Bishop A. T. Moore

The Life of a Legend

Born in Salem, Kentucky, November 21, 1911, the second son of Henry Harrison and Dora Fletcher Moore into a family of six boys and two girls. As a young boy, A. T. Moore dreamed that he would be able to preach to his mother, father, and other family members. He would go down the old road hollering, praying to God that he would bless him to do so. He accepted Christ at an early age, and obtained much of his early training in the Baptist church in Salem, KY. Even during that time, he knew something was missing. He would sit and look out the window longing for more of God.

His first introduction to holiness was when his father took the family to Lola, Kentucky, six miles from his home town to hear a sanctified preacher, Elder Stewart, play his mandolin and preach holiness under a brush-harbor. Sometime later, a sanctified couple came to Salem, and observing his zeal toward God, began to have a Bible Study with him. There they told him about the Church of God in Christ. It sounded so much like the characters he had read about in the Bible that he became greatly inclined to know more.

In 1939 he proposed to Robbie Lee Cobb and May 16, 1940 they were united in Holy Matrimony. She preceded him in death in November 1989. August 25th of the same year he began his pastoral of the congregation which is now known as Moore Temple Church of God in Christ.

In August 1947, Bishop Moore was appointed Overseer (later changed to Bishop) by Bishop C. H. Mason, the founder of the Church of God in Christ. He served faithfully in this capacity until he was Emeritized in 2008 due to failing health.

Bishop Moore pastored the same congregation for sixty-eight years. He served in Glasgow and Madisonville, Kentucky for ten concurrent years. He served as Bishop for sixty- two years. His cumulative years of ministerial service were almost equivalent to his years of life.

He stood in these changing times, firmly anchored in the traditions and doctrine of the Church of God in Christ, as taught and shown to him by our founder and his friend, Bishop Charles Harrison Mason. Bishop Moore’s anointed sound on the alto and tenor saxophones distinguished him as an accomplished musician.

His passion for electronics and recording led to him being named the first national recorder of the Church of God in Christ. The ‘Yes Lord’ praise of the Church continually resounded during his ministry. The teachings and doctrine of the pioneers of this great Church are the hallmark of his ministry.

In recognition of his achievements and integrity, he was proclaimed by the late Presiding Bishop Louis Henry Ford to be “Living Legend in the Church of God in Christ” worldwide.

Bishop A. T. Moore has received many honors, awards, and citations during his legendary lifetime.

Bishop A. T. Moore went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, February 7, 2010. We honor him as 'The Living Legend.'