Dan and Peter on one of their annual hikes in the mountains of New Hampshire
Peter performing the wedding of Dan and Leslea Walker in 1984
Tribute from Dan Walker
Having founded FOCUS in 1961, Peter served as Executive Director until 1986, and again from 2005 to 2008. For 60 years, he served as a visionary, a mentor, a practical theologian of ministry to independent schools, and a dear friend to many of us. For me, he was a kind of father figure.
I can keenly remember as a FOCUS volunteer when, sitting on the porch of the Lodge at the Study Center, Peter would make a point of saying, “Hey, let’s take a walk.” Little did he know how important those walks were to a young man who was struggling to find his way. My many walks with Peter along Lambert’s Cove Road 40 years ago – and later, our annual tradition of hiking the mountains of New Hampshire – have symbolic significance. Peter taught me what it means to truly walk in relationships over a long period of time, to engage (and re-engage) through the ups and downs and unexpected turns of life.
When Leslea and I decided to marry, it was naturally Peter to whom we turned for pre-marital counseling and to officiate our wedding. In the years that followed, what I grew to appreciate most about Peter was not his “perfect example,” but rather his transparency about his own short-comings and his daily need for God. This became a model for me as I assumed leadership of the organization he had established decades earlier.
Below are some tributes to this dynamic yet humble minister of the gospel, who helped transform countless lives.
Sincerely,
Dan Walker
Executive Director
Tribute from Charlie Drew
When I first saw Peter Moore in the summer of 1963, I had no inkling of the impact Peter would have on kids like me. Peter knew that to reach the independent school world he would have to raise up a community of leaders who could make Christ interesting by their teaching, smarts, humor, example, and love. Thanks to Peter, thousands of young people like me met Christ, learned how to talk about him to others, made long-standing friendships, and grew up to see their own children’s faith kindled and formed. And along the way (crucially important) we laughed a lot, thanks to the fun and creative people Peter gathered around him. Rare among parachurch leaders, Peter showed young leaders like me how to love the church, both in its denominational specificity and universality, as he welcomed into the FOCUS orbit people from all over.
Charlie Drew
Former FOCUS Staff and Board Member
Tribute from Mary W. Thompson
With a passion to see young men and women engage their leadership and ministry potential, Peter Moore influenced dozens of emerging leaders to heed a call to full-time Christian ministry. His goal was to uphold the authority of Scripture, build up the body of Christ through a biblical worldview, and bear witness to the effectiveness of Christ’s death on the cross. Peter’s deep faith in Jesus Christ and His mission on earth drove Peter to ask how the unbeliever saw things — taking time to listen one-on-one and to mold individuals, while respecting their ability to make their own decisions when presented with the facts of the gospel. Peter has shaped a new generation of Christian leaders, and the lasting effect of his ministry will grow more apparent with time, as leaders follow his example and continue to renew the world for Christ.
Mary W. Thompson
Former FOCUS student, leader, mentor, board member, and current supporter
Tribute from Richard Gwathmey
As a new Christian attending St. Mark’s School, Peter Moore longed for a more compelling presentation of the gospel in boarding school chapel services. After attending Yale, then Oxford (where he encountered Christian camps for boys who attended England’s top boarding schools), Peter was inspired to start a similar endeavor that eventually became FOCUS. With courage, energy, and determination, Peter’s vision was to make students as comfortable as possible on their own terms — hence ski weekends, adventures in the Adirondacks, a gathering place on Marth’s Vineyard, and more. By God’s grace, it worked! Peter prayed a lot and had a wonderful way of drawing other gifted people into his work. His boundless energy was quite remarkable, right up to the end of his life. Nothing would stop him from working to advance the cause of Christ. A most remarkable man, enormously used by God.
Richard Gwathmey
Former FOCUS Staff and Board Member
Tribute from Connie Elliott
I was a junior in high school when Peter Moore joined our family for dinner and told my father: “I would love to start a ministry which would share the gospel with prep school kids like myself when I was at St. Mark’s.” Blessed with natural energy, a rare ability to write and speak well, an inquiring mind, and a deep love for people, he put together FOCUS, with which I eventually became intimately involved. Great as Peter’s organizational gifts were, it was his friendship and personal encouragement which burrowed into my soul and made me the person I am today. Whether in a theological conversation (in which he had the upper hand) or asking what God was up to in the hard places of my life, he continually nurtured our friendship — no matter how often or how seldom we saw one another.
Connie Elliott
Former FOCUS Board Member
Former Chair of FOCUS San Francisco’s Area Sponsoring Committee