April 27, 1934

• Author and speaker Brennan Manning is born. Manning would go on to have a profound impact on the writing and life of Rich Mullins.
  
  

  April 12, 1950

• John and Neva Mullins are married and living in Lynn, Indiana. Neva was Quaker. John as a member of the Disciples of Christ Church. John was the son of a coal miner who worked as a tool and dye maker, and later as a tree farmer on the Mullins family farm
  Richard: "A few generations back, there were twin brothers who were orphans in France. As young teenagers eager to find a better life, they stowed away on a ship bound for America. One of them was my great-great-grandfather. I remember the first time I flew into New York and saw the Statue of Liberty. I thought of those twins, my ancestors, both of them fifteen or sixteen years old, standing there on Ellis Island. They had come to begin a new life. They didn't even know the language. And I wondered what it felt like to them, years later, when they were eighty years old, with grandchildren, knowing that the dream of a better life had come true."
  
  Richard: "I come from a pretty big family, so there are lots of 'significant people' who are examples to me. My dad was a very emotional man who believed love was a very practical thing and that it expressed itself in practical ways. My mom was (and is) a very quiet, steadfast woman who is strong and gentle and never cold. My great grandparents lived next door to us and great-grandma told me great stories at nap time. My grandpa Dean loved books- My grandma and grandpa Mullins fed a dozen people every Sunday and were very funny and earthy. My Uncle David and Aunt Fiossie have always been avid card players. My Uncle Dick is possibly the most giving man I know - very giving and caring. Jim Lewis - a cousin of mine - was (along with King David) my boyhood hero. My dad's four sisters (we call them the 'four sisters of the Apocalypse') are extremely lively women who have met life head on and though they're in their 60's and up, they are still more fun than most people my age. I could go on forever, but my telling is a shabby telling of their lives and their impact on me. Did I mention my Uncle Glenn?"
  
  Richard: "My dad grew up back and forth between Kentucky and Virginia because his father was a coal miner. And when my dad was 14 my grandpa came home and told my grandma to load up the truck 'cause they were gonna move.... And my grandpa said, 'Well, Rose, we're going to Detroit.' And she said, 'Why in the world are we going to Detroit?' And he said, 'Because I don't want my boys to grow up to be coal miners.' And so they got as far as Indiana and ran out of gas--and that's how I got here."
  
  Richard: "What I discovered is, heritage doesn't puff you up with pride. It really humbles you. If you look at the lives of the people you come from you kind of go, 'if they had married anyone else, if they had moved anywhere else, if their lives had been one iota different, I wouldn't be here.' And so you have, not a big debt, not a crushing debt to pay, but you are a part of an ongoing thing. You are not alone in this world. You are part of an ensemble."
  
  

  September 3, 1950

• Aaron A. Smith is born in Nashville, TN. Aaron would later become one of the members of Rich Mullins' Ragamuffin Band as well as playing drums for many other bands including Vector, Romeo Void, and the Temptations.
  
  

  June 6, 1951

• Debra Mullins is born to John and Neva Mullins at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  October 29, 1953

• Sharon Mullins is born to John and Neva Mullins at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  December 29, 1954

• Jimmy Abegg is born in Alliance, Nebraska to John and Vera Abegg. Jimmy A would later become one of the members of Rich Mullins' Ragamuffin Band. In the early 1980s, Jimmy would form the rock band Vector with Steve Griffith, Charlie Peacock and Aaron Smith. Jimmy began taking piano lessons as a child and eventually switched to bass guitar in high school before settling on guitar in his late teens.
  
  

  January 7, 1955

• Richard Robert Elias is born in San Diego, CA. Rick, as he would become known, would later become one of the members of Rich Mullins' Ragamuffin Band.
  
  

  October 21, 1955

• Richard Wayne Mullins is born to John A. and Neva Mullins at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Indiana. Rich -- or "Wayne," as he was known to his family, was the third of six Mullins children. Richard did not speak until he was two years old. His parents thought he might be autistic and they arranged to have him evaluated, but then he began talking.
  
  
  The Mullins family attended the Quaker Arba Friends Church in Lynn, IN. When he was a small child, Richard's grandmother gave him a Bible with the Song of Solomon torn out. She told him he could read that when he got older.
  
  Joyce Hill (who taught Rich in her first-ever Sunday School class at Arba Friends Meeting) : "I remember trying to keep around ten boys settled and focused, but Rich was a tremendous listener, very serious about the Bible lessons, a quiet and easy student. And he never gave me any trouble! One winter Rich took us for a wild truck ride into the woods (on the Mullins farm) and cut down a (Christmas) tree for us. I remember worrying about his hands and the chain saw. What if he hurt himself? He was so fun-loving, and always different from the other kids around."
  Joyce Hill: "He was in my very first Sunday School class that I ever taught. He was about 8 or 10 years old at the time. And also, then later, after he had already been a singer and a songwriter, we purchased our Christmas trees from his parents and he happened to be visiting. At one time, we went to get one and he jumped in our truck and took us out and cut a tree down with a chain saw and we were concerned that with his talent, something would happen to his fingers and waste the valuable talent that he had. I've also enjoyed his music for several years. It's been a great inspiration." (Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, September 30, 1997)
  
  
  

  (1956)

  Early 1956

• Richard's future producer Reed Arvin is born in Wichita, KS to Lawyers Les and Kay Arvin. Reed would attend Southeast High School and form a jazz band while attending Wichita State University.
  
  

  November 4, 1957

• Richard's baby brother Brian Dee Mullins is born. Brian Dee would die at only 5 months due to spinal meningitis.
  
  

  1959

• The first album that Richard received as a child was The Singing Nun.
  Richard: "So I think my fate was sealed. That was a prophetic choice. I was about four years old. I wanted to marry her. I was about four years old. I didn’t know that nuns weren’t allowed to marry. The first rock album that I bought with my own money was the Moody Blues In Search of the Lost Chord. I would skip meals at school and save my money to buy albums with."
  
  
• The Mullins family discovers Richard's musical abilities. Although Richard grew up on a farm, everyone soon realized that he was not cut out for farm work. He began writing songs while driving the family tractor. Richard started playing piano at a very early age, and learned to play four part harmony with help from his grandmother, who lived right next door. Richard also had classical training and piano lessons before graduating from Northeastern High School. Richard credited his early musical influences as The Beatles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Blue Cheer, Joni Mitchell, Carol King and Bob Dylan. Richard's early piano teachers included Mary Kellner of Richmond, and Northeastern music teachers Rex Jenkins and Ralph Phillips.
  
  Richard's sister Debbie: "When I was about ten years old and Wayne was four or five, I was taking piano lessons. My teacher told me to practice the hymn 'Abide with Me,' and I played it over and over but kept messing up on the same part. I got up to go into another room. Mom had been listening all the while as she was working in the kitchen. The next thing she heard was the hymn being played without a mistake, and she said 'Oh, Debbie, you're really getting it.' She walked into the room, and there was little Wayne playing the song. He had been sitting htere listening to me practice it for so long that he knew how it was supposed to be played."
  
  
  

  (Richmond, Indiana)

• Photographer Michael Wilson is born in Cincinnati, OH. Michael would go on to be a regular photographer for Richard.
  
  
• Photographer Mark Allen Tucker is born in Bowling Green, KY. Mark would go on to be a regular photographer for Richard.
  
  

  1960

• The Mullins family moves from Lynn, Indiana to a farm near Richmond, IN. John Mullins grew crops and raised beef cattle. He would later start a tree nursery as well.
  Richard: "We were poor farmers - not by world standards, but by American standards. We had a small farm. We always ate good meals, we had a huge garden, we raised a lot of our own food. For me that meant that we were poor. I had no idea how bad beans taste out of a can. Because I had been raised beside a garden. Now I live in a city and I have to eat like most people that we thought were rich. And I go 'this is awful'. I go home and get beans that are fresh picked and I go 'wow, this is delicious' There were people who went to our church that never played their pianos and they only used them as furniture. I can remember thinking 'what I would give to have that piano- just to be able to play it'. For years all of those feelings kind of grew into a real resentment towards rich people, which I still struggle with. Still today, when I'm around people who are wealthy, I don't like them. It's harder for me to communicate the love of God to rich people than it is to the poor people, for I have such a hang-up with wealth."
  
  

  1961

• A six year old Reed Arvin begins to study piano.
  Reed: "I had a wonderful teacher named Hortense Hockett, who had tremendous patients and gave me solid technique. But after her, I went through a series of teachers in rapid succession. You know... one lesson or so, then I'd leave. Maxcene Adams (of the Wichita Jazz Festival) turned that around."
  
  

  September 1961

• Richard Mullins starts First Grade, attending Whitewater Elementary School until the 6th Grade. Since there was another "Wayne" in the class, Richard begins to be called "Richard" by anyone outside of the Mullins family.
  
  

  1962

• The Mullins Family begins attending Whitewater Christian Church instead of the Arba Quaker Church. Richard would continue to attend Arba Friends Church from time to time as well.
  Richard: "When I was real little, my mother was a Quaker and my dad was not particularly interested in religion, period. Then my dad realized his own need for church or for Christ or for the whole ball of wax, but he couldn't get into Quaker things because they're pacifists and my dad's a hillbilly."
  
  

  1962-1963

• Rich Mullins, as a very young child, begins mentioning his interest in being a missionary.
  Richard's sister Debbie: "We would ask him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he wanted to be a missionary. What 6 year old or 8 year old wants to be a missionary?"
  Richard's brother Dave: "From real little, all the way through, he always really had a heart for Native American and felt like they had been really badly treated."
  Richard's brother Lloyd: "When he was a kid and watching a John Wayne movie on the TV, or a western on the TV, crying when the Indians got shot. He had real feeling for them."
  
  

  June 1962

• Neva Mullins takes Richard to see The Music Man.
  Richard's mother Neva Mullins: "We went to the see the movie 'Music Man' when he was just a child. He came home and pecked out the songs he'd heard on our old upright piano."
  
  

  September 1962

• Richard Mullins starts Second Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  

  October 29, 1962

• Richard's future songwriting partner Justin Peters is born.
  
  

  May 1963

• Richard Mullins fails the Second Grade.
  
  

  September 1963

• Richard Mullins repeats the Second Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  

  February 9, 1964

  
  
• The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. This event had quite an effect on young Rich Mullins (as it did for most of the United States) and was credited as feeding his interest in music.
  Richard: "I mean I grew up in a little farming school community.. went to a little county school and if you don't play basketball in rural Indiana, you're like nothing. Well I can't even walk at the same time, let alone walk and chew gum at the same time. Or dribble a ball. I mean I could dribble it if I could stand still, but I was no fun to play ball with so I was the school geek - until the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show and then I looked at them and I went I could be amazing, because I could do that. And women were screaming everywhere.... Suddenly things were looking promising. I decided rather of playing the little John Thompson songs, I was going to start playing Beatles songs. And when I could play 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'.. I played it at recess during the winter when we had to play inside and I played it on the piano. And I was a hit. Rosella Ross kissed me. I'll never forget it. ." (Source: Michigan Radio Interview 1988)
  Richard: "...I don't remember my parents even listening to a lot of music. I mean, I don't remember the radio being on. I think my sisters had a little record player, but this was back in the late Fifties, and if we wanted to hear music we would all go up to my cousins'. And at their house they had records and stuff. And we'd go up there. But I don't think I paid a lot of attention to pop music until the Beatles came out. It was the Ed Sullivan show, and I remember we were watching it, and my parents were really disgusted, and I didn't know why. But I pretended to be disgusted, just because I didn't want to get sent to bed. I'm sitting there pretending to be really disgusted, and I'm going, 'Gosh, I would give anything to do that.' And I don't know what it was. See, I was right there when everything was happening, but I was just a little too young to understand it. But something happened. . . But what I wonder is... you know, I grew up in rural Indiana, and I wonder if that was the first time when I realized that I, as a guy, could be cool. . .That guys could do something besides raise hogs." (Source: The Exchange Interview, April 15, 1997)
  
  

  September 1964

• Richard Mullins begins the Third Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  

  1964

  
  
• Rich Mullins is baptized at Whitewater Christian Church.
  
  

  November 13, 1964

• Richard's future songwriting and touring partner David A. Strasser (later known as Beaker) is born.
  
  

  1964-1965

• The Mullins family goes to the western United States on Vacation and visits the Grand Canyon.
  
  

  1965

• For the first time, Richard plays for communion at Church.
  Richard's sister Sharon: "She got him all ready for his furst special at Church... I don't know, he might have been 10. She asked him how it went and he said, 'I think it went pretty well. They seemed to like' or 'they clapped for me.' And she said, 'Then it wasn't good because Communion meditation music was to point people to God and not to you. If they looked at you and not at God, then you didn't do your job.'"
  Richard: "When I was in fourth grade, I got asked to play the communion meditation at church. I practiced and my piano teacher worked with me, which was cool because she was Quaker, and they don't even have communion. Anyway, I went back Tuesday to my lesson after I had played Sunday, and my teacher said, 'How did you do?' and I told her, 'Everybody said they loved it, everyone said I did great.' And she said, 'Well, then you failed.' I was crushed, but she put her hand on my shoulder and said, 'Richard, when you play in church, you are to direct people's attention to God, not to your playing.'"
  
  

  August 5, 1965

• Lloyd Mullins was born to John and Neva Mullins at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  September 1965

• Richard Mullins begins the Fourth Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  
• Richard continued to learn piano throughout his childhood. His father, who initially wanted Rich to be a jock instead of a musician, eventually pushed for him to have piano lessons.
  Richard: "from when I was real little, I always liked music. My great-grandparents lived right next door to us and I would... they had a piano, and I would go over all the time and play. I think my dad didn't want me to get involved in it totally because he wanted me to be a jock. And, like, there was just no way that was gonna happen. So I think he finally just gave up. Then, when I didn't get a good... in elementary school, when everybody else did, he let me take piano lessons as a consolation prize. And actually the consolation prize turned out better than the grand prize." (Source: The Exchange Interview, April 15, 1997)
  
  Richard: "I had a very good music teacher, Mary Kellner, who not only introduced me to some of the great composers, but she was able to capture my imagination and make me excited about what I was supposed to be learning.
  Richard: "Mrs. Kellner gave me a real appreciation of music, and the basic skills. The variety shows we had at Northeastern whetted my appetite to get people into what you're doing."
  
  

  July 21, 1966

• Richard's grandparents sold their farm and moved to Florida.
  
  

  September 1966

• Richard Mullins begins the Fifth Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  

  1967

  
  
• Richard's father John begins growing and selling trees at the Mullins family farm.
  
  
• When Richard was 12, Richard purchased his own piano with money saved up from working in his father's nursery.
  
  

  February 19, 1967

• Richard Mullins led a discussion on the topic of "Listening to Contemporary Music" at a meeting of the Theta of Indiana, Pi Mu Sorority at the home of Barbara Herbert.
  
  

  July 1, 1967

• David Mullins was born to John and Neva Mullins at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  September 1967

• Richard Mullins begins the sixth Grade attending Whitewater Elementary School.
  
  James R. Miller, classmate and friend: "Schoolmates, sixth grade, we listened to the Beatles on the downstairs radio. Richard loved music and worshipped an Awesome God. Even as a young teen-agter, it was apparent that he was not like all other kids. He was chosen by God. Chosen to teach others about Jesus in a new way... I first heard a Mullins original at his Whitewater Church in the early '70s. This was not from the church hymnal, this was Rich Mullins music. It was fun, honest, painful, happy, brave and emotional. As a teen-ager, Richard was with me when I accepted Christ. As an adult, Rich's music still inspires." (Palladium-Item, September 30, 1997)
  
  

  1968

• Richard attended Western Buckeye Christian Service Camp (popularly called "Camp Christian" near Houston, Ohio and Piqua, Ohio, near Dayton.) He played his own arrangement of "The Theme from Exodus" for Talent Night.
  
  Kathy Champagne, childhood friend: "One of my fav memories about Rich is that he walked around school with a coin and a spoon. He hit the coin with the spoon as he walked. It was to show that anything or anyone can change. Also remember that we did a school project in 5th grade (Rich was in 6th) with paper mache and poster board. Rich was so patient and sang thru the whole project. He was very shy... He was also so funny."
  
  

  1968-1969

  
  
• Richard Mullins would regularly sneak over to his counsin's house to listen to Rock Music. He would also skip meals at school, sving his lunch money to but record albums. Young Richard buys his first record album around this time which was The Moody Blues' In Search of the Lost Chord. At one point, Richard bought the Soundtrack to Hair, but his mother made him trade it because she did not feel that he should be listening to the inappropriate lyrics on the album. Richard ended up trading it for a Frank Zappa album. He also owned most of the Beatles albums.
  Richard: "I remember I got the soundtrack to Hair one time and my mom made me trade it because I didn't know what half of the words meant on the album. So I'm walking aroudn the house singing words that have meanings that she didn't feel were appropriate for a junior high kid to be singing. So she made me get rid of it. So I traded it to Billy Bennett for a Frank Zappa album. He had obscene words, only I knew what his words meant. It was just a little thing I did just to be nasty." (KCMS Interview)
  Richard: "Blue Cheer is probably the most embarassing thing.... I don't know why, except that I went to the drive in with my older sister and one of her friends and I was really in love with this friend of my older sisters. Her name was Leslie in fact... she had long blonde hair and I just remember thinking, 'wow.' She listened to Blue Cheer so I decided to memorize." (KCMS Interview)
  Richard: "I don't know why my parents didn't figure out where that money was coming from. They would just say 'Why do you eat two bowls of ice cream when you come home from school?'"
  
  

  September 1968

• Richard Mullins begins the seventh Grade attending Northeastern High School.
  
  

  May 1969

• Fifty-six students at Northeastern High school formed an organization called "Crusaders for Christ." It consisted of student from eight different denominations. The purpose of the group "You can be young people and at the same time be Christians who enjoy life to the fullest." Four years later, the organization was composed of 100 members and represented 26 different churches.
  
  

  September 1969

• Richard Mullins begins the eighth Grade attending Northeastern High School.
  
  

  October 4, 1969

• Rich's older sister Debra married Marvin Garrett at Whitewater Christian Church in Whitewater, IN.
  
  

  November 1969

  
  
• Local newspapers announce the formation of a New Youth Musical Group "The New Creations" in Richmond, IN. by Tim Cummings. The group, which includes around 50 teenagers, is directed by Ernie Heighway. It is said that the group, whose members represent at least nine denominations, performs solos, duets, and instrumental solos. Rich's sister Sharon joined the Choir group.
  
  
• Richard was initiated into membership in Theta of Indiana, a chapter of the National Society of Pi Mu at the Kellner Music studio. Pi Mu was a non-secret society for earnest students of music. Pi meaning education; Mu meaning Musical. This society was associated with the Progressive Music Series and the Saint Louis Institute of Music.
  
  

  November 1, 1969

• Richard participated in an all boy piano recital at Mary Kellner's studio.
  
  

  January 25, 1970

• The New Creations perform their first concert at the Chester Heights United Methodist Church.
  
  

  February 22, 1970

• The New Creations perform at Whitewater Christian Church.
  
  

  Early 1970

• When Richard was 13, his older sister Sharon arranged for him to accompany her all-county interdenominational choir known as "The New Creations" on piano. The director agreed to let Rich try out not realizing that he was only 13. After Rich tried out, everyone was very impressed by the piano skills of this young man. He would eventually take over playing piano for the choir.
  
  

  March 7, 1970

• The New Creations conducts an "egg sale" in Richmond, Fountain City, Whitewater and Webster, IN. According to local newspapers, the group "will ask for a donation of an egg at one house, then sell it for any price at the next. The group is raising funds for a bus."
  
  

  March 11, 1970

• The New Creations perform at a Baptist Youth Ralley at Central United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  March 15, 1970

• Richard performs for Mary Kellner's Piano Recital.
  
  

  March 20, 1970

• The New Creations perform after an evening banquet at a Youth Fellowship Convention at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  March 21, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Greens Fork School in Greens Fork, Indiana. The event was sponsored by the Fellowship of Church Women.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at Hillcrest Baptist Church Church.
  
  

  March 22, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Church of God in Richmond, IN at 10:45 AM.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the Church of the Open Door.
  
  
  

  (The New Creations Choir. Young Richard is in the second row middle-right with face partially hidden by another child)

  
  More details on the above photo
  First Row L to R: Debbie Stratton, Linda Parks, Karen Jean Rafala (aka "K J Raffe), Mary Overdorf, Louanne Schlotterbeck, Byron Whittaker, Mark Schlotterbeck, James Benton Ballinger, Nora Creech, Kathy Merritt, Cheryl(?), Teresa Whittaker, Debbie Leersen.
  Second Row L to R: Laurie Wilcox, Gloria Overdorf, Dee Smelser, Bobby Wilcox, Tim Schlotterbeck, Mike Oda, Roger Overdorf, Richard Mullins, Carolyn Hiatt, Elaine Wilcox, Debbie (?), Mea Moore, Brenda Rich.
  Third Row L to R: Becky Lawhorn, (?), (?), Doris Duffin, Susan Overdorf, Gary Stults, Terry/Tom (?), Steve Houk, Jeff Pond, Sherry Leersen, Alice Duffin, Carla Sprouse.
  Fourth Row L to R: Jean Ann Lipscomb, Joyce (?), Kris Pond, Pam Dimmitt, (?), (?), R. Rich, Tom Rich, Larry Little, Pam Kaiser, Joyce Booker
  
  Other members of the New Creations Choir (not pictured above) included Larry Phillips, Linda Stults, Mike Ode, Evelyn Long, Doug Heighway, Kay Alsop, Lisa Kay Shook and Wayne Stanley.
  
  

  March 24, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the March meeting for the Richmond Business and Professional Women's Club in the evening.
  
  

  March 28, 1970

• Richard and The Crusaders for Christ from Northeastern High School sang during the evening services at Clear Creek Congregational Christian Church.
  
  

  April 26, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Greens Fork United Methodist Church in Greens Fork, Indiana at 7 p.m.
  
  

  May 8, 1970

  
  
• The Beatles' Let It Be album is released. Rich would frequently call this his favorite album of all time.
  
  

  May 13, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Church of God.
  
  

  May 22, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  May 24, 1970

• The New Creations performs at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  Summer 1970

• Richard Mullins attended Bible camp each summer and he was known as a "terror" at Bible Camp competitions because he knew so much about the Bible and he memorized parts of it.
  
  
  

  (The Mullins Family 1970)

  June 1970

• Richard makes the A-B Honor Roll at Northeastern High School.
  
  

  June 20, 1970

• The New Creations performs at the Union County 4-H Building in Liberty, IN.
  
  

  July 1970

• Richard's piano teacher Mary Kellner attends a Foreign Music seminar at the Lucerne Conservatory in Lucerne, Switzerland.
  
  

  July 12, 1970

• The New Creations perform during the evening service at Pershing United Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  August 14, 1970

• The New Creations perform New Hope Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  September 1970

• Richard Mullins begins the his Freshman Year at Northeastern High School.
  
  

  September 16, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Pleasant View School for Wayne Township 4H achievement program at the Pleasant View Junior High School in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  September 26, 1970

• The New Creations perform at the Chester Heights United Methodist Church.
  
  
• The New Creations perform in the afternoon at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Richmond, IN at 3:30 p.m.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the Greens Fork Junior High School in Greens Fork, Indiana. The event was sponsored by the Fellowship of Church Women at 8 p.m.
  
  

  October 17, 1970

• Richard performs as part of the ensemble for Mary Kellner's Piano Recital.
  
  

  October 21, 1970

• Katherine Garrett is born to Rich's sister Debra and her husband Marvin at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  November 8, 1970

• The New Creations perform during the evening worship at Calvary Southern Baptist Church in Greenfield, IN at 6:30 p.m.
  
  

  November 16, 1970

• Stephen Stills releases his self-titled album which went on to become one of Rich's favorite albums.
  
  

  November 22, 1970

• The New Creations perform an afternoon presentation at the Fountain City United Methodist Church in Fountain City, IN. at 1:30 p.m.
  
  
• The New Creations perform for a Thanksgiving Service at Centerville Church of the Nazarene, sponsored by the Centerville Ministerial Association at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  November 23, 1970

• Cat Stevens releases Tea for Tillerman which went on to become one of Rich's favorite albums.
  
  

  November 25, 1970

• The New Creations perform an afternoon presentation at Boston Junior High School in Richmond, IN
  
  

  December 11-13, 1970

• The New Creations perform at a soecuak event for Fountain City United Methodist Church in Fountain City, IN.
  
  

  December 13, 1970

• The New Creations perform at Calvary Temple in Richmond, IN at 7:00 p.m.
  
  

  December 31, 1970

• The New Creations perform a New Years Eve Service at the First Baptist Church of Hagerstown in Hagerstown, IN. The service ran from 8:00 p.m. Until Midnight.
  
  

  Early 1970s

• Whitewater Christian Church in Richmond, IN decided to redecorate the Fellowship Hall for the youth. Bruce Montgomery, Senior Minister at Whitewater, had tonsilitis and could not be at the church to oversee the project. Montgomery said he told Mullins what could and could not be done to the fellowship hall. Mullins decided to do the forbidden and painted pictures on the walls.
  Bruce Montgomery: "When I found out, I went up to the church and we both spent the rest of the evening cleaning the walls off."
  
  

  1971

• Richard's pastor gives him a copy of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, which went on to have a profound effect on Rich's thinking about Christianity.
  Richard: "I think I took an awful lot of pride in being smart, so I was really careful to have the 'intelligentsia' kind of opinion. Then, when I read C. S. Lewis, here was a guy who was obviously way beyond me and yet he believed in a very fundamental kind of Gospel.. so C.S. Lewis became a big hero of mine..."
  
  
• Richard writes "K J Raffe" around this time about a childhood friend and fellow member of The New Creations choir Karen Jean Rafala. Rich once said that he wrote the song for "a girl who's given me more than any human being alive"."
  
  

  January 24, 1971

• The New Creations perform at First United Methodist Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  February 21, 1971

• The New Creations perform at Faith Baptist Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  March 27, 1971

• Richard performs in Mary Kellner's Piano Recital at Faith United Methodist Church in Richmond, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  April 4, 1971

• The New Creations perform at Lynn Wesleyan Church in Lynn, IN at 2:30 p.m.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the Earlham Heights Presbyterian Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  April 22, 1971

• The Temptations release Sky's the Limit which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  

  May 1, 1971

• The Jesus House opens in Cincinnati, OH under the direction of Randy Matthews. The large house served as a venue for early Jesus Music concerts by artists including Randy Matthews, Steve Baxter (prior to joining Daniel Amos), Gary Chapman, The Willoughby-Wilson Band, Terry Fisher, and a few years later Rich Mullins and Zion.
  
  

  May 6, 1971

• The New Creations perform at a Mother-Daughter Banquet for the Chester Community Club at the Richmond Water Works.
  
  

  May 27, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the National Guard Armory in Richmond, IN at 8 p.m. along with other signing groups including the Oak Ridge Boys.
  
  

  June 16, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the final meeting of the year for the Christian Womens Fellowship of the First Christian Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  July 9, 1971

• The New Creations hosts the 26 member Flordia Bible College singing group the Internationals at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  August 22, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the Gospel Mission Church in Dublin, IN at 2:30 p.m.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the First Church of the Nazarene in Indianapolis, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  August 27, 1971

• The New Creations perform at a "March for Christ and Jesus Rally" at Glen Miller Park in Richmond, IN at 8 p.m.
  
  

  September 1971

  
  
• Richard Mullins begins the his Sophomore Year at Northeastern High School.
  
  
  
• Richard forms the Children of Light from within "The New Creations." At the age of 16, Rich was writing many of the songs and touring the region as part of the group and also teaching music lessons and music theory to children.
  
  

  September 18, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the 26th Annual Lions Club Fall Festival in Lynn, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  September 19, 1971

• Children of Light appear at Youth Events at St. John Lutheran Church in Elwood, IN.
  
  

  October 10, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  October 15, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the Youth Explosion Crusade at the Berea Christian Church in Terre Haute, IN.
  
  

  October 24, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the Grand Avenue Methodist Church in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  November 14, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the Second English Lutheran Church in Richmond, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  November 20, 1971

• Richard participates in a piano recital for Mary Kellner's Studio. Richard was listed as a teacher, a soloist and an assemble player. The Survey of Teaching Literature was played by Richard Mullins and Mary Kellner.
  
  

  December 5, 1971

• The New Creations perform at the Original Church of God in Richmond, IN at 2:30 p.m.
  
  

  December 12, 1971

• Richard Mullins attended a reorganizational meeting of the Theta of Indiana Chapter of the National Society of Pi Mu. He played a Christmas carol and talked about the origin of the song..
  
  

  1971-1972

  
  
  
• The New Creations choir records and releases an independent LP. The album was recorded "on location" by Crusade "Sonic Sound" Studios by W.D. Zehr. Side one included the songs "Love Is Surrender" (Ralph Carmichael), "Amazing Grace" (John Newton), "I Want to Sing" (Lois Drury), "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" (Peter Scholtes), "I know Where I'm Going" (Mickey Holiday) and "The New Creations"(Norma Duffins). Side two includes "Let the Whole World Know" (John Peterson), "It's Yours For The Asking" (Mickey Holiday), "I Just Keep Trusting My Lord" (John Peterson), "Pass It On" (Ralph Carmichael), "Cleanse Me" (J. Edwin Orr) and "The Savior Is Waiting" (Ralph Carmichael).
  
  

  January 11, 1972

• The Temptations release Solid Rock which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  

  February 27, 1972 – March 3, 1972

• Whitewater Christian Church, in Whitewater, Indiana celebrated its one hundred and fourth anniversary with evangelist services each evening at 7:30 p.m. Bruce Montgomery was pastor. Ernie Heighway, the director of the New Creations Choir was song leader each evening. Richard Mullins and his family took part in these services.
  
  

  March 5, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the New Paris Church of Christ in New Paris, OH at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  March 11, 1972

• Richard participates in a piano recital for Mary Kellner's Studio.
  
  

  May 6, 1972

• The New Creations perform at a Youth Rally at Northeastern High School at 7:00 p.m., sponsored by Crusaders for Christ. Local newspapers note that many of the songs performed by the singing group were written by the group's 16-year old pianist, Richard Mullins.
  
  

  May 15, June 14 and June 28, 1972

• Future Ragamuffin Band member Aaron Smith plays drums on the Temptations hit "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone." The song became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards in 1973. Aside from eventually joining Rich's band, Smith had played with Ray Charles, Vector (with fellow Ragamuffin Jimmy Abegg), Romeo Void and many others. A pair of his drumsticks were once displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame right alongside sticks belonging to Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.
  
  

  May 20, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the Miami Valley Faith Center in Winter Garden in Piqua, OH at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  June 1972

• Richard Mullins is in St. Louis, MO, possibly assisting with a vacation Bible School program. He was giving concerts and driving a bus and had the kids on the bus singing. He stayed with a family named Yount and stayed in contact with the family for many years. Richard performed a couple of times at a church out in Ballwin, Missouri and in St. Charles, Missouri. (Source: Brenda J. Yount Kwasnica)
  
  

  June 24, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the First Baptist Church of Northe Terre Haute in Terre Haute, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  June 28, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the Main Street Promande Dedication in the Amphitheater in Richmond Indiana at 8 p.m.
  
  

  July 19, 1972

• The New Creations perform an outdoor concert in Muncie, IN at 7:30, which was sponsored by the Main Street United Methodist Church.
  
  

  July 27, 1973

• The Temptations release All Directions which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  

  August 16, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the First United Methodist Church in Brownsville, PA at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  August 17, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the First United Methodist Church in Roscoe, PA at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  August 18, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the Jumonville Methodist Training Center at 9:15 AM.
  
  

  August 19, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the First Christian Church in Republic, PA at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  August 20, 1972

• The New Creations perform at Christ Methodist Church in Uniontown, PA at 10:45AM.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the Farmington-Bethel Church of the Brethren in Farmington, PA at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  August 26, 1972

• The New Creations perform at a Household Goods Shower given for a family in Whitewater, IN whose home had burned down.
  
  

  September 1972

• Richard Mullins begins the his Junior Year at Northeastern High School.
  
  

  September 28, 1972

• The Temptations hit single "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" is released which features future Ragamuffin Band member Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  

  October 7, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the Annual Homecoming Service at Burnett Undenominational Church in Terre Haute, IN at 3 p.m.
  
  

  October 22, 1972

• The New Creations perform at the East Side Nazarene Church in Terre Haute, IN.
  
  

  October 29, 1972

• The New Creations perform following a prayer breakfast at the 1972 Jaycees Governmental Affairs school at Earlham College in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  November 4-5, 1972

• The New Creations perform a weekend tour at churches in Fort Wayne, Nappanee, Elkhart and Petroleum, IN.
  
  

  November 5, 1972

• Through his participation in the New Creations Choir, Richard Mullins met David Marsh, a student from Richmond High School who later became a musician, composer and lead singer for the rock group Tailwind in 1978. David and Richard remained friends throughout Richard’s life. They always celebrated the anniversary of their meeting each year on November 5.
  
  

  November 8, 1972

• Marshall Mitchell "Mitch" McVicker is born in Topeka, KS.. Mitch would later become an important figure in Rich's life in the 1990s.
  
  

  November 19, 1972

• The New Creations perform at Boston United Church of Christ in Boston, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  November 22, 1972

• The New Creations perform a Thanksgiving Service at the Centerville Church of the Nazarene in Centerville, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  November 26, 1972

• Children of Light perform at the Evangel Assembly of God in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  December 9, 1972

• Richard performs as a soloist at Mary Kellner's Piano Recital.
  
  
  

  (Young Richard with Grandma Lewis)

  1972-1973

• During his Junior Year of High School, Richard and his family attend a funeral in Kentucky where his father had grown up.
  
  
• A young Jimmy Abegg hitch-hikes to California from Nebraska.
  
  

  1973

• Local Newspapers list Richard as a teacher at Mary Kellner's studio - likely teaching piano and possibly music theory. Newspapers also mention that Richard performed at Baccalaureate exercises at Northeastern High School in 1973 and 1974, and at various weddings and other special events during his high school years.
  
  
• The Undisputed Truth releases Law of the Land which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  
• Future Producer and Keyboardist Reed Arvin begins composing Music.
  
  

  February 3-4, 1973

• Children of Light perform for a local broadcaste for a statewide Indiana Cancer Society Telethon.
  
  

  February 7, 1973

• Troy Garret is born to Rich's sister Debbie and her husband Marvin.
  Richard's sister Debbie: "When my son was born, he was born with a birth defect and he was going to require several surgeries. The family was real upset about it and felt bad about it, and I wondered what I had done wrong. I was very angry with God at the time. And I got a call from Wayne and he said, 'I'm so proud of you.' 'Proud of me? For what?' He said, 'I'm so proud that you're my sister.' He said, 'Don't you realize, God only gives kids with special needs to special people that he knows can give them special love?'" (Source: Debra Mullins Garrett, Homeless Man Documentary, 1998)
  
  

  February 18, 1973

• Children of Light perform at the Church of the Open Door in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  February 21, 1973

• The Temptations release Masterpiece which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  
  

  (Rich with Tim Cummings of The New Creations)

  March 4, 1973

• The New Creations perform at the Unitd Methodist Church in West Manchester, OH at 7 p.m.
  
  

  March 14, 1973

• The New Creations perform at First English Lutheran Church.
  
  

  March 21, 1973

• The New Creations perform at First English Lutheran Church in Richmond, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  March 23, 1973

• Children of Light perform at a Retreat at First English Lutheran Church in Indiana.
  
  

  March 27 and 28, 1973

• Richard Mullins participated in the annual spring piano recital at Mary Kellner's studio as a teacher and as a student at Faith United Methodist Church in Richmond, Indiana. Performances were at 7:30 p.m on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Richard had a speaking part in the pageant "A Touch of Beauty."
  
  

  April 1, 1973

• Richard assists Mary Kellner with a piano recital for her piano students. Richard has "speaking parts," and performs in the ensemble.
  
  
• Reed Arvin performs classical jazz as part of a jazz festival at the Century II Convention Hall in Wichita, KS. The performance included variations on Beethoven's "Pathetique Sonata."
  
  

  April 18, 1973

• The New Creations perform at an Easter Assembly at Boston Junior High School in Boston, IN.
  
  

  April 22, 1973

• The New Creations perform an Easter Cantata during Sunday School at Whitewater Christian Church in Whitewater, IN at 9:00AM.
  
  

  May 5, 1973

  
  
• The New Creations and Children of Light perform at the Congregational Christian Midwest Fellowship Conference in Winchester, IN at 7:30 p.m. Other members of the group included Steve Houk, Pam Rich, Marilyn Holloway, David Lispscomb, Pam Dimmett, Tom Rich, Mike Allen and Darrell Ingram.
  
  

  May 6, 1973

• The New Creations and Children of Light perform at the First Assembly of God in Winchester, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  May 8, 1973

• The New Creations and Children of Light perform at a banquet at Earlham Hall on the Earlham College Campus. The event was put together to raise money and inform the public about a Youth Camp that would be taking place in the near future.
  
  

  May 11, 1973

• Children of Light perform at The Women's Fellowship of the Boston United Church of Christ Mother and Daughter Meeting.
  
  

  May 18, 1973

• Children of Light perform at The Richmond Full Gospel Businessmen's Association monthly meeting in the Centennial Room at the Richmond YMCA in Richmond, IN. The public was invited as well.
  
  

  May 18, 1973

• Children of Light perform for the The Dayton Full Gospel Businessmen's Association.
  
  

  May 20, 1973

• Richard Mullins played both the processional and recessional at baccalaureate exercises at Northeastern High School, Fountain City, Indiana class of 1973.
  
  

  Summer 1973

  Brenda Yount, childhood friend: "He was a friend of our family when I was a teenager. My dad was sick and Rich came to help bale hay in the summer. I came out in jeans and he let me know it was 100 degrees outside. I told him I knew that but I needed to shave my legs. He responded.. it's ok..then you will match us guys. I threw some hay at him which caused a fight. Next thing we heard was dad yelling at us to quit fighting and get to work. I was driving the truck. He kept complaining I was going too slow then he complained I was going too fast. He had fun irritating the youth. Especially me... He was a good guy. My dad had heart surgery so he was out there helping with the big stuff. He was also a huge moral support for us as kids because we had a sick dad." (September 23, 2021)
  
  

  June 2, 1973

• The New Creations perform at the Union Pentecostal Church in Dayton, OH.
  
  

  June 17, 1973

• Children of Light perform at the Northside Church of Christ in Richmond, IN at 2 p.m.
  
  
• The New Creations perform at the Church of the Open Door in Richmond, IN at 3 p.m.
  
  

  June 21, 1973

• Children of Light perform at McGuire Hall for The Rose Festival in Richmond, IN. The Festival was rescheduled due to rain.
  
  

  July 12, 1973

• Children of Light perform at the New Paris Pioneer Days Festival in New Paris, OH.
  
  

  July 22, 1973

• Children of Light perform at the Delaware County Evangelistic Association in Muncie, IN at 2 p.m.
  
  

  August 24, 1973

• The New Creations and Children of Light perform at Promenade "Fiesta Days" in Richmond, IN. at 8 p.m.
  
  

  September 1973

• Richard Mullins begins his Senior Year at Northeastern High School. During his Senior Year in high school, he was a member of the Band, the Drama club and the school newspaper. He was a council member of C.F.C. (Crusaders for Christ) and went on a school trip to Taylor University in the fall of 1973 and a trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring of 1974.
  
  

  September 11, 1973

• Future "Kid Brother of St. Frank" Michael Aukofer is born in Wichita, KS to James and Joy Aukofer.
  
  

  September 19, 1973

• Richard Mullins has his Senior Class picture taken.
  
  

  September 21, 1973

• The Children of Light invite Drummond Thom, Evangelist from South Africa, to speak during Revival Services.
  
  

  September 30, 1973

• The Children of Light perform during the evening service at the First Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  November 3-4, 1973

• The New Creations participate in a weekend retreat at Whitewater Church in Whitewater, IN. They had a "Typhoid Tillie" Tea Party Saturday night and then sang for the Church services on Sunday morning.
  
  

  December 1, 1973

• Richard performs music for a local Wedding at the First United Methodist Church in Richmond, IN. at 2:30 p.m.
  
  

  December 15, 1973

• Richard performs as a soloist in Mary Kellner's Christmas Piano Recital.
  
  

  December 31, 1973

• The New Creations perform at the Central Baptist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  1974

• Richard writes the song "I Just Want to Praise The Lord." "Ain't No Books Sold" is also being performed around this time.
  
  
• The Undisputed Truth releases Down to Earth which includes future Ragamuffin Aaron Smith on Drums.
  
  
• Reed Arvin enrolls at Wichita State University as a Music Major, but eventually leaves to attend Baylor University to study composition.
  Reed: "But that (WSU) didn't work. I had always been a very lackadaisical student and at WSU, I sort of had this idea that it was their responsibility to mine this unlimited resource I had inside me. But they felt I had some responsibility too. My grade point average that semester was 9 (a D-minus)."
  Reed, on Baylor: "That turned me around. It was a good experience. They're very strict down there. They expected me to excel in other subjects besides music, and I had to grow up and accept some other lifestyles. Since it was sink or swim, I kind of got it together."
  
  

  Early 1974

• Richard writes the song "Rolling Stone," or "Rolling Stone Jesus." The song would eventually be reworked for its inclusion on The Jesus Record in 1997.
  
  

  February 17, 1974

  
  
• Children of Light perform at the Middleboro United Methodist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  February-March 1974

• Rich attends his Senior Prom at Northeastern High School with his girlfriend. Rich primarily date the same girl throughout most of his high school years.
  
  

  March 11, 1974

• Local Newspapers announce that The New Creations and Children of Light are funding the creating of a New Creations Christian Home and Youth Camp in the Richmond, IN area.
  
  

  March 24, 1974

• Richard Mullins participated in a piano recital at Mary Kellner's studio as a teacher and as a student at Faith United Methodist Church in Richmond, Indiana at 2:00 p.m.
  
  

  April 7, 1974

• Children of Light perform at the Spartanburg United Methodist Church in Richmond, IN.
  
  

  Summer 1974

  
  
• Richard sees the 1972 Franco Zeffirelli directed film Brother Sun, Sister Moon at some point around this time. The bio-pic, which was based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, made a clear impact on Rich who frequently talked about the film. Rich also credited the film as an inspiration for his own Canticle of the Plains many years later.
  Rich:"I guess it started when I was a senior in high school and saw the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Having grown up in Protestant rural Indiana, I had never been exposed to the lives of any of the saints. Our particular brand of Protestantism focused more on de-sanctifying. It stressed, 'We're all saints... and we're all sinners.' That was 1974, and the Jesus Movement was going on all around us, but we couldn't get to it. We were surrounded by a culture agricultural in its roots and Christian in its bias. We wanted to be Jesus freaks, but we'd never been freaks. So I resigned myself to being just a blah, old Christian. I had my doubts about Christianity, but I had more doubts about atheism, and other religions seemed even more dubious to me. Then I saw that movie, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and I started to wonder if maybe Saint Francis had found a more authentic faith, though he had found it so many years before. Of course, it was just a movie, and yet, it stirred my interest."
  
  

  May 4, 1974

  
  

  (Prom Photo. Used with permission.)

• Richard Mullins attended his Junior-Senior Prom at Northeastern High School with his highschool girlfriend. The theme of the Prom was "The Midnight Hour."
  
  

  May 11, 1974

• Children of Light perform at the Sugar Grove Community Church for their 14th Annual Mother-Daughter Banquet.
  
  

  May 19, 1974

  
  

  (Graduation Photo 1974)

• Rich Mullins graduates from Northeastern High School in a combined baccalaureate and commencement ceremony at 2 p.m.
  Rich: "I went out to a conservatory where I had planned on going before I graduated, and I just remember hearing people talk about things that I thought were so stupid - they were all talking about which edition of this Chopin Atude had the best fingering and I was like 'Geez, what a bore. How could you possibly care? So I thought I would die in that kind of environment. I absolutely hate fingering. I can't take anything seriously, so I thought I would go to Bible College. (Laughter)"
  
  

  May 24, 1974

• Children of Light perform at The Centerville Beta Eta Chapter, Psi Iota Xi Sorority Mother-Daughter party at Centerville Christian Church in Indiana.
  
  

  May 26, 1974

• The New Creations perform at the Church of the Open Door in Richmond, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  Summer, 1974

• Richard Mullins works at Hill's Roses in Richmond, IN. for the Summer.
  
  

  June 8, 1974

• A Children of Light perform at the First Baptist Church in Cambridge City, IN at 7 p.m.
  
  

  June 22, 1974

• A Children of Light performance at the Rose Festival in Richmond, IN had to be cancelled due to rain.
  
  

  July 7, 1974

• The New Creations perform at Hemlock Friends Church in Hemlock, IN at 7:30 p.m.
  
  

  July 14, 1974

• The New Creations perform at Courtland Avenue Friends Church in Kokomo, IN at 10:30AM.
  
  

  Summer 1974

• Richard writes the song "Lake Between the Hills."
  
  
• Richard performs a concert for his friends.
  Rich:: "I felt sad because I was getting ready to go to a Bible school (Cincinnati Bible College) and yet most of my friends didn't even know about my faith. So I decided to have a concert of my beliefs. I sang for them not because I wanted them to hear me sing, but because I wanted them to hear the message about God."
  
  

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