From D. L. Moody to Graduation in Ghana

This past February, I was privileged to be part of a group from Moody Bible Institute to attend two graduations for students at the Moody School of the Bible in Ghana, West Africa. The group included Moody President Dr. Mark Jobe ’84 MA ’98, Bruce Everhart ’88 (chief development officer), Hannah Tung MA ’02 (director of educational initiatives), Stephen Asare MA ’20 (manager mid-level development), Daniel Starke (video producer), as well as Rev. and Mrs. James Meeks (Board of Trustees).

The trip involved long plane rides, early mornings, bumpy roads, excellent food, lovely hosts, and overwhelming evidence of God's blessings. This year 418 students graduated, totaling 1,960 graduates since 2017. It was a remarkable week.

The Moody School of the Bible is a unique educational enterprise resulting from a partnership between Moody Bible Institute and Theovision, a multifaceted ministry based in Ghana started by Rev. Theo Asare. What makes this particularly special is that the education is totally oral. Roughly 70 percent of the population in Africa is illiterate. That means even if the Scriptures are translated into local languages, they still need to be read.

To address this, for over 40 years Theovision has been recording the Bible in local languages. To date, they have completed 462 languages, with plans to record the Bible in every African language.

Theovision distributes the oral Bibles by visiting rural villages and setting up Bible listening groups. Over the years, Theovision saw the need to train illiterate Christian workers, especially leaders for the Bible listening groups. This is where Moody Bible Institute comes into the story.

For years Moody Radio broadcast a program known as Radio School of the Bible. Essentially Moody professors recorded their class lectures in a studio, and they were then broadcast in segments over the radio. In recent years, a group of those courses was selected and then translated into the local language. Students receive lessons on solar-powered players. They take quizzes on their phones after listening to the questions. They move on to the next class if they pass the examination. There are two programs, each one year in length. Students receive a certificate if they complete all the coursework at the end of each year.

I regard these graduations as high points in my year. The students’ hunger for Scripture and the realization that this is their only option combine to produce incredible joy at each graduation.

In my case, it also hearkens back to D. L. Moody, who started five Bible training schools in his lifetime. Mr. Moody’s approach to ministry can be best summed up as a commitment to finding what needs to be done that no one else is doing—and doing it! Even a cursory glance at his life demonstrates his commitment to that philosophy and explains his creativity and effectiveness. This program reflects that commitment.

Moody Bible Institute’s school song begins, “God bless the school that D. L. Moody founded.” So as you pray for the school Mr. Moody founded, remember not only the students online and in Chicago, Spokane, and Michigan, but please remember the students in Ghana.

Dr. Quiggle’s Speech to Graduates in Ghana

You have studied at the Moody School of the Bible. I would like to take a minute to tell you about Dwight Moody, the man for whom the school is named. He was born in 1837 and died in 1899. He came from a very poor family. He had eight brothers and sisters, and his father was an alcoholic.

When Moody was just four years old, his father died. And his mother was pregnant eight months with twins. The family was so poor that Mr. Moody had to leave home and live with other families to eat. He only got five years total of school. When he was 17 he went to the closest big city. He was going to make his fortune. He went to church every week, and one day his Sunday school teacher went to visit him. He told Mr. Moody about Jesus, and Mr. Moody believed.

Several years later he heard a preacher named Henry Varley. This preacher said to Mr. Moody, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a person fully committed to Him.”

Mr. Moody said to himself, “By God’s help, I will be that person.”

What God did with Mr. Moody was remarkable. By the time he died he had started five schools. One of them was Moody Bible Institute. He also started schools for poor girls and poor boys.

During a big war in the US, Moody went to serve the soldiers and the prisoners from the other side. He was a committed evangelist. He not only preached in the US but he also preached in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. In fact, it is estimated that by the time he died, he’d preached to 100 million people. He also started a printing house, a publishing house. It still exists and has printed millions of books to help Christians.

Please remember Mr. Moody was a poor boy with no education. But Moody gave himself totally to God. God used Moody, and he can use you, too! I do not know what plans God has for you, but I think if Mr. Moody were here today, he would say, “Ghana and Africa have yet to see what God can do with one person totally committed to Him.”

So I encourage you: Give yourself to God and see what He will do with you.