Clarence Herbert Woolston

Clarence Herbert Woolston (1856–1927) was an American Baptist pastor, children’s evangelist, writer, and gospel song author whose ministry was especially shaped by religious education for children. Born in New Jersey, he attended public schools in Camden and the South Jersey Institute at Bridgeton. Under the influence of evangelist H. G. DeWitt, he entered preparation for ministry and studied at Crozer Theological Seminary from 1877 to 1879. He was ordained in 1880 and served Baptist congregations in South River and Lambertville, New Jersey.

In 1887 Woolston became pastor of East Baptist Church in Philadelphia, a position he held for forty years until his death. United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, drawing on Baptist hymnal scholarship and contemporary newspaper material, notes that the congregation grew substantially during his long pastorate. Woolston became known for using visual demonstrations, mechanical devices, and sleight-of-hand as teaching tools. His books included Seeing Truth: A Book of Object Lessons with Magical and Mechanical Effects (1910), Penny Object Lessons (1916), and The Bible Object Book (1926).

His most enduring hymn contribution is Jesus Loves the Little Children, first published as a three-stanza song in The Gospel Message, No. 3 in 1913. Later collections often retained only its refrain, which became far more widely known than the original stanzas and was repeatedly adapted in subsequent children’s songs. Woolston’s career therefore belongs to the history of Baptist pastoral ministry, visual Bible teaching, and the rise of children’s gospel song in the United States.