D. L. Moody's Story

Childhood

Dwight Lyman Moody was born the sixth child of Edwin and Betsy Holton Moody in Northfield, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1837. Dwight’s formal education ended after fifth grade, and he rapidly grew tired of life on the family farm. He left home at age 17 to seek employment in Boston.

After failing to secure a desirable position, he asked his uncle, Samuel Holton, for a job. Samuel hired Dwight to work in his own retail shoe store. However, to keep young Moody out of mischief, employment was conditional on his attendance at Mt. Vernon Congregational Church.

Salvation

At Mt. Vernon, Moody became part of the Sunday school class taught by Edward Kimball. On April 21, 1855, Kimball visited the Holton Shoe Store, found Moody in a stockroom, and shared the gospel with him. Shortly thereafter, Moody trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and decided to devote his life to serving Him. The following year, Moody moved to Chicago to start his own shoe business. As he achieved success in selling shoes, he decided to begin a Mission Sunday School class for Chicago's children and joined the local Young Men’s Christian Association.

YMCA

During the Chicago revival of 1857 and 1858, Moody became more involved at the YMCA, performing janitorial jobs for the organization and serving wherever they needed him. He chose to follow God’s leading out of the business world and increased his time spent serving at the YMCA. Although they could not pay him, the YMCA recommended Moody stay “employed” as city missionary.

Mission Sunday School 

Meanwhile, Moody’s Mission Sunday School flourished. Moody’s desire was to reach the lost youth of the city: children with little to no education, less than ideal family situations, and poor economic circumstances. Soon, the Sunday school outgrew the converted saloon they used as a meeting hall and continued to expand rapidly. Associates and fellow ministry leaders encouraged Moody to begin his own church. Eventually, on February 28, 1864, the Illinois Street Church (now The Moody Church) opened in its own building with Moody as pastor.

Civil War

With the Civil War approaching, the Union Army mobilized volunteer soldiers across the north. Camp Douglas was established outside of Chicago, and Moody recognized it as a great evangelistic opportunity. Along with a few others, Moody created the Committee on Devotional Meetings to minister to the troops stationed there. This was just the beginning of Moody's Civil War outreach. From 1861 to 1865, he and his associates ministered on battlefields and throughout the city, state, and country to thousands of soldiers, both Union and Confederate. All the while, he maintained the Mission Sunday School.

Emma Dryer and Her Training School for Women 

While ministering in Chicago, Moody and his wife, Emma Revell Moody, met a woman named Emma Dryer, a successful teacher and administrator. Moody was impressed with her zeal for ministry and her educational background. He knew that women had a unique ability to evangelize to mothers and children in a way that men never could, and he recognized Dryer’s ability to help him encourage and disciple this group.

Moody asked Dryer to oversee a ministry specifically to train women for evangelistic outreach and missionary work. Under her leadership, the training program grew rapidly and so did her desire for this ministry to reach men as well as women. She continued to pray that the Lord would place the idea for such a school on Moody's heart.

The Chicago Fire 

On Sunday, October 8, 1871, as Moody came to the end of his sermon for the evening, the city fire bell began to ring. At first, no one thought much about it, as these city bells often rung. However, this night was different—it was the beginning of the Great Chicago Fire.

Moody’s first concern was for his wife and their three children—Emma, William, and Paul—locating them and making sure they were somewhere safe. After securing his family’s safety, Moody and his wife stayed on the north side of the city to help other residents. The fire finally burned out Tuesday afternoon, after consuming much of what Moody had built.

The fire led him to reevaluate his ministry, and he made a renewed commitment to God’s call on his life. For years, he had been moving forward and then asking God to support his plans. He knew from this point on, his call was to preach the Word of God to the world.

Revival Abroad 

In June 1872, Moody made his first trip to the United Kingdom. While he was there, a few close contacts urged him to come back. In June 1873, Moody and his family, along with his good friend and musician Ira Sankey, traveled from New York to Liverpool, England. Moody and Sankey traveled throughout the UK and Ireland holding prayer, preaching, and revival meetings, helping fuel the revival that was slowly sweeping the region. Moody’s visit also inspired lay people across the region to begin children's ministries and ministry training schools for women.

Moody’s evangelistic approach was revolutionary. He and Sankey chose to visit Ireland during a time when Catholics and Protestants were constantly fighting. Moody was different; he did not care what denomination a person claimed but simply wanted the message of Christ to be heard. As a result, the revival swept across Ireland, and both Catholics and Protestants responded to the gospel.

1875–1878

After two years overseas, the Moody family returned to the United States. They settled in Northfield, where Moody was born and raised, and Moody began to plan his next round of evangelistic city campaigns. From October 1875 to May 1876, Moody and three other evangelists toured through the major cities of the Midwest and Atlantic coast, preaching the message of salvation. God also began to place a desire on Moody’s heart to train young Christian workers.

Moody’s Schools 

In 1879, Moody opened the Northfield Seminary for Young Women to provide women the opportunity to gain a biblical and theological education. Not long after, Moody created the Mount Hermon School for Boys with the same educational goals but focusing on the poor and minorities. Moody had an amazing ability to bridge the gap between denominations. This was apparent in the diverse religious backgrounds of the school’s students—and his efforts to reach and teach these groups was far ahead of his time.

In 1886, Moody, Emma Dryer, and a group of ministry leaders founded the Chicago Evangelization Society (now known as Moody Bible Institute). Moody came from Northfield to Chicago to help raise money for the Society, support Dryer, and see his dream become a reality. The Chicago Evangelization Society had been Moody's vision, but it came to fruition because of Dryer’s hard work and commitment. See History of Moody Bible Institute.

That same year, Moody assembled a large group of college students at Mount Hermon for the first “College Students’ Summer School.” This conference would birth the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions. By 1911, more than 5,000 student volunteers from America alone had graduated from the program. Moody’s vision for the mission movement grew as it spread around the world to Europe and South Africa.

Salvation

Moody was a visionary who always seemed a step ahead of the status quo. From training women and reaching out to lost children to bridging the gap between denominations, he was unlike any other. For the remainder of his life, Moody continued to evangelize throughout America, preaching in major cities and at various universities.

He was also a man of great discernment. He had an innate ability to find capable, godly people for positions of leadership and bring his ideas to fruition. This enabled him to continue his evangelistic outreach while his ministries flourished. Throughout his life, Moody always found time to be with his family, making every effort to show his love and care for them.

Moody died on December 22, 1899, surrounded by his family.