When Bennard was very young, his family moved to Al­bia, Io­wa, then Lu­cas, Io­wa. He want­ed a ca­reer in evan­gel­ism, but was forced in­stead to sup­port his mo­ther and sis­ters when his fa­ther died. Af­ter mar­ry­ing, he and his wife worked for the Sal­va­tion Ar­my in Ill­i­nois, and he lat­er served as an evan­gel­ist in Amer­i­ca and Ca­na­da. Bennard spent his last years in Reed Ci­ty, Mi­chi­gan, where the Cham­ber of Com­merce erect­ed a cross near his home. The Old Rug­ged Cross His­tor­ic­al Mu­se­um in Reed Ci­ty com­mem­o­rates his work. Bennard’s works in­clude:

• Bennard’s Melodies
• Revival Classics
• Divine Praise (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: The Ro­de­heav­er Com­pa­ny, 1926)
• Full Re­demp­tion Songs (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: The Ro­de­heav­er Com­pa­ny, 1933)

Sources

Hymns

1. It Was for Me
2. God Answers Prayer
3. Jesus Is the Rock of Ages (© 1926)
4. Lord, Give Us Souls
5. Old Rugged Cross, The
6. Speak, My Lord
7. Tell Me His Name Again (© 1934)