At 1635 N. LaSalle Drive, where Lincoln Park meets Old Town in Chicago, The Moody Church is known for a Gospel witness that has reached the city since 1864. Its Sunday family includes people from more than 70 countries, while its ministries extend from infants and students to Spanish-speaking congregants, people with disabilities, local families in crisis, missionary families and listeners around the world.
From Little Hell to Illinois Street Church
Dwight L. Moody began his ministry in Chicago in 1856. A shoe salesman by trade, he left a life of luxury and established a Sunday school for poor children in an area known as “Little Hell.” More than 500 people crowded the small space each Sunday, and the growing ministry soon outgrew its facilities. Moody and his congregation opened the Illinois Street Church in 1864. It burned during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but the congregation rebuilt and continued the church that became The Moody Church.
The sanctuary at 1635 N. LaSalle Drive was dedicated in November 1925 and was modeled in part after the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. At its dedication, Pastor P.W. Philpott said the building would testify to “the power of the gospel of God’s grace.” His vision joined two ideas that still define the church: rich and poor are welcome to worship the maker of all, and Chicago can serve as a base for carrying “redeeming grace” to the ends of the earth. The congregation’s location in the heart of the city has remained central to that mission.
A.C. Dixon, P.W. Philpott, Harry A. Ironside, Alan Redpath and Erwin W. Lutzer are among the pastors who carried the church’s story forward. Their teaching, leadership and broadcasting helped establish a legacy of biblical proclamation in Chicago and internationally. Philip Miller is the 17th senior pastor. He and the church’s pastoral, ministry and elder teams continue the calling to evangelize, edify and equip people to be true worshipers and effective representatives of Christ.
Sunday at Ten: Music, Scripture and Prayer
The main Sunday gathering meets from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. Central Time and typically lasts about 75 minutes. People sing of God’s grace and faithfulness, pray as a church family, worship through offerings, and hear Scripture taught for personal transformation. Philip Miller serves as the preacher for this weekly gathering. All are welcome, whether attending in person or joining the worship stream, where complete services are also available on demand.
- What to wear: Modest dress is appropriate for worship, but every style is welcome. People may be dressed in jeans or suits.
- What to expect: The service follows a Christian worship pattern of music, prayer, an offering and a Bible message. The congregation reflects more than 70 countries and is united in its pursuit of God’s glory.
- After worship: Guests are invited to the Connection Center after the morning service to learn about The Moody Church and its Communities and ministries.
Prayer Team members are available in the sanctuary and through the stream after the morning service. The Wednesday Prayer Gathering also meets at 6:45 p.m. both in person and online.
Communion is normally celebrated on the first Sunday of each month at the 10:00 service. All who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior are welcome to participate; church membership is not required. The congregation uses 100 percent grape juice and gluten-free matzo that is free of most allergens, with a certified allergen-free option also available.
TMC Kids on the Second Floor and Students on the Third
TMC Kids serves children from birth through fifth grade. Its mission is to partner with parents and caregivers to raise children who know, love and serve Jesus. Sunday classes use active, age-appropriate Bible teaching, worship, crafts and games.
- Infants through pre-kindergarten: Classes begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue through noon, with drop-off available 15 minutes early.
- Kindergarten through second grade: 10:30 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
- Third through fifth grade: 11:30 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
- Awana: Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. for ages 2 through fifth grade. The Bible-centered program runs from September through May and requires registration.
All three children’s floors are reached by the building’s elevators. A Welcome Team assists families at secure kiosk check-in computers on the second floor. TMC Kids seeks to provide snacks without peanut products and records allergy information so classroom leaders can respond appropriately. Children and volunteer leaders use a visual paging system when a family needs to be reached. Volunteers undergo an application, background screening, pastoral reference and personal interview before serving.
Junior and senior high students meet on the third floor from 11:30 a.m. to noon on Sundays and from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. The church also oversees a camp ministry and summer experiences for children and students. Michele Forrider directs TMC Kids, while Nate Brumbaugh serves as assistant pastor for student ministries.
Communities, Small Groups and the Journey of a Lifetime
Communities are adult Sunday groups that meet at 8:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. They are places where people build meaningful relationships, form small groups, serve one another and engage in mission together. Small groups also meet throughout the week in homes or at the church. This network supports the church’s four-part Journey of a Lifetime:
- Know God through worship.
- Feed your soul through community.
- Grow in love through service.
- Change your world through mission.
Women’s Ministry combines Bible study, small groups and one-to-one discipleship. Its Daily Prayer Call gathers women on Zoom every weekday from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. Growing Together pairs married or single women with an older, more experienced woman for Titus 2 discipleship. Freedom Sisters leads a Bible study for women detained at Cook County Jail, with volunteers assigned to serve on one Sunday or Saturday each month. Sisters in Christ, a Sunday community for women of all ages and backgrounds, meets at 8:30 a.m. in Room 303.
Men’s Praise & Prayer gathers both in person and online for encouragement from God’s Word, shared journeys and prayer. An accountability group continues after that gathering. Josue Reyes leads the Hispanic and men’s ministry, while Rachel Marcello leads women’s ministry. Justin May serves young adults and equipping, Sean Melvin serves college students, and Ron Ingram directs the international student ministry.
Family ministries include marriage communities such as Your Marriage Your Family and resources that help parents connect their households with the life of the church. Mark Pirrie oversees Communities, Small Groups, camp and other activities that encourage a God-centered life.
Moody en Español and Access for More People
Moody en Español provides a Spanish translation of the 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship service and hosts a Spanish community at 11:30 a.m. in Kappler Hall. That community studies and sings in Spanish while pursuing spiritual growth, service and fellowship with the wider family of God. Josue Reyes serves as pastor of the Hispanic ministry.
The worship stream is also available with Spanish interpretation and a separate American Sign Language translation. Live closed captions can be selected in US English, German, Spanish, French, Indonesian and Portuguese. These options give worshippers with different language and hearing needs more ways to follow the music, Scripture and preaching.
The Bible at the Center of Church Life
The Moody Church holds that the Bible consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and is verbally inspired God’s Word without error in its original writings. It describes Scripture as the complete revelation of God’s will for salvation and the ultimate authority for judging every realm of human knowledge and endeavor. The church therefore holds that the Bible alone is to be believed, obeyed and trusted.
God is affirmed as one God in a loving Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is confessed as fully God and fully man, the incarnate Son who lived without sin, died on the cross, rose bodily from the dead and ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates and indwells believers, illuminating, guiding and empowering them for Christ-like living. Spiritual gifts are given for the edification of the church, but sign gifts are not required as proof of the Spirit’s presence.
Human beings are created in God’s image as male and female and are sacred from conception until natural death. All are affected by sin, and salvation involves the redemption of the whole person - body, soul and spirit. The church teaches that salvation is God’s gift of grace, received through faith alone in Jesus Christ. It includes regeneration, justification, sanctification and final glorification.
The church is described as the body of Christ, comprised of baptized believers under Christ as its head. Baptism and Communion are ordinances that express and confirm the Gospel but are not the means of salvation. The Moody Church practices believer’s baptism by immersion following a personal profession of faith. It does not practice infant baptism and teaches that baptism occurs once after salvation.
Baptism services are scheduled approximately once each quarter. Three are normally incorporated into Sunday morning worship, while the summer baptism is held in Lake Michigan. A person seeking baptism must be a regular attendee, but church membership is not required. The individual must demonstrate a relationship with Christ and an understanding of the ordinance. The required Baptism Preparation Class has no cost and does not require advance registration.
The church teaches a premillennial return of Christ and regards that interpretation of end-time events as important. People who hold a different understanding of the coming kingdom are nevertheless permitted to become members.
Forty-plus Missionary Families and Cross-Cultural Service
The missions ministry is grounded in the command to make disciples of all nations. The Moody Church supports more than 40 missionary families through discipleship, prayer and finances. Its strategy emphasizes the advancement of the Gospel and the forming of believers through local churches. In partnership with KGI, the church supports indigenous believers who evangelize and disciple within their own cultures, including places that are difficult for people from Western cultures to reach.
The Short Term Adult Missions Program, known as STAMP, introduces church families to cross-cultural ministry through short-term service in places near and far from Chicago. Teams use practical work, relationships with missionaries and direct exposure to cross-cultural ministry to develop a deeper understanding of global missions. Past trips have included work in orphanages and service alongside church missionaries abroad.
Missionary Prayer Fellowship meets on the third Thursday of each month from noon to 2:00 p.m. in Room 107. Missionaries often attend to share updates. The church also supports Beth Sar Shalom, a monthly virtual Bible study led by Roy Schwarcz in conjunction with Chosen People Ministries. It teaches the unity of the old and new covenants from a Jewish perspective. On the first Friday of each month, the church hosts a beginner-friendly Shabbat service incorporating Jewish and Christian elements for prayer, worship and learning.
Building on D.L. Moody’s legacy of caring for vulnerable children, the church supports several partners:
- Hope Mobility distributes mobility devices in Africa, supports inclusion and provides opportunities for people with disabilities to attend school, work and participate in their communities.
- Safe Families for Children surrounds vulnerable children and families during crises such as homelessness, hospitalization or domestic violence.
- By The Hand provides an after-school program emphasizing academic excellence and nurturing children in under-resourced neighborhoods from kindergarten through college.
- As Our Own uses family-style care and education to support vulnerable children in India through college.
- Caris offers professional counseling and community connections for women and children during and after unplanned pregnancy.
- Foundation For His Ministry serves children and conducts ministry in Mexico through homes, a daycare, prison ministry and rehabilitation centers.
- Seed to Sower Ministries provides residential, medical, educational and discipleship care to children affected by poverty in the Dominican Republic.
Giving supports this local and global work through the church’s online giving, in-person offerings and other stewardship.
Compassion, Mental Health and Disability Support
Assistant Pastor Larry McCarthy Jr. oversees compassion, senior-adult and local outreach ministries. The church’s Fellowship Fund assists church families with emergency housing, food, clothing and medical needs. This practical support is part of the church’s effort to combine biblical teaching with care for people experiencing hardship.
The Mental Health Ministry holds that people can live well despite mental health challenges because of the hope found in Christ. Its support is designed to accompany, not replace, counseling, therapy or medicine. The ministry provides Christ-centered resources and community support through the Mental Health Grace Alliance curricula. Living Grace supports adults with anxiety, depression or other challenges; Redefine Grace serves students and young adults; Family Grace supports people caring for loved ones or improving family relationships; and Thrive offers deeper resilience after completion of an earlier course.
Pastors are available for counseling by appointment throughout the week. Students and families can also receive one-to-one holistic biblical counseling and referrals to Christian counseling professionals through student and college ministries. The ministry maintains relationships with Chicagoland Christ-centered counseling practices offering in-person and remote sessions.
Disability Ministries include the 139 Buddy program, which gives children who can participate in regular TMC Kids activities with additional assistance. Elizabeth Albarran directs Disability Ministries and Connection. Ron Ingram’s international student ministry focuses on helping international students meet God and live in his grace. These ministries embody the church’s conviction that people of all abilities and backgrounds should be included in the life of the church.
Teaching That Travels by Radio and Screen
Moody Church Media is a donor-supported ministry with the motto “Bringing Glory to God Through the Transformation of Lives.” Its broadcasts include Running to Win and Songs in the Night with Erwin Lutzer, along with Moody Church Hour with Philip Miller. The programs are heard in seven languages across more than fifty countries.
The ministry has produced four syndicated broadcasts, more than seventy books and thousands of digital publications. Its teaching libraries include more than forty years of sermons from Erwin Lutzer and Philip Miller, as well as historical material associated with D.L. Moody, Harry A. Ironside, Alan Redpath and other former pastors.
The Moody Church also provides access to Right Now Media at no cost. Its library contains more than 25,000 Christian Bible studies, conferences, training resources and children’s programs available on televisions, computers and mobile devices. The church’s iOS and Android apps provide the bulletin, sermon notes, TMC Kids check-in, online giving, the Connect Card, group information, service opportunities and live or recorded media.
Leadership Across the Church
Philip Miller leads the church as its 17th senior pastor. Bill Bertsche serves as executive pastor and an associate elder, while Erwin Lutzer continues as pastor emeritus after serving as senior pastor for 36 years. The pastoral team also includes Bob Gunter in family ministries; Nate Brumbaugh in student ministries; Justin May in young adults and equipping; Larry McCarthy Jr. in compassion, seniors and local outreach; Sean Melvin in college; Mark Pirrie in community life; Josue Reyes in Hispanic and men’s ministry; Tim Stafford in music; and Bill Van Tuinen in global outreach and stewardship.
Ministry directors include Michele Forrider for children, Ron Ingram for international students, Rachel Marcello for women, Elizabeth Albarran for disability ministries and connection, Michael Arman for audiovisual technology, and Donnita Travis for the By The Hand partnership. The church’s elders include Jonathan Hauser, Kevin Baloue, Maximo Bermudez, Joseph Carré, Tony Durns, Stephen Farish, Steve Giere, Berv Peterson, Tom Sawyer and Phil Zahn.
Together, these ministries express the church’s continuing shape: worship centered on biblical teaching, fellowship across generations and cultures, practical care, service in Chicago and a mission reaching around the world. The Moody Church remains rooted in its 1864 beginning while carrying the same calling to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the city and among the nations.