Southern Baptist Missionary Lottie Moon: A History in China

Regina Sullivan's Lottie Moon: A Southern Baptist Missionary to China in History and Legend, chronicles the remarkable impact of Charlotte "Lottie" Moon, a legendary Southern Baptist missionary. Moon played a crucial role in the transformation of southern civil society by founding the Women's Missionary Union. This organization provided white Baptist women with a new channel for acquiring and asserting power within the structure of the denomination. Moon's initiative revolutionized the organizational dynamics of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Despite being raised in a family of slaveholders in antebellum Virginia, Lottie Moon did not conform to the typical role of a southern belle. She was highly educated and was influenced by strong female figures, including an older sister who was an advocate for women's rights, an opponent of slavery, and the first female in Virginia to earn a medical degree. Moon followed in her sister's footsteps and used her education to merge the language of women's rights with the egalitarian ideals of evangelical Protestantism.

In 1873, Moon discovered her true calling as a missionary in China. During her time there, she proposed the idea of dedicating the week before Christmas as a time for giving to foreign missions. This idea sparked the formation of local missionary societies by thousands of Southern Baptist women to collect funds. In 1888, the Woman's Missionary Union was established as the female auxiliary for missionary work within the Southern Baptist Convention, thanks to Moon's vision.

Sullivan acknowledges Moon's contribution to the establishment of the Woman's Missionary Union as a driving force behind the weakening of patriarchal power and the increased involvement of women in the public sphere. Since its inception, the Missionary Union's "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering" has raised over a billion dollars to support missionary work, illustrating the enduring impact of Moon's legacy.

Lottie Moon encapsulates the far-reaching influence of one woman's personal, spiritual, and civic calling. Regina Sullivan's book paints a comprehensive portrait of Lottie Moon and highlights her role in empowering women and revolutionizing the Southern Baptist Convention's organizational structure.

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