Alumni Profile: Davis Mooney
“Through my time at Covenant, the Lord gave me a deeper understanding of and desire for his Word and showed me the ways that he is at work in me and those around me to redeem and grow his Kingdom. I learned that the ministry he carries out through me is not my own—I am simply a vessel and instrument for his glory. I am called to faithfulness, but it is the Lord who empowers and enables his people for his purposes.”
DAVIS MOONEY (MDiv ’19), Pastor for Students and Families, Hope PCA, Winston-Salem, NC
Raised in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, in a Christian family, Davis Mooney’s faith began to grow through his involvement with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) in college. There, the care and mentorship of a faithful campus minister helped him develop his own gifts for ministry. That led to an internship with RUF and eventually a move to St. Louis to pursue ministry training at Covenant Seminary. Today, Davis is excited to be sharing the gospel with the next generation of believers as Pastor for Students and Families at Hope PCA in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he resides with his wife, Hannah, and their two young sons. Below is part of a conversation with Davis, who was one of the recipients of our Founders Scholarship during his last year at Covenant.
Can you share some of your story and the path that led to you pursue ministry?
It’s remarkable to look back on my life and see the Lord’s great faithfulness, which began even before I was born. He placed me in a Christian family and a solid PCA church where people reflected Christ’s love to me as I grew. In my third-grade Sunday school class, God began to open my eyes to his love for me and my need of his grace. Then, when I was 17, my father passed away suddenly of a heart attack, and God revealed to me both his comforting presence and my need for Christian community. He provided that again when I went to college through the ministry of RUF and a wonderful campus minister who helped me grieve the loss of my father and pointed me to the gospel. His friendship, example, and influence opened the door for considering ministry myself, and led to a two-year internship with RUF at Virginia Tech, which only increased my passion for sharing God and his Word. I knew I needed more training, so I began to think about going to seminary.
Why did you come to Covenant Seminary for the training you needed?
I wanted to dig deeper into the rich, biblically rooted Reformed theology to which I had been exposed at my home church and through RUF. I also wanted a deeply relational seminary so that I could build strong long-term relationships with fellow students. My RUF campus minister at Virginia Tech was a Covenant graduate and always spoke highly of his experience there. It was clear to me from his preaching style and the gracious and pastoral way he interacted with students that he was living out what he had learned at Covenant. My pastor at home was also passionate about Covenant and believed strongly in the school and the kind of pastors it produces. It was evident to me that Covenant would be academically rigorous and but also concerned with developing spiritual health and pastoral sensitivity in the leaders it trains. I certainly found that to be the case.
In what ways did your Covenant experience help to further prepare you for ministry?
God used Covenant to draw me closer to himself in so many ways. The professors often reminded us that we are not the end of our own learning but are called to rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness to his sinful people and to share that good news with others. Their passion for what God’s Word is clear, and their humility, pastoral sensitivity, and understanding of their own need for grace are the basis of everything they do. They are great pastors as well as remarkable scholars and are always willing to share themselves and their lives with students both in and out of class. They could be talking about exegetical issues one minute then sharing how the Lord was working in their hearts or asking for prayer about something the next, then transitioning back again to the Bible—and relating all of these together seamlessly. I pray the Lord will use me in the same way as an instrument for advancing his Kingdom as I apply the academic knowledge and the pastoral sensitivity I learned at Covenant.
what did the Founders Scholarship mean to you during your last year at Covenant?
When I first heard I had received the scholarship, I was astounded. My wife and I were expecting our first child and weren’t sure how we would provide for our growing family. The scholarship was a fantastic blessing, not only financially but also as an affirmation of my call to ministry. We are so grateful to those who gave so generously to bless us in this way. We couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you!
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