George Sweeting (1924-2024), Laid to rest in his 100th year

This is the eulogy I read at my dad’s funeral service.

ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS, George Sweeting, age 99, passed away peacefully in his home on September 10, 2024, surrounded by his family.

To his children, grand children and great grand children, he was an extraordinary dad and grampa who lived into his 100^th year. But to many around the country he was a renowned evangelical pastor, evangelist, Bible-teacher, educator, Christian leader and author.

Dad was born in Haledon, New Jersey on October 1, 1924 to his Scottish immigrant parents William James Sweeting and Mary Roger Irving Sweeting who had recently arrived in America.

In 1924 Calvin Cooledge was president. Radio was just coming into its own. Many, like the Sweeting family, still relied on horse drawn vehicles to regularly deliver ice for their ice box. When he was a boy, he actually saw the great inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, march in his hometown parade.

Dad was a teen during the Great Depression and worked through the night delivering milk on a milk truck. The pay he earned went back to the family to help them survive during those difficult years.  

In school he was known for his artistic ability, especially drawing cartoons. He was also the class cut up! But in 1940, at the age of 16, young George committed his life to Jesus Christ. Almost immediately he began to share his faith with his peers–in his senior year leading forty of his classmates to Christ. In 1942 dad enrolled for college at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, while also studying at Chicago’s renowned Art Institute. He then went on to get his B. A. from Gordon College in Massachusetts, and afterwards attended seminary at the Northern Baptist Seminary.

George met his future wife Margaret Hildegard Schnell at a church youth event, the daughter of German immigrants, on a tobaggan ride. After their 7 year courtship, they were married on June 14, 1947. Together they raised four sons, George David, James Douglas, Donald William, and Robert Bruce. My parents recently celebrated their 77^th wedding anniversary!

Dad was ordained as a pastor in 1945 at his home church, the Hawthorne Gospel Church in Hawthorne New Jersey and quickly began travelling as an artist-evangelist speaking to audiences in the East, Midwest and the South, and drawing illustrated sermons with his portable easel. His great theme was God’s amazing love for lost people through Jesus Christ, Christ’s atoning work on the cross for the sins of the world, his bodily resurrection and promised coming again. He believed that for life’s deepest questions: Christ is the Answer!

As children came dad shifted from itinerant ministry to pastoral ministry so he could be at home more with his children. He pastored churches in New Jersey, including Grace Church in Passaic, and the inner-city Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Patterson, New Jersey. By the way, in his early pastorate he actually had one man in his congregation who had been baptized under the ministry of C.H. Spurgeon in London, and another who was converted under the ministry of Dwight Moody himself!

In 1966, the Moody Church of Chicago extended a call to George to become its senior pastor. Once again he engaged in a ministry of church revitalization. Then in 1970, he was called to become the 6^th president of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and ushered that school into ambitious years of growth—expanding its ministries through undergraduate enrollment, radio outreach, publishing, and pastors conferences. When the school was tempted to flee to the suburbs, he recommitted the school’s commitment to serve the inner city of Chicago.

Dad had his share of trials. As a student at Moody Bible Institute had a serious form of cancer and was told he may not live, and if he did he would never have children. He often said his hospital bed became a kind of alter in his life where he recommitted his life to serving Christ. But there were challenges from this illness that would be a thorn in his flesh his entire life. While president of Moody he had a second bout of cancer. He also had his heartaches from family challenges, and headaches from leadership challenges. But he remained super focused, trusting in the Lord’s goodness.

There were three times in his life where he had extraordinary opportunities that he said NO to, because of his call to be an evangelist. Early on at Gordon College, the school said, if you will teach missions here, we will pay your way to get a Ph.D. at Yale. He said No. He was called to be an evangelist. During his pastoral ministry the head of ServiceMaster, offered him a position as vice president and said he would make my dad a multimillionaire. But dad said No. While at Moody, Jerry Falwell senior came and asked my dad to be the president of Liberty University, (I was at this meeting) but again he said No. That was not his calling.

During his lifetime dad also engaged in a wider ministry preaching extensively in Germany after the war, the British Isles, Europe, and Asia. He also authored over 30 books and had a nationwide radio broadcast.

In 1987 Dad became Moody’s Chancellor and continued representing Moody across the country. He served in that post for 13 years until 1999 at which time he continued traveling and speaking around the country. Then in 2004, as an 80 year old (!) he went back into pastoral ministry and joined the staff at the Chain of Lakes Community Bible Church serving as the Director of Senior Adult Ministries for 13 more years. At age 93, he retired but began writing his final book, Full Circle, which was published by Moody Press in 2022. After that, he hoped to take up drawing again!

Through the years dad enjoyed many activities with family and friends including three large annual summer picnics, family games, baseball, gardening, planting trees, golf, art and writing. Along the way he met many famous people, including Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Ronald Reagan, and Yitzak Rabin who became the Prime Minister of Israel. He was also a lifelong friend of Billy Graham. Dad received honorary doctorates from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Tennessee Temple, John Brown, Azuza Pacific.

But more than anything else, to our family he was a loving husband, and a dedicated father, grandfather, and great grandfather. Together mom and dad have 11 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, as well as many adopted grand children.

Dad not only taught his family about Christ and the Bible, he also taught us to love nature, great art, history, reading, travel, and education. He modeled generosity and talked about the importance of laughing and the futility of worry. He told the grandchildren about the importance of their choices, discipline, goal-setting, focus, enthusiasm, strong families, love, faithfulness, and finishing well. He made them laugh and kept them motivated. His one liners and aphorisms of wisdom will long live in the minds of those who knew him.

My dad never thought he would live until his 100^th year. He often told us that while it was “too soon to quit,” that “getting old was not for sissies!” Toward the end, as his body wore out, he longed to go home to be with the Lord. He sometimes mused, “I think my friends are up in heaven saying to one another, I wonder what happened to George and Hilda. I’m surprised they didn’t make it!”

My dad leaves a great legacy and an example of a life well lived. But he would be quick to remind you that he too was a sinner saved by grace. So, in all that you hear today, please don’t miss this one salient fact. You will hear funny stories, sentimental memories and expressions of love. But dad would want you to know that the real game changer in his life was an encounter with the risen Christ. That the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important piece of news you could ever encounter. So in this service, besides hearing about George Sweeting, we hope you hear the good news: that God sent his only son into the world to save sinners. That Jesus is the way the truth and the life. That the wise person builds his house upon the rock, and that rock is Jesus.