The Life of Lottie Moon, 160 Years in the Making & Church is Crucial for College Students

Who would have thought God would use a barking dog to shape the mission work of a convention of churches? He did in the mid-1800s as a young woman…who had sworn off religion was being wooed by the Holy Spirit of God.

In a First Person on Baptist Press, Rosalie Hunt tells how Lottie Moon grew up in a Christian home but was determined to walk away from the faith of her family. In fact, she wanted to disprove it. She once attended a service at a nearby church where John Broadus was preaching.

The truth of the Gospel make such an impact that the young woman couldn’t forget the preachers words. In fact, they kept turning over in her mind.

That’s where the barking dogs comes in. She thought she could escape the thoughts by going to sleep. As she lay her in bed a barking dog kept her awake. While she tossed and turned, she continued wrestling with the Lord until she relented…getting up to turn from her sin…asking Jesus Christ to forgive her and become her Savior.

Moon would go on to become a pioneer missionary and known by Southern Baptists as a key person used by God to propel the missions movement of the 19th and 20th centuries.
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While working on his Ph.D. in London in the early 2010s, church historian Christian George had no idea he was about to stumble upon a goldmine of academic and spiritual material, let alone that it would all end up at a Baptist seminary in Kansas City.

On a cold January day, more than 160 years earlier, 16-year-old Charles Haddon Spurgeon began preparing to write his first sermon for the congregation at St. Andrews Baptist Church in Cambridge, England. The year was 1851. In preparation for the pulpit, the young Spurgeon began to write his sermon outline on the pages of a small marble-colored notebook.

Throughout his early ministry, Spurgeon eventually filled up nine of these books. Within their pages, he wrote extensively on the Bible, theology and other notes which helped contribute to his preaching. While later in life Spurgeon intended to eventually publish these notes, he died before he could ever begin the project. It wasn’t until George discovered the manuscripts in the early 2010s, over 160 years later, that someone would attempt to revive this idea.

The sermon notes were recently published in a book entitled The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon.
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Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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When new students arrive at the University of Florida each fall, Eddie Gilley and student leaders from Baptist Collegiate Ministries are eager to help them get plugged into a local church as soon as possible.

The goal, Gilley said, is for the students to find a local church within the first three weeks of the start of classes. That’s when routines are set.

How can churches make an impact on college students? Prepare care packages, provide free meals and look for other ways to make the students feel at home…even if they’re away from home.

Read the full piece and sign up for our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.