Lottie Moon, missionary to China from 1873 to her death in 1912, is the most famous person in Southern Baptist history. Our largest offering, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, is named for her.
In time, her life came to be mythologized by Southern Baptists and her name invoked in order to raise money for missions. To counter this, here are ten things you probably did not know about Lottie Moon:
1. When funding from the Foreign Mission Board was not sufficient to provide additional workers for Moon’s lonely and arduous mission in Pingtu, China, Lottie loaned the Board $1,000 to help support a new missionary. The sum is equivalent to about $25,000 today.
2. Moon’s home in the seaport city of Tengchow was once hit by a shell from a Japanese warship. Moon was not home at the time. The bombardment was part of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905.
3. At the 1890 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, it was said Lottie Moon: “She is the greatest man among our missionaries.”
4. The Christmas offering later named for Lottie Moon was an idea copied from the Methodists.
5. Miss Moon was the first single female missionary woman sent out by the SBC Foreign Mission Board. No, not Lottie but her sister Edmonia (Eddie) who was one two single ladies appointed in April, 1872. Lottie followed soon thereafter in 1873. Eddie was often sick and left China for good in 1876.
6. Lottie Moon’s uncle once owned Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, post Jefferson, of course.
7. When Moon arrived in China in 1873, she found that there was serious personal conflict among missionaries in the mission. This would cause difficulty for decades. She had to contend with and endure this constantly; whereas, the wars, famines, and plagues were just sporadic.
8. Among other things, Lottie endured at least two outbreaks of bubonic plague. She would simply close the school she was operating at the time and wait for the plague to pass.
9. When a new missionary asked Lottie in 1909 what the secret was to her long success in China (she had been in the country for 36 years at that point), Lottie answered, “Early to bed and do not worry.”
10. Lottie died while on a ship in a Japanese harbor. The ship’s captain was concerned that an embalmed body would not be allowed entry into the United States so she was cremated.
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These are from “Lottie Moon: A Southern Baptist Missionary to China in History and Legend” by Regina D. Sullivan.
The photo of Lottie Moon is from the WMU. Although some others had done so, Lottie was among the first to dress and live in the custom of the Chinese.
In Arkansas, a red-faced, angry Deacon rose to the floor in his local Church business meeting, one time, and said, “When in the world are we gonna finally pay off Lottie Moon? And, what did she do for us, to deserve all of this money, anyway?”
Old, Southern Baptist joke….still funny.
David
Yep, an old, old SBC standard joke.
While Moon was in China, the FMB had no funds to send people to help her in her interior station where she served alone. The Christmas offering, years away from bearing LM’s name, was earmarked by the women’s groups specifically for Lottie moon in North China. After success in ‘paying her off’ the offering was general support of the FMB.
True story.
New family in a previous church got upset and considered leaving the church because we were supporting the Moonies with our offerings.
Dave, That is hilarious!!! I led my first Church to start printing a financial statement for the business meetings, every month. Well, I had 2 older Deacons, who were very upset that someone had spent $400 on a Sunday School board. In fact, I overheard them walking down the stairs saying that they wanted to see a $400 sunday school board. They were gonna look in each room, and find out who had paid so much for a “board”….bulletin board, cork board type of thing is what they were thinking. Of course, I had to explain to them that “Sunday… Read more »
11. Her house will be on display in the new Evangelism & Missions building at SWBTS.
Best excuse I know to drive to TX…but still too far.
But a lot closer than China.
David R. Brumbelow
Yeah, but I’d drive to China just for fun.
If I could.
11. She used a catechism to witness to unbelievers.
What’s your source for that? Just curious and don’t doubt it.
William,
Enjoyed your article and the facts.
BTW …. (11) She was once engaged to Crawford Howell Toy, former prof at Southern Seminary. After his firing, he became a Unitarian and taught at Harvard for many years.
I did a piece on that just to tweak my mod/lib friends.
Since the FMB was unlikely to appoint Toy, LM chose to go back to China single. I don’t have my sources with me but I think that is the story…part of it.
I have been informed that Harriet Baker was the FMB’s first single woman mssy…China…appointed 1849…stayed just a few years.
…was just testing the experts to see if they pay attention.
“She is the greatest man among our missionaries.”
I often tell my wife that she is one of the most godly men I know!