Moody and Sankey: the preacher and the singer who filled halls on two continents

At a convention in Indianapolis in 1870, a prayer meeting was dragging. The singing was slow and lifeless. Then a man with a strong baritone voice started a hymn, and the room came alive. Afterwards, the preacher leading the meeting asked him where he lived and what he did. Within months, Ira Sankey had left his job to sing for Dwight L. Moody, and the two began a partnership that would draw millions of people to their meetings.

Moody, Sankey and Britain

Moody was born in Massachusetts in 1837. He moved to Boston and then Chicago, where he sold shoes and became involved in Sunday school work among poor children. Sankey was born in Pennsylvania in 1840. He worked in tax collection and sang in church before meeting Moody. The pair travelled to Britain in 1873. Their meetings in Scotland, northern England and London drew enormous crowds, making them famous on both sides of the Atlantic.

Moody’s preaching was simple, warm and direct. He spoke in plain language about God’s love and the need for conversion, without the heavy theology of many preachers of his day.

Singing the gospel

Sankey’s role was to “sing the gospel”. He sang solos, often accompanying himself on a small reed organ, and led congregations in simple hymns. One famous story tells how Sankey found a poem about the lost sheep in a newspaper and composed a tune for it on the spot during a meeting in Edinburgh. “The Ninety and Nine” became one of his best-known songs.

Sankey compiled hymnbooks, including Sacred Songs and Solos, which sold in huge numbers and remained in use for generations. Returning home, they held large campaigns in major American cities.

Moody Bible Institute and legacy

Moody founded schools, including what became the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, to train Christian workers. Moody died in 1899. Sankey, who lost his sight late in life, died in 1908. Their model of preaching combined with gospel singing influenced later evangelists and the growth of gospel music. Moody also founded schools in his home town of Northfield, Massachusetts, and held summer conferences that drew students and church leaders.

Moody was a shoe salesman and Sankey a tax official. Between them, a plain sermon and a simple song filled halls on two continents.