VOLUNTEER INDUCTEES

DWIGHT MOODY (1837-1899)

We sometimes forget that at its beginnings, the YMCA was, above all, a religious organization. According to YMCA historian Howard Hopkins, evangelist Dwight L. Moody is “the greatest religious figure in the first century of the American Y.M.C.A.” Moody was affiliated with the Chicago YMCA and pressed it in the direction of evangelism and, as President of the
association, secured funding
to erect the Chicago Y’s first building. Moody was the leading religious figure of his day, a “revivalist” who reached millions. He said he owed more to the YMCA than to any other organization for equipping him to do religious work. At a YMCA secretaries’ meeting in 1879, he said, “I would recommend a gymnasium, classes, medical lectures, social receptions, music … We do not want simply evangelistic meetings.” Moody was instrumental in establishing the Y’s student volunteer movement and what is now known as World Service.

DAVID ALLEN REED (1850-1932)

The Reverend David Allen Reed, a Congregationalist minister who assisted Dwight Moody in religious revivals, founded a tuition-free “School for Christian Workers” at Winchester Square in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1885. The school was dedicated to the training of Sunday School teachers, and included a “Young Men’s Christian Association Department.” Reed raised the funds to launch the school with its own building and, according to YMCA historian Howard Hopkins, “maintained it against great odds through its pioneer years.” The YMCA Department became Springfield College. Reed chose Robert Ross McBurney, “father” of the New York YMCA as Vice President, and appointed Moody to the board, assuring a strong YMCA connection.

SCHOOL FOR CHRISTIAN WORKERS

The first institution of higher learning organized by the YMCA national organization was the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts.