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Mark R. Moore Former Towel & Basin Board Member Passes
Mark R. Moore, a long-time Nazarene leader, educator, mentor and founder of Global Christian Education, died Wednesday, February 15 after battling cancer. He was 89.
Born in Vilonia, Arkansas, Moore received degrees from Bethany Nazarene College (bachelor of arts in 1937 and bachelor of theology in 1938), Baylor University (master of arts in 1946), Olivet Nazarene College (honorary doctor of divinity in 1962), and Africa Nazarene University (doctor of letters in 1998).
Moore served as a pastor from 1938 to 1944, and was president of the Bethany Nazarene College Alumni Association for four years. He was the recipient of the prestigious "B" Award from Bethany in 1962.
From 1944 until 1946 Moore was a chaplain in the U.S. Army. He was a prisoner of war during his service as a chaplain in World War II. The Germans captured Moore's unit during the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Purple Heart for injuries suffered in action during the war.
After the war, Moore was an associate professor at Bethany from 1946-1948 before becoming superintendent of the Northwest Oklahoma District (1948-1952) and the Chicago Central District (1952-1968). As a district superintendent, Moore organized more than 50 new churches. In 1968 Moore became president of what is now Trevecca Nazarene University. His term of service at Trevecca was marked by significant accomplishments: Trevecca earned regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and a 10-year re-affirmation of that status; four residence halls were added-Redford Apartments, Shingler Apartments, Bush Apartments, and Benson Hall; a faculty office facility, Tidwell Building, was renovated; and the Moore Physical Education Building (begun in1967) was completed. The annual operating budget grew from $1.06 million to $3.7 million, and the value of the campus property increased from $2.7 million to $6.6 million. Also, the acreage of the campus was increased when surrounding land was purchased during the Moore years.
While the Moore administration worked to improve the campus, attention was also given to strengthening academic offerings. The Physician Assistant Program was added and earned accreditation. The groundwork had been laid for the accreditation by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) of the Teacher Education Program and by the National Council for Social Work for the Social Work Program. The total number of majors available increased from 13 to 37. The number of full-time faculty grew from 40 to 49, and the percentage of faculty members who held an earned doctorate increased from 23 percent to 47 percent. In 1976, President Moore led Trevecca in the celebration of the school's 75th anniversary.
Moore served as Trevecca's president until 1979 when he resigned after being elected executive secretary of education for the Church of the Nazarene.
At age 70 he retired from the secretary of education position, but just over a year later Moore was asked to come out of retirement to move to Nairobi, Kenya and become the founding vice-chancellor of Africa Nazarene University (ANU). He served for nearly 4 years at ANU, establishing the campus plans, building the first buildings, planning the curriculum and faculty, and beginning classes as a Bible College in anticipation of government approval (which was received shortly after he left) to begin offering liberal arts and seminary degrees.
Since 1970, Moore has invested time in service to the General Church in a number of capacities, including membership on the General Board, Department of World Missions, and the General Church of the Nazarene Finance Committee.
In 1992, Moore was elected to the Board of Directors of Towel & Basin. He joined Towel & Basin to assist with the development of an international Bible small group endeavor primarily in Africa. His service on the Towel & Basin board provided him the foundation for the development of Global Christian Education.
In 1997, Moore founded Global Christian Education (GCE). Global Christian Education exists to foster, encourage, develop and provide opportunities for Christian education throughout the world with a primary focus on the underserved. Moore's stated the vision for the organization as: " GCE will help equip the poorest of the poor for ministry and service. We will help develop local preachers into effective pastors." His dream was also to prepare health care workers to fight aids in Africa along side of these local pastors.
In August of 2001, Moore was honored with the Bronze Star for heroism during World War II. Specifically, his acts of heroism included assisting wounded and dying men as a prisoner of war after being bombed.
He is survived by his wife, Clarice Endora (Pyles) Moore, and his sons Kent and Brad.
