Lottie Moon

Charlotte Digges Moon, or Lottie as she was called, was born in 1840 in Virginia to a wealthy Christian family. Despite her parents teaching her about Jesus, Lottie did not believe until she attended a church service with her friends in college. When she was 18 she dedicated her life to Christ and was baptized.

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Lottie Moon

Lottie started teaching in Kentucky and Georgia. However, God called her to missionary work, and she was accepted to go to China where her sister was already serving as a missionary. Lottie learned Chinese and taught in a mission school. Eventually she left her work in the school to travel in the countryside, telling people about Jesus. Lottie baked cookies and put them out for the children. She then got to know the children’s mothers and shared Jesus with them.

Lottie dressed like the Chinese, spoke their language, and practiced their customs so that they would trust her and see her as a friend, not as a “foreign devil.” This worked. Many of the Chinese became her friends and listened when she told them about Jesus and his love for them. Churches were started and many people were baptized. During her time in China, there was a war and many people were starving. Lottie gave all of her own money to help feed and care for the Chinese people.

Lottie recognized that a lack of money often held back missionaries from coming to serve. So she wrote many letters to the churches and mission boards back home, emphasizing how crucial it was to send missionaries so others could hear about Jesus. Soon the Women’s Missionary Union was born. These women worked hard to help other Christians understand the importance of missions, and they were able to raise over $3,000, a lot of money in those days, to send three women to work with Lottie in China. In many churches today, money is still collected every year during the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to support missionary work all around the world.

Lottie Moon died on Christmas Eve in 1913. Because she was willing to go and give of herself in China, many Chinese people heard about Jesus, and churches were established that are still there to this day. And because of her passion for missions, many people have given money to help spread the gospel around the world.

Fun Facts About Lottie Moon

• Lottie had seven siblings.
• Lottie was one of the first women in the South to receive a master’s degree.
• During the Civil War, Lottie helped care for the wounded.
• One of the Chinese men Lottie led to Jesus became a pastor and an evangelist. He led over 10,000 Chinese people to Jesus.