Editing Dwight L. Moody (section)

==Chicago and the postwar years==
[[File: Will it pay? D.L. Moody and J.V. Farwell's first Sunday school class, North Market Hall, Chicago, Ill. - - Ruehlow. LCCN2006678632.tif|thumb|Moody's first Sunday school class, North Market Hall, Chicago, 1876]]

In 1858, he started a Sunday school. <ref> Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2003, p. 641 </ref>

The growing Sunday School congregation needed a permanent home, so Moody started a church in Chicago, the [[Illinois Street Church]] in 1864.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Billy Graham Center Archives |title=Select List of Events From Moody Church History |website=Records of The Moody Church - Collection 330 |publisher=Wheaton College |location=Wheaton, IL |url=http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/330.htm#501 |access-date=April 5, 2016 |archive-date=March 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314053807/http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/330.htm#501 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 1871 at an International Sunday School Convention in [[Indianapolis]], Indiana, Dwight Moody met [[Ira D. Sankey]]. He was a gospel singer, with whom Moody soon began to cooperate and collaborate.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iL6CQAAQBAJ&q=Moody%20met%20Ira%20D.%20Sankey,%20up%20to%20then%20a%20single-gospel-singer&pg=PA94 |title=Christian Worship: A Theological and Historical Introduction |first=Glen |last=OBrien |date=June 1, 2015 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=9781498231350}}</ref>
Four months later, in October 1871, the [[Great Chicago Fire]] destroyed Moody's church building, as well as his house and those of most of his congregation. Many had to flee the flames, saving only their lives, and ending up completely destitute. Moody, reporting on the disaster, said about his own situation that: "...{{nbsp}}he saved nothing but his reputation and his Bible."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=he%20saved%20nothing%20but%20his%20reputation%20and%20his%20Bible&pg=PA114 |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |first=George D. |last=Johnson |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982}}</ref>

In the years after the fire, Moody's wealthy Chicago patron [[John V. Farwell]] tried to persuade him to make his permanent home in the city, offering to build a new house for Moody and his family. But the newly famous Moody, also sought by supporters in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, chose a tranquil farm he had purchased near his birthplace in [[Northfield, Massachusetts]]. He felt he could better recover from his lengthy preaching trips in a rural setting.<ref name=Johnson/>

Northfield became an important location in evangelical Christian history in the late 19th century as Moody organized summer conferences. These were led and attended by prominent Christian preachers and evangelists from around the world. Western Massachusetts has had a rich evangelical tradition including [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]] preaching in colonial Northampton and [[C.I. Scofield]] preaching in Northfield. A protégé of Moody founded Moores Corner Church, in [[Leverett, Massachusetts]].

Moody founded two schools here: Northfield School for Girls, founded in 1879, and the Mount Hermon School for Boys, founded in 1881. In the late 20th century, these merged, forming today's co-educational, nondenominational [[Northfield Mount Hermon]] School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmhschool.org/about-nmh-history |title=NMH's History - Northfield Mount Hermon |access-date=October 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009141407/https://www.nmhschool.org/about-nmh-history |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Evangelistic travels===
[[File: Dwight Lyman Moody Vanity Fair 3 April 1875.jpg|thumb|left|Dwight Lyman Moody, ''[[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', April 3, 1875]]

During a trip to the United Kingdom in the spring of 1872, Moody became well known as an evangelist. Literary works published by the [[Moody Bible Institute]] claim that he was the greatest evangelist of the 19th century.<ref name=Bailey>{{cite book |last=Bailey |first=Faith |title=D. L Moody |orig-year=1959 |year=1987 |publisher=The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago |isbn=0-8024-0039-6 |page=Cover}}</ref><!-- On what scale of criteria? --> He preached almost a hundred times and came into communion with the [[Plymouth Brethren]]. On several occasions, he filled stadia of a capacity of 2,000 to 4,000. According to his memoir, in the Botanic Gardens Palace, he attracted an audience estimated at between 15,000 and 30,000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=George D. |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982 |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC |language=en}}</ref>

That turnout continued throughout 1874 and 1875, with crowds of thousands at all of his meetings. During his visit to Scotland, Moody was helped and encouraged by [[Andrew A. Bonar]]. The famous London Baptist preacher [[Charles Spurgeon]] invited him to speak, and he promoted the American as well. When Moody returned to the US, he was said to frequently attract crowds of 12,000 to 20,000, such crowds being as common as they had been in England.<ref name="worthychristianlibrary.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.worthychristianlibrary.com/dl-moody/ |title=D.L. Moody - |newspaper=Worthy Christian Books |publisher=Worthy Christian Library}}</ref> President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] and some of his cabinet officials attended a Moody meeting on January 19, 1876. Moody held evangelistic meetings from Boston to New York, throughout New England, and as far west as San Francisco, also visiting other West Coast towns from [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada to [[San Diego]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anpF-BdAEFQC&q=moody%20evangelistic%20meetings%20took%20place%20from%20Boston%20to%20New%20York&pg=PA315 |title=The Life of Dwight L. Moody |first=William Revell |last=Moody |date=June 1, 2001 |publisher=The Minerva Group, Inc. |isbn=9781589632752}}</ref>

Moody aided the work of cross-cultural evangelism by promoting "[[The Wordless Book]]", a teaching tool Charles Spurgeon had developed in 1866. In 1875, Moody added a fourth color to the design of the three-color evangelistic device: gold — to "represent heaven." This "book" has been and is still used to teach uncounted thousands of illiterate people, young and old, around the globe about the [[gospel]] message.<ref>Austin (2007), 1-10</ref>
[[File:Open Air Preaching WB.jpg|thumb|Missionary preaching in China using Moody's version of ''[[The Wordless Book]]'']]

Moody visited Britain with [[Ira D. Sankey]], with Moody preaching and Sankey singing at meetings. Together they published books of Christian [[hymn]]s. In 1883, they visited [[Edinburgh]] and raised £10,000 for the building of a new home for the [[Carrubbers Close Mission]]. Moody later preached at the laying of the foundation stone for what is now called the [[Carrubbers Christian Centre]], one of the few buildings on the [[Royal Mile]] which continues to be used for its original purpose.<ref name="worthychristianlibrary.com"/>

Moody greatly influenced the cause of cross-cultural [[Christian mission]]s after he met [[Hudson Taylor]], a pioneer missionary to China. He actively supported the [[China Inland Mission]] and encouraged many of his congregation to volunteer for service overseas.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=China%20Inland%20Mission%20and%20encouraged%20many%20of%20his%20congregation%20to%20volunteer%20for%20service%20overseas&pg=PA116 |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |first=George D. |last=Johnson |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982}}</ref>

===International acclaim===
His influence was felt among Swedes. Being of English heritage, never visiting Sweden or any other Scandinavian country, and never speaking a word of Swedish, nonetheless, he became a hero revivalist among Swedish [[Mission Friends]] ({{Lang|sv|Missionsvänner}}) in Sweden and America.<ref>Gustafson (2008)</ref>

News of Moody's large revival campaigns in Great Britain from 1873 through 1875 traveled quickly to Sweden, making "Mr. Moody" a household name in homes of many Mission Friends. Moody's sermons published in Sweden were distributed in books, newspapers, and [[colportage|colporteur]] tracts, and they led to the spread of Sweden's "Moody fever" from 1875 through 1880.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmuuMa2uVTYC&q=Moody%E2%80%99s%20sermons%20published%20in%20Sweden%20were%20distributed%20in%20books&pg=PA116 |title=What Will A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul? |first=George D. |last=Johnson |date=October 26, 2011 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781465380982}}</ref>

He preached his last sermon on November 16, 1899, in [[Kansas City, Missouri]]. Becoming ill, he returned home by train to Northfield. During the preceding several months, friends had observed he had added some {{convert|30|lb}} to his already ample frame. Although his illness was never diagnosed, it has been speculated that he suffered from congestive heart failure. He died on December 22, 1899, surrounded by his family. Already installed as the leader of the Chicago Bible Institute, [[Reuben Archer Torrey|R. A. Torrey]] succeeded Moody as its pastor.