Milestones
1858 - D.L. Moody established a mission Sunday School at North Market Hall in Chicago
1860 - On November 25, President-elect Abraham Lincoln visits D.L. Moody's Sunday School
1864 - D.L. Moody builds the Illinois Street Mission with a seating capacity of 1,500 for his unchurched converts, it is dedicated on December 30, 1864
1865 - D.L. Moody is elected president of Chicago's YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) and served in that capacity through 1871
1866 - J.H. Harwood is called as the first pastor
1871 - Illinois Street Church burns in the Chicago Fire. The North Side Tabernacle is organized to replace the destroyed building.
1873 - New building finished at Chicago and LaSalle
1876 - North Side Tabernacle is rededicated as the Chicago Avenue Church
1878 - First missionary commissioned: Fredrik Franson
1899 - D.L. Moody dies during an evangelistic crusade in Kansas City
1908 - Chicago Avenue Church is formally renamed The Moody Church
1908 - Sunday morning messages began to be transcribed and printed in the Moody Church Herald.
1915 - Temporary dirt floor tabernacle at Clark and LaSalle, seating 5,000 became the new meeting place
1924 - October 4: excavating for the new church building began
1924 - December 16: cornerstone for the new church building is placed.
1925 - November 8: New church facility dedicated (this is the current building)
1943 - Songs in the Night begins airing in the spring
1964 - Centennial celebration
1968 - Dr. George Sweeting begins broadcasting on Songs In The Night, as the first program host from The Moody Church.
1974 - Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe begins broadcasting on Songs In The Night.
1974 - Moody Church Hour radio program launches in January with recordings from Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe [Editor’s Note: The service had already been broadcasting live but the exact start-date is not available.]
1980 - Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer is called as the 16th Senior Pastor and begins broadcasting on Songs In The Night and Moody Church Hour.
1986 - Arsonist set fire to the pulpit/platform area of the sanctuary
1995 - May 1: The first episode of Running to Win, hosted by Pastor Lutzer, airs on the radio (15-minute version)
2001 - By The Hand Club For Kids™ established.
2003 - "Moody Church Radio" becomes "Moody Church Media" and live streaming of our Sunday morning service begins.
2006 - Joint radio project with Radio Vocea Evangheliei in Romania, Alege astazi (Choose Today), begins broadcasting a translated version of Pastor Lutzer's sermons.
2007 - Christian Life Center dedicated
2008 - May 5: The first 25-minute version of Running to Win, hosted by Pastor Lutzer, airs on the radio.
2011 - April 13: new website for The Moody Church launches
2013 - March 1: new website for Moody Church Media launches
2015 - Celebrating the Joy of Changed Lives 150th Anniversary Celebration
2016 - May 22: Pastor Erwin Lutzer becomes Pastor Emeritus with further opportunities to travel and write.
2016 - Naomi's House established.
2016 - Running To Win begins airing in Spanish.
2019 - Running To Win begins airing in Arabic.
2020 - March 29: Rev. Philip Miller is called as the 17th Senior Pastor. He began preaching in July and was publically installed in September, 2021.
2020 - Running To Win begins airing across Nigeria in English.
2023 - Running To Win begins airing in Russian, Portuguese, and across India in English.