Book of the Year award.

Carol wrote a number of congregational songs cataloged by Hymnary, including “By a New and Living Way,” “Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy,” and “Make Me a Servant,” as well as “Freely, Freely.” Her writing typically uses direct biblical language, memorable refrains, and an emphasis on forgiveness, new life, prayer, and Christian witness. She died in March 2023, several months before Jimmy’s death later that year.