Jack W. Hayford

Jack Williams Hayford (/ˈdʒæk ˈwɪljəmz ˈheɪfərd/; born June 25, 1934) is an American author, Pentecostal minister, and Chancellor of The King's University (formerly The King's College and Seminary). He is a former senior pastor of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, CA and was the fourth President of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. He is widely known for his past involvement in the Promise Keepers movement and for being a prolific author and songwriter, with over 600 hymns and choruses in his catalog. He is the author of the popular 1978 hymn "Majesty", which is rated as one of the top 100 contemporary hymns, performed and sung in churches worldwide.

Jack Williams Hayford was born on June 25, 1934, in Los Angeles, California, to Anita Delores (née Farnsworth) (1916–1997) and Jack Hayford (1911–1979), who had married two years earlier on September 28, 1932. Hayford was born with a muscular condition in his neck, however his condition improved. His father had served in the military as a young man and served 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 (now Aglow International). Although Hayford's parents did not always attend church, he has credited them with providing him with a Christian upbringing.