Sarah Young, Nashville author of popular "Jesus Calling" devotional, dies at 77

Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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Sarah Young, the Nashville author of the “Jesus Calling,” a daily devotional that was more popular than it was controversial, died Aug. 31. She was 77.

Amid the success of “Jesus Calling” – surpassing 45 million sales two months prior to her death – Young was famously publicity shy and granted very few interviews, primarily via email. In her public statements, she was less focused on the book’s success as she was the effect on readers.

Sarah Young, Nashville author of "Jesus Calling," a daily devotional that surpassed 45 million copies sold in July 2023. Young died Aug. 31 at the age of 77.
Sarah Young, Nashville author of "Jesus Calling," a daily devotional that surpassed 45 million copies sold in July 2023. Young died Aug. 31 at the age of 77.

“Publishing Jesus Calling was a long, prayer-filled journey,” Young said in a statement in July. “Ever since its publication, I’ve prayed daily for people who are reading Jesus Calling or any of my subsequent books. I consider it an amazing privilege and a God-given responsibility to pray for readers.”

“Jesus Calling” was released in 2004 under Integrity Publishers, later absorbed by Nashville-based Thomas Nelson. The inspiration came from Young’s approach to prayer and devotion, which involved writing down what Young felt God was telling her, according to Christianity Today.

Young’s journal writings that served as the basis for “Jesus Calling” came during the “Satanic Panic” of the 1990s, according to Religion News Service.

But the book’s popularity transcended a single cultural flashpoint and only grew in sales and notoriety in the next couple decades. Thomas Nelson translated the book into 35 languages and developed a spin-off kids devotional, magazine, podcast and television show featuring guests including Chris Tomlin, Amy Grant, Tim Tebow and Walker Hayes, according to a July news release.

“Sarah was a remarkable woman who deeply loved God,” said Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson’s parent company Harper Collins Christian Publishing, in a news release on Sept. 1. “Her words have resonated with people from all walks of life, and the global impact of her work is unparalleled.”

But there was also pushback to “Jesus Calling” because it’s written from Jesus’ perspective. A Calvin University scholar once famously said the devotional bordered “blasphemy.”

A representative of Thomas Nelson defended Young in a 2013 New York Times article that, “she (Young) doesn’t say that Jesus speaks to her… In no way does she believe her own writing is sacred or that she has new revelations.”

Born in Nashville, Young became a Christian on a trip to France and pursued a master’s degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in Missouri. There, she met her soon-to-be husband, Stephen.

Stephen Young is currently pastor of Crossroads of the Nations, a Brentwood congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

Sarah and Stephen Young have long been involved in the PCA and served with the denomination’s missionary arm, including in Australia. The two returned to the Nashville area in 2013, where they have since resided.

The Youngs have two children and six grandchildren. A funeral for Sarah Young will be at Christ Presbyterian Church on Sept. 9.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter and Threads @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Sarah Young, Nashville author of popular "Jesus Calling," dies at 77