Double Impact

As I reflect on the past nine months since coming on as Moody’s tenth president, my heart echoes King David’s testimony in Psalm 16:6: “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” To serve at Moody during such a time as this is a unique joy and honor.

These are exciting days at Moody, and I strongly believe that we are stepping into one of our most important periods in our 133-year history. Our leadership team and task forces have been hard at work the last several months, engaged with strategic planning to ensure that we are creating a stronger, more impactful Moody. In fact, we are seeking to double the depth and size of our impact by the year 2030.

Imagine with me a day in which Moody Radio is reaching three million listeners per week, Moody Publisher’s biblically based resources are used by more than 10 million people, and Moody Bible Institute and Moody Theological Seminary are training up a combined 6,000 Christian leaders each year. That’s our goal.

Becoming the premier Christian leadership pipeline to the world, and among the most influential Christian media ministries in the world, is the burden that has been laid on my heart through prayer and seeking God. I am committed to pursue this vision with the rest of the Moody family, including you, our valued alumni, for the glory of King Jesus alone, not our own.

Doubling our impact by 2030 will not be an easy task. I’m reminded of the bold spirit of D. L. Moody who is quoted as saying, “If God is your partner, make your plans large.” Throughout my nearly 30 years as a pastor in the Chicagoland area, I have asked those around me to take bold steps for King Jesus. At Moody, we are trusting that the Lord will continue to provide as He has done since our founding by D. L. Moody and Emma Dryer. We are taking a bold step to reimagine what a gospel-centered urban campus could look like in the future.

In reimagining our Chicago campus for the future, Moody’s senior leadership is committed to what Jesus teaches in Matthew 25—to prayerfully steward the resources entrusted to us for kingdom growth. We have therefore prayerfully begun a process to sell ten acres of our Chicago campus real estate portfolio, and the proceeds will help us provide the financial resources needed to achieve our goals for 2030. You can learn more about this at moodybible.org/campus-redevelopment, and in the August e-newsletter’s leadership column. In the months to come we will be sharing more about our strategic planning efforts. In the meantime, please continue to pray for us as we take these bold steps aimed at strengthening Moody and seizing the opportunities before us.

My prayer for you, fellow alumni, is that as you will sense the Lord’s sustaining grace and that you will be willing to take bold steps of obedience in this season of your life.

Dee and I look forward to seeing you at Candlelight Carols and celebrating the birth of King Jesus!