Christian Heritage - Dwight L. Moody

"Faith makes all things possible . . . love makes all things easy.”

Dwight L. Moody

Dwight Lyman Moody (1837—1899) was born into a large family in rural Massachusetts. Dwight’s formal education ended in the fifth grade as he was a poor scholar, who could barely read or write. He left home at the age of 17, seeking employment in Boston, where he was unable to find a job. Eventually he was reluctantly hired by his uncle, a shoe merchant, on the condition that he attend church and Sunday school, where he accepted Christ. Despite his conversion and wish to dedicate his life to serving God, his application for church membership was denied. As to his wish to join the church, his teacher said, " I can truly say, and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him, that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday School class; and I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of Gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness." He made several attempts at participating in prayer meetings, and was advised to refrain from public speaking due to his poor grammar and uneducated manner.

So, a year later, he moved to Chicago where he hoped he would find success selling shoes. Instead, he began to hold Sunday school services in an abandoned saloon for Chicago’s poor and within a year he saw an average attendance of 650. His services became so well known that President Lincoln spoke at one of the Sunday school meetings in 1860. The Sunday school evolved into the Illinois Street Church and was pastored by Dwight Moody. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed his church, not to mention his home, but in the midst of the tragedy, he felt called to spread the word of God to the world and traveled to the United Kingdom in 1872, where a great revival was sparked. Upon his return to the United States two years later, he continued his work, preaching the message of salvation across the country. He founded Christian schools for children, a ministry training school for women and what is known today as the Moody Bible Institute.