Jack W. Hayford


Jack Hayford was an American Pentecostal minister, author, songwriter, and broadcaster. He is best known for serving as the senior pastor of The Church on the Way from 1969 to 1999, a congregation that grew into a pioneer of the megachurch movement. Hayford also served as the fifth President of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel from 2004 to 2009.
A prolific writer of over 600 hymns and choruses, he is widely recognized as the writer and composer of the popular worship song "Majesty". In his later years, he founded The King's University, where he served as Chancellor Emeritus. His lifetime contributions to ministry and religious broadcasting were recognized with his 2014 induction into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Jack Williams Hayford was born on June 25, 1934, in Los Angeles, California, to Anita Dolores and Jack Hayford, who had married two years earlier on September 28, 1932. Hayford was born with a muscular condition in his neck, which improved later. His father had served in the military as a young man and worked as a switchman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Hayford's mother, Dolores, was a Bible teacher who spoke at interdenominational women's classes and Women's Aglow Fellowship. Although Hayford's parents did not always attend church, he has credited them with providing him with a Christian upbringing.
Hayford was raised in Oakland, California, and attended Oakland Technical High School. After graduating in 1952, Hayford moved back to Los Angeles to attend Life Pacific University and received his first bachelor's degree in 1956. Nearer to middle age, he would earn a second bachelor's degree, from Azusa Pacific University.

Career

Early academic and pastoral appointments

Early in Hayford's Career, he served as the National Youth Director of International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. He then joined the faculty of his alma mater, L.I.F.E., and went on to become dean of students there.
In 1969, while serving as dean at L.I.F.E. and finishing his APU degree, Hayford was asked to pastor a small congregation, the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys, California, a struggling congregation of only 18 members, with an average age of 65 years. While Hayford had initially agreed to pastor the church for only a period of six months, he later felt compelled to remain permanently. Only a few weeks from accepting an offer to pastor another Foursquare church, Hayford met with Foursquare denomination president Rolf McPherson, stating that he wanted to remain with the Van Nuys congregation. By the early 1980s, The Church on the Way had become a pioneer of the megachurch movement and numbered among the largest churches in America, particularly within the Foursquare denomination, at one point reporting membership exceeding 10,000. Actor Dean Jones, a close friend of Hayford's, was an elder in the church, as was Pat Boone, along with Jan and Paul Crouch.

Broadcasting and hymn writing

Hayford was a prolific songwriter, with more than 600 hymns and choruses in his catalog. He wrote and composed the popular 1978 hymn "Majesty", which is rated as one of the top 100 contemporary hymns, and which is performed and sung in churches worldwide.

Latter years

In the late 1990s, Hayford felt called to establish a Pentecostal seminary in Los Angeles to train other pastors and founded The King's College and Seminary, which would later become known as The King's University. In 1999, he resigned as the senior pastor of The Church On The Way to focus on the college, although he briefly returned to help the church through a difficult transition after his successor and son-in-law, Scott Bauer, died suddenly. On October 4, 2004, Hayford was elected to a four-year term as president of the Foursquare denomination, a position he chose not to pursue after that single term. In 2013, Hayford felt called to move the King's University to Southlake, Texas, under the stewardship of Gateway Church. In 2015, The Church On The Way, led by senior pastor Tim Clark, honored Hayford with the title of Pastor Emeritus in recognition of his continuing contributions to church management and oversight.

Awards and recognition

In March 2014, Hayford was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He has also won the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for his part in the album God With Us and the Salvation Army's William Booth Award, as well as serving as Worship Leader on the album.
Over the course of his life, Hayford has also been awarded several honorary degrees, including doctorates from Life Pacific College, and Oral Roberts University, and one for literature from California Graduate School of Theology.

Personal life

On July 4, 1954, Hayford married his college sweetheart, Anna Marie Smith. Their marriage produced four children. In early 2016, Anna was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and died in 2017. Hayford married Valerie Lemire the following year, and they lived in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. He discontinued making public appearances in 2019.
Hayford died at his home in Los Angeles on January 8, 2023, at the age of 88.

Published works

The following are some of the published works of the title subject:
  • Prayer is Invading the Impossible. revised ed.
  • The Key to Everything
  • The Church On The Way
  • Moments with Majesty
  • Kingdom Warfare: Prayer, Spiritual Warfare, and the Ministry of Angels
  • The Power and Blessing
  • Glory on Your House
  • The Beauty of Spiritual Language
  • The Heart of Praise
  • Built by the Spirit/Rebuilding the Real You: Nehemiah
  • Pastors of Promise
  • Hayford's Bible Handbook
  • Grounds for Living, sound teaching for sure footing in Growth & Grace
  • ''Rebuilding the Real You''