Hannah Vanderhooft—Staff Writer

Originally from Missouri, Dr. David Moser, 33, is another new face in Dordt’s theology department this year. He has a degree in pre-seminary, a minor in philosophy, and graduated from Cedarville University in 2011.

As the first in his family to pursue a job in ministry and religion, Moser realized in high school he wanted to know more about theology and the Bible. After his time at Cedarville, he took a year off to work part-time for a church to help find a sense for where he wanted to go to seminary. 

Moser attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago and graduated in 2016 with a master’s degree in divinity. During his time there, he met and took classes with Dr. Justin Bailey, who is currently the chair of Dordt’s theology department. 

“I wanted to continue in my learning. I had questions I wanted to answer. I was interested in things like the Trinity, the notion that God is identically the same and personally distinct, but one Divine essence,” Moser said.  “I had questions about the incarnation, and I wanted to know more about that meant and the relevance that it had to the Christian faith.” Moser said. 

He earned his PhD in religious studies with an emphasis in systematic theology from Southern Methodist University in Texas, where he pursued the answers to his questions. He graduated in May of 2021 and moved his family to Sioux Center shortly after. Moser and his wife spent five years in Texas where they had two of their children, Elizabeth (3) and John (1). His wife is expecting another son in November. 

Moser enjoys the small-town community and how it serves his children. However, moving to a small town from a large, metropolitan area doesn’t come without its drawbacks. 

“The best part is having everything so close,” Moser said. “The hardest part has been the food scene. It’s got some things, it’s not completely devoid, but we also came from Texas, which has the greatest food in the world.”  

Moser said his family was saddened to leave their community in Texas but feel like Dordt is where God wants them. 

“We were really happy when this opportunity at Dordt came up because it fit the calling God put on my life in college, which was to help college students see the deeper things of God that scripture reveals,” Moser said. “That’s been my passion, to help others to be able to read the Bible and see that there’s more going on than meets the eye.”

As a recent graduate himself, Moser has found the transition into teaching at Dordt enjoyable: a place he can connect with colleagues and students. He hopes to inspire students to love learning. 

“I’m hoping overtime I can just become more involved in the lives of students, to be more available, and to continue to learn from students,” Moser said. 

He wants his classes to create an environment where students engage in intellectual discourse while developing community. He’s been implementing this in his core classes and upper-level theology classes. 

“It’s been a huge blessing to be here.”