John Mott, leader in the missionary movments of the Twentieth Century
Mott, John Raleigh (1865-1955)
John Mott was a Methodist leader in the missionary and ecumenical movements in the early to mid-twentieth century. He was born 25 May 1865 at Livingston Manor, NY. As a young child his family moved to Iowa. While attending Cornell University he became involved with the YMCA and in 1886 became one of the founding members of the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM), whose motto was ” The world for Christ in this generation.” As a representative of the YMCA, he became the chairman of the SVM for the next thirty-two years. Between 1888 and 1915 he was involved in a variety of leadership posts of the YMCA and the International Committee of the YMCA. At the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference he was chosen as chairman of Commission I and was the presiding officer of the day sessions. He was central to the leadership of the Jerusalem Missionary Council in 1928 and the Madras Missionary Council in 1938 as well as being involved in Conference of Faith and Order. He was not only instrumental in developing mission policy but also in developing ecumenical relationships. When the World Council of Churches was established in 1948, he was named an honorary president because of the work he had done to bring about its creation. When he passed away in 1955 he was interned in the Washington Cathedral in Washington, DC.