M ott, J ohn R . (1865–1955)

• Main Author: Loyer, Kenneth M.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2011
• Subjects: Postville; Purvis; Sullivan
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0944; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0944; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0944

Abstract John R. Mott, an American lay Methodist, was the world's leading Protestant missionary and ecumenical statesman during the first half of the 20th century. Born near Purvis in Sullivan County, NY, Mott moved with his family to Postville, IA, where he was raised. After studying at Upper Iowa University and Cornell University, he diligently pursued his life's work as an evangelist and a leader of the emerging ecumenical movement. Throughout his illustrious career, Mott occupied many leadership positions in mission organizations. He served as student secretary of the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1888, and that same year he helped organize the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions (SVM), a branch of the YMCA. He would go on to direct the SVM for three decades. By the time he spoke at the SVM's 1951 convention, over 20,000 volunteers had done mission work through its efforts. Mott was also instrumental in the formation and development of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), which sought to unite Christian students from all nations. In 1901 he was appointed the assistant general secretary of the YMCA, and in 1926 he became president of the World Alliance of YMCAs. He shared in the planning and leadership of the epochal Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910, which he also chaired. At Edinburgh, a follow‐up committee was formed (later called the International Missionary Council [IMC]). Mott was closely associated with the IMC for the rest of his life. A zealous proponent of Christian missions, he embraced and advanced the motto “the evangelization of the world in this generation.”