Editing Rich Mullins (section)

=== Early life ===
[[File:Black and White picture of Christian Music Singer Rich Mullins and his First Band.png|thumb|Mullins ''(third from right)'' performing in 1979, seen here with his band Zion]]

Richard Wayne Mullins was born to John Mullins, a tree farmer, and Neva Mullins, whose ancestors were [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]].<ref>An Arrow Pointing to Heaven Smith, JB (2000) B & H Publishing Group Nashville, Tennessee {{ISBN|978-0-8054-2635-9}} p. 12, 13</ref> He had two sisters and two brothers. The family called him by his middle name, Wayne, which he went by until college, when his friends called him Richard. Mullins grew up attending Arba Friends Meeting, a church in [[Lynn, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last = Selleck |first = Linda |date = April 3, 1998 |title = A Ragamuffin Music Man: Rich Mullins |magazine = Quaker Magazine }}</ref> The Quaker testimonies of [[peace testimony|peace]] and [[social justice]] later inspired many of his lyrics. When Mullins was in elementary school, his family moved and started attending Whitewater Christian Church, which he attended until he graduated.<ref name="The Life of a Ragamuffin">{{cite web |url = http://www.candletothesun.com/richard-wayne-rich-mullins.html |title = The Life of a Ragamuffin |publisher = A Candle to the Sun |access-date = May 25, 2016 |archive-date = May 18, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160518131746/http://www.candletothesun.com/richard-wayne-rich-mullins.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Mullins was baptized when he was in the 3rd grade.<ref name="Lufkin, Texas, July '97">{{cite web |url = http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/lufkin-texas-jul1997.html |title = Lufkin Texas, July '97 |access-date = August 16, 2008 |archive-date = September 19, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140919025142/http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/lufkin-texas-jul1997.html |url-status = live }}</ref> His great-grandmother taught him to play hymns and sing in [[four-part harmony]] when he was very young,<ref>{{cite web |last = Lewis |first = Jack |url = http://jacklewis.net/weblog/archives/2002/09/in_memory_of_ri.php |title = Danny Carlton – alias "Jack Lewis": In memory of Rich Mullins |publisher = Jacklewis.net |date = September 19, 2002 |access-date = October 31, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130502235534/http://jacklewis.net/weblog/archives/2002/09/in_memory_of_ri.php |archive-date = May 2, 2013 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> and he began to study classical piano with a Quaker teacher while in elementary school. He graduated from [[Northeastern High School (Indiana)|Northeastern High School]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.courierpress.com/features/movies/ind-art-museum-to-feature-film-on-late-musician-ep-296664338-324751881.html |title = Ind. art museum to feature film on late musician |newspaper = Evansville Courier & Press |date = December 29, 2013 |access-date = May 25, 2016 |archive-date = August 5, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160805031247/http://www.courierpress.com/features/movies/ind-art-museum-to-feature-film-on-late-musician-ep-296664338-324751881.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

Mullins was inspired when [[the Beatles]] first appeared on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' in 1964. The event helped Mullins understand the influence of music.<ref name="Newcomb">{{cite magazine |last = Newcomb |first = Brian |date = June 13, 1992 |title = Step By Step, A Conversation with Rich Mullins |magazine = CCM Magazine }}</ref> He was a fan of the Beatles music, and he was able to identify with [[John Lennon]] in particular, despite philosophical differences.<ref name="auto">{{cite video |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP0NGqymiMU |title = Rich Mullins - Michigan Interview, 1988 |access-date = June 15, 2016 |archive-date = November 13, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151113053051/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP0NGqymiMU |url-status = live }}</ref> In his song "Elijah", written around the time of Lennon's murder, he included the phrase "candlelight in [[Central Park]]." This was a reference to the [[candlelight vigil]]s held in the wake of the event.<ref name="Newcomb" /> The places of the vigils went on to become a permanent [[Strawberry Fields (memorial)|memorial to John Lennon]].

An important part of Mullins' early musical experience was being the pianist, songwriter and vocalist for the New Creations Choir in Richmond, Indiana, which was started by Tim and Bonnie Cummings in the early 1970s. The choir toured numerous states in its own bus and even produced an album. New Creations is a church and school for teens, and Mullins was a contributing factor in its beginning.<ref name="The Life of a Ragamuffin" />

From 1974 to 1978, Mullins attended [[Cincinnati Christian University|Cincinnati Bible College]]. He worked in a parking garage to help pay for his schooling. During this time, Mullins performed with a college band, and later the band Zion, who released one album, for which he wrote all the songs.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.kidbrothers.net/rmml/rmml03.html |title = Rich Mullins Mailing list 103 |publisher = kidbrothers.net |date = April 17, 1995 |access-date = October 31, 2012 |archive-date = October 25, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141025134539/http://www.kidbrothers.net/rmml/rmml03.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

From 1975 to 1978, he was the youth pastor and music director at the [[United Methodist Church]] in [[Erlanger, Kentucky|Erlanger]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111005154601/http://www.erlangerumc.org/mullins.htm erlangerumc.org/mullins]}}</ref> Mullins was then focusing on his duties in the church, and performed minimally in public. He considered his music a hobby. His views on his music continued this way until 1978, when he took a group of teens from his church to the [[Ichthus Music Festival]] in [[Wilmore, Kentucky]]. He said that during this trip he witnessed the effect of music on the lives of young people, and decided to start pursuing music full-time.<ref>{{cite video |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOiBYv5SHA |title = Rich Mullins discusses college, youth ministry and Zion Ministries |access-date = July 2, 2016 |archive-date = November 27, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231127021907/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOiBYv5SHA |url-status = live }}</ref>