A Tribute To Pastor Philpott
By | 1929
The following summary of Pastor Philpott’s labors in The Moody Church was spread on the Minutes of the Executive Committee by unanimous vote on June 3, 1929, and was incorporated in a beautiful memorial volume—a work of art and love—which was presented by Mr. Thomas Crofts to the Pastor on the evening of his farewell.
It is with the deepest regret that we, as officers of The Moody Church, come to the close of the ministry of Pastor P.W. Philpott. We could not have considered accepting his resignation if it had not been apparent that he had the assurance and conviction that this is the will of God for him.
Seven years ago, The Moody Church was in the midst of one of the most critical experiences of its history. It was imperative that the church have a strong, eminently successful, spiritual leader. The will of God was earnestly sought and with one accord both Executive Committee and Church turned to Pastor Philpott as the man of God’s choice. When a committee from The Moody Church was sent to Hamilton [Ontario] to extend the call to Pastor Philpott, he was pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle, one of the strongest and most spiritual churches on the American continent.
Our Committee besought Pastor Philpott to leave that prosperous and fruitful work which he had shepherded for nearly thirty years and come to The Moody Church. Of course, the will of God had to be sought and found by Pastor Philpott and his faithful wife. When this was determined, they willingly left that field and came to Chicago—a new work in a new country. None but that themselves can fully realize what it meant for them to sever their connections with those people—their spiritual children, but many years ago they had learned that “obedience is better than sacrifice.”
When Pastor Philpott came to take up his ministry here, a weather-beaten, dilapidated, temporary structure constituted the place of worship and headquarters of this great work. Under his inspiring ministry, it soon became the unanimous sentiment that we should erect a new and suitable building. Our pastor at once became an example to his congregation in sacrificial giving, being the first to pledge himself for a large sum of money to our building fund. A financial campaign resulted in having the building project underwritten by pledges of about $450,000. Under the pastor’s guidance, the stupendous undertaking of erecting a church edifice for this people, and worthy of the name and memory of D.L. Moody, the founder of this great work, became an accomplished fact.
As plans for the church building proper began to formulate, it became clear to the pastor and the people that the contemplated combined Bible school and administration building should be erected contemporaneously therewith. Whereupon the building program proceeded with the entire project.
Pastor Philpott manifested the keenest interest in the development of the plans for the new buildings, giving much valuable counsel to the building committee. The erection of the Moody Memorial Church building will long be remembered as one of the outstanding achievements of Pastor Philpott’s ministry here.
In November 1925, our Pastor led the congregation in dedicating this beautiful edifice to God. Its auditorium of over 4,000 seats is said to be the best room on this continent devoted to the preaching of the Gospel. The other rooms of the building are wonderfully well suited to the needs of a growing Sunday school and many other helpful activities and organizations.
Under the Pastor’s encouragement a great pipe organ has been installed and is being dedicated as a closing event of his ministry here. Out of a period of financial chaos and uncertainty, he has led us into stability, business-like procedure, and confidence of both congregation and public in financial matters.
The Churh has grown spiritually along with its physical development. We had long known him as a great preacher and Bible teacher, but the years have brought increasing power and spiritual freshness to his sermons. Our Pastor’s morning addresses will long be remembered as times of refreshing from the Lord to His people, and the Sunday morning congregations have steadily increased. The discouraged, the tired and the tempted among the Lord’s children have experienced the renewing of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Many thousands of the Lord’s hungry-hearted children from other churches, in and around Chicago, have come to these morning services for spiritual food. At the evening service, the salvation of souls has ever been the direct purpose and God has honored the preaching of the Gospel in the salvation of many.
During these years, The Moody Church prayer meeting has maintained its worldwide reputation for its large attendance and the spiritual blessing manifest. The devotional atmosphere of these meetings has been due in no little measure to Mrs. Philpott’s unusual gift of public intercession. The service is one of the strongest features of The Moody Church ministry.
Notwithstanding the fact that many had left the Church prior to Pastor Philpott’s coming, the membership now exceeds any previous figure. The Church has now nearly ninety missionaries in foreign fields who are much indebted to Pastor Philpott for his pastoral oversight of this phase of the work. His sympathetic letters to the missionaries have brought new inspiration and encouragement to those passing through times of depression. They have come to feel more than ever before their share in The Moody Church ministry. Each year, approximately forty thousand dollars was raised at the Annual Missionary Rally with which to support our members on foreign fields.
The Church has rejoiced in the nationwide ministry of its Pastor. He has had repeated calls to conduct union evangelistic campaigns in various cities, but out of consideration for The Moody Church, refused most of them. At St. Paul and Tacoma, he led the churches in city-wide campaigns in which the blessing of God was unusually manifest, both in reviving of church members and the salvation of souls. There has likewise been much demand for the Pastor’s sane, spiritual Bible teaching ministry. During his pastorate he has taken part in a number of large conferences in the principal cities of the United States and Canada. During the years of our Pastor’s ministry there has been an increasing effectiveness of cooperation between The Moody Church and the Moody Bible Institute in extending the worldwide ministry of both.
Though he leaves us as pastor, we shall look forward with joy and hope to the times when he can be in our pulpit again. God has written his ministry deeply into the abiding testimony of [The Moody] Church, and wherever Pastor Philpott may labor, we shall remember him with prayer and love, and welcome his presence among us.
SIGNED
James Weeks William Stevenson, Jr.
Thomas S. Smith E.P. James
Robert Ceder John V. Olson
Wm. H. Tannehill Peter DeYoung
George B. Meeker J.D. Hall
Anton E. Erickson Antonio F. Scorza
Robert Hanthorn W.G. Soderstrom
Wm. Faust Dr. Alfred Erickson
Paul E. Brandt C.F. Swanson
Harvey E. Snyder Louis G. Tatter
Chas. O. Safstrom Joseph Damiani, M.D.
Bayard B. Browne Oscar F. Johnson
John Ewing Chas. A. Porter
E.J. Warren K.H. Jensen
Harry Bruno Fred C. Hachtel
Ed. H. Culberg C.H. Swierenga
Joel G. Kirchhofer J.J. Franz
H. Herring James Jensen
John E. Erickson William Campbell
Wm. Doderlein Waldo Amstutz
S.G. Seaholm John Donnan
John Ewing, Jr. Thomas J. Crofts