This Week in Texas Methodist History January 23, 2022 John R. Mott, Arguably the Most Famous Methodist in the World, Comes to Dallas, Feb. 1941 One of the advantages of having a major university in Dallas was that its citizens were treated to lectures and sermons by some of the most prominent church leaders in the world. No event brought more Methodisths to SMU than Minister’s Week which began soon after the university opened. General sessions were open to the public, and preachers from throughout the region planned their winter travels around being in Dallas for the event. General sessions were held in McFarlin Auditorium, and usually there was standing room only attendance. Perhaps the most famous Methodist to lecture at Minister’s Week was John R. Mott (1865-1955), a future (1946) Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Mott never sought ordination and lived his life of evangelization was a layman. After Mott’s graduation from Cornell Univesity 1n 1888, Mott threw himself into evenagelism and missions focusing on young men. He was largely responsible for the Student Volunteer Movement from 1888-1920. That organization recruited workers for foreign missions. He also served as General Secretary of the YMCA for 16 years beginning in 1915. In that post he had the huge responsibilikty of the YMCA work during World War I. That work was exapdned to military bases both foreign and “over there.” His most famous book was The Evangelizatioon of the World. That book was a huge best seller and its title became a 20th century slogan that lasted for decades. Mott gave five lectures in McFarlin Auditorium quite naturally he spoke on missions during this time of global upheaval. There were few speakers who had travelled so widely and met so many world leaders as Mott. All five lecures attracted huge audiences.