This Sunday launches one of my favorite weeks of the year. It’s Missions Week at The Moody Church! We gather to celebrate God’s work among the nations for His glory as He draws people from every tribe, tongue, and people into His multiethnic family. Jesus will receive worship from all peoples everywhere!
We have always been a Gospel movement in the city for the world. In the early days, D.L. Moody began this church to serve the immigrant “stranger” here in Chicago, and in parallel, pursued Gospel campaigns in Great Britain. That heart for both city and world echoed in 1878 with our first sent missionary, Fredrik Franson, who preached from America to Russia, Sweden, and Australia. Over the next hundred years, the church sent over 150 different missionaries to the nations with the Good News of Jesus. In the mid-1960s, when the church was struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing neighborhood and was barely making payroll, missions was so important that it was sustained as nearly sixty-percent the church’s expenditures.
The Moody Church has always existed, not only for the city, but also for the world. We are deeply motivated by the vision of Revelation 7, where Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, receives worship from every nation, tribe, people, and language. He alone is worthy. It will take all the variegated worship of every culture and all peoples to fully display His manifold glory throughout eternity!
That’s why Missions Week matters. This is who we are! Because we, Chicago and the nations, are loved, more than we know!
Dear Pastor Philip,
I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for your powerful leadership and clear vision during this Mission Week. I was deeply moved by your message on the church’s identity and its unwavering commitment to the Great Commission.
It has been three months since I moved to Chicago after retiring in Korea, and attending Moody Church. In this short time, I have been greatly blessed by the passion and purpose that guide this congregation. I truly hope that churches and believers in Korea would be inspired in the same way.
I was especially encouraged to learn that over 60% of the church’s budget is dedicated to missions. That level of commitment speaks volumes, and I sincerely thank you for setting such a Christ-centered example.
With respect and gratitude,
Rev Dr. Sky Yeo