August Crull (1845-1923) edited and compiled the first edition of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (1889), thus playing a critical role in shaping the hymnic tradition of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod as it transitioned from German to English. This study tells the story of Crull's pioneering labor in the formation of this seminal hymnal and documents the twenty-year journey to its final edition in 1912, which became the first, official English-language hymnal of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.