Paul D. Mooney

Paul D. Mooney was born in Noblesville, Indiana, on November 15, 1943. His parents, Riley and Lena Mooney, served as pastors of a small mission in downtown Indianapolis, and young Paul Mooney helped with outreach, youth, and music ministry. He married Micki Mooney in 1963 and began evangelizing as a minister with the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1966 he accepted the pastorate of Muskegon Apostolic Tabernacle in Muskegon, Michigan. Through active Sunday School, bus ministry, Bible studies, music and drama ministries, and the Bread of Life Radio Broadcast, the Mooneys built a thriving congregation and a new sanctuary and educational complex. In addition, Brother Mooney took on the pastorate of a congregation in Shelby, Michigan, for twelve years. During that time, the church constructed a beautiful new building in that city.

During his time in Michigan, Brother Mooney became a member of the United Pentecostal Church International. He served twelve years as a presbyter before being elected district secretary in 1983. In 1987, Brother Mooney became superintendent of the Michigan District following the death of his beloved friend William R. Starr.

While serving on the Michigan District board, Brother Mooney directed dozens of camp meetings for all age groups, led remodeling projects for the campground, chaired the Michigan District Educational Committee and was instrumental in founding the Apostolic Institute of Development, a ministerial training program.

In 1988, Brother Mooney was elected to serve as pastor of Calvary Tabernacle in Indianapolis, Indiana. Just days after his election, the Indiana Bible College board of directors asked him to consider assuming the responsibility of the college that had been founded in Seymour, Indiana. Brother Mooney immediately felt a passion for IBC and asked the saints of Calvary Tabernacle to share his burden. The challenge was to find a facility to house students, prepare meals, and hold classes. Brother Mooney learned that a vacant hospital was available. It appraised at several million dollars, but God allowed the college to acquire the more than one hundred thousand square-foot facility for $660,000.

The saints of Calvary Tabernacle rallied to clean and renovate the building, and in the fall of 1989, IBC reopened in Indianapolis with its first class of forty-seven students. Since that time IBC has been a leader in Apostolic higher education, training and mentoring men and women for ministry and service around the globe.

Under Brother Mooney’s leadership, Calvary Tabernacle and IBC continued the ministry of the Bread of Life Radio Broadcast in Indianapolis, launched Voice and Vision Publications, Apostolic Information Service, IBC Perspectives Magazine, and developed and hosted MidAmerica Renewal Conference (MARC), as well as the Steadfast Conference. In 2001, Brother Mooney joined with former Calvary Tabernacle pastors Jim Larson and then UPCI General Superintendent N.A. Urshan to celebrate the mortgage burning for both Calvary Tabernacle and Indiana Bible College.

In 1993, Brother Mooney was elected district superintendent of Indiana. He led the district in making many improvements to the campgrounds during his nine-year tenure, including a complete remodel of the tabernacle, adding air conditioning and a new entrance as well as new landscaping and new signage. The district also remodeled the cafeteria and the fellowship building and constructed a new boy’s dormitory during that time.

In 2002, Brother Mooney resigned as district superintendent and launched Calvary Tabernacle into the next phase of its history. As part of his vision, Calvary Tabernacle unanimously voted to move its location from Fletcher Avenue to a miraculously acquired and highly visible twenty-three-acre plot at I-65 South and Keystone, just minutes from downtown Indianapolis. In 2007, Calvary Christian School began this relocation, moving into a newly constructed, state-of-the-art, 110,000 square-foot education and family life facility.

In addition to serving the Michigan and Indiana districts, Brother Mooney also served the UPCI both nationally and globally. He was a member of the Global Missions board from 1990 until 1993, and again from 2002 until 2006. He was an advocate for and supporter of Global Missions and a creative force in missions fundraising efforts. In 2006, Brother Mooney was elected to serve as the assistant general superintendent for the UPCI’s eastern zone. In this capacity, Brother and Sister Mooney ministered at conferences, camp meetings, church dedications, and many other events in North America and around the world, including in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Brother Mooney retired from Calvary Tabernacle and Indiana Bible College in 2020 and as assistant general superintendent in 2021.

Brother Mooney’s anointed preaching, unique sense of humor, and ability to communicate with people of all ages and cultures made him an inspiration to Apostolic Pentecostals everywhere. He connected with audiences in a variety of ways, including vivid storytelling, sharing poetry, singing old songs, and unique sermon titles. He also demonstrated uncompromising commitment to truth, holiness, and righteousness. As a result, Brother Mooney was known as a defender of the Apostolic doctrine, a leading voice in the Oneness Pentecostal movement, and a man of great faith and vision.