“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NKJV
C.T. Studd was born in England in 1860. He was born again, becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, in 1877 as a teenager. He lived until July 1931, to age 70.
When his father passed away, C.T. learned that he would receive a substantial inheritance, and he wanted to donate the funds to Christian ministries. December 1886, serving the Lord with the China Inland Mission in Chungking, C.T. received the inheritance, worth at least 29,000 pounds (over $7.5 million US$).
Meanwhile in America, God had laid a burden on the heart of one young lady to begin praying for God to lead D.L. Moody to start a Bible school to train home and foreign missionaries in Chicago. Emma Dryer had met D.L. Moody and his wife in 1870. She was a university teacher, and as a Christian began praying earnestly for a Bible school to start in Chicago.
In 1883, Emma began praying with a group of ladies every Saturday for the Bible school to happen through Mr. Moody. They continued faithfully praying for years that the school would become a reality.
January 1887, C.T. Studd invested all of his inheritance in the “Bank of Heaven,” and sent 25% to D.L. Moody in the United States.
In 1889, Emma Dryer and others with Mr. Moody organized the Chicago Evangelization Society. In 1900, a year after Mr. Moody died, R.A. Torrey changed the name to Moody Bible Institute.
C.T. Studd had been born and converted in England, and followed his calling in evangelism, serving in China, India, and the African Congo.
Though C.T. Studd’s personal ministry was blessed by God and reached thousands with the Gospel, his greatest impact was the legacy he received and his donations, especially the founding of Moody Bible Institute. A building on the Chicago campus is named after Emma Dryer.
Many facets of the ministries of Moody Bible Institute continue to span the globe, and God’s blessings continue day by day.
When I was two weeks old, my parents began taking me to church in Mt. Carmel, Illinois pastored by Moody Bible Institute graduate Leroy Blackburn and his wife Audry. When I was two years old, “Preach” Blackburn led my Dad to the Lord Jesus.
When I was a senior in high school, my Mother attended Founders Week at Moody in Chicago. Hearing Billy Graham share the ongoing ministry of Youth for Christ, she brought me a copy of Youth for Christ magazine.
That was my first knowledge of Youth for Christ. My involvement altered the rest of my life. Connections continue through TTT Christian Youth Ministries as God leads and multiplies.
When I was a teenager, Grace Memorial Church was served by another Moody graduate: Charlie Pedersen, who introduced other Mt. Carmel pastors to the Youth for Christ concept.
December 1948, Mt. Carmel Youth for Christ began, and I was privileged to emcee the first rally. Pastor’s daughter Mary Greer and I were dating, and we and other teenagers, appointed by their pastors from several different local churches, helped it happen.
All through my college days and beyond, our Youth for Christ involvement continued. In September 1960, I accepted the offer to be advertising-circulation director of Youth for Christ magazine.
My suggested theme for the 1961 Youth for Christ International Convention was accepted, and I was challenged to write the song “Christ Through You Can Change the World.”
“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away … So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:10, 12 NKJV
In the years since TTT began February 5, 1966, thousands of teenagers have gathered at 7:27 PM Saturday by Saturday, and between Saturdays. Interestingly, some of those who came in the earlier days have or will soon turn 70.
God has granted 93 years to me (and counting) to keep serving Him with eternity in my heart. How about you?
Where are you now, and what is your plan to serve the Lord tomorrow, God willing? Who will you invite to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”?
To reiterate God’s Word: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” C.T. Studd left behind the poem: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”