biographical sketch // Dr. Larry A. Mercer
On July 1, 2005, Larry Mercer was appointed the sixth president of Washington Bible College/Capital Bible Seminary/Equip Institute. Dr. Mercer has a heart to make WBC/CBS/Equip a place where scriptural authority, spiritual formation, scholarship from a Christian worldview and service intersect, bringing glory to God through ministry to Prince George’s County, the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area, Mid-Atlantic Region, United States and the world. With a deep respect for the foundation and traditions inherent in the WBC/CBS/Equip history, Dr. Mercer has a vision to lead the institution into its next season of ministry to equip men and women to fulfill their life’s calling to bring glory to God through service to Christ.
He has served as:
• A counselor in junior high school and adult prison settings in North Carolina;
• Program Manager at a residential placement facility for adjudicated youth - the Dallas County Youth Village;
• Superintendent of a residential placement facility for adjudicated youth - the Dallas County Youth Village;
• Associate Pastor of Christian Education at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship;
• Administrator of Buckner Children’s Home; and
• Executive Director of Buckner Children & Family Services of North Texas, a multi-service Christian social service agency;
• Vice President of Church Ministries and Assistant to the President at the Moody Bible Institute;
• Senior Vice President of Media & Church Ministries at the Moody Bible Institute;
• Professor at the Moody Graduate School, and member of the Executive Cabinet of Moody Bible Institute.
Along with his massive professional experience, Larry has had extensive experience as a member of a number of organizational committees, and boards including the Dallas Independent School District Religious Task Force, Youth for Christ Dallas, and Baylor University Graduate of Social Work Board of Advocates. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for LeTourneau University.
Larry earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from East Carolina University, a Master’s of Theology in Pastoral Ministry and a Doctorate of Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has extensive experience in media and pulpit ministry. For more than twenty years Larry was the featured Bible teacher on a weekly 30-minute expositional teaching program on the Criswell Radio Network based in Dallas, Texas.
Before assuming his current position he was regularly heard on the Moody Broadcasting Network providing commentary on contemporary events. Mercer has been a guest speaker in numerous churches, schools and conferences, and his travels have taken him across the United States, into Europe, Latin America and Africa. He has taught at the Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, as well as for the Moody Bible Institute Undergraduate School and Graduate School programs.
Mercer has also ministered through the printed page. Moody Press released A Gift from God: Foundational Principles of Biblical Parenting, and a collaborative project with his wife - The Gift from God Workbook. He contributed chapters in two other books: Building Unity in the Church of the New Millennium and Prophecy in Light of Today, as well as articles in several other publications.
Larry has been married to his wife and best friend, Annie, for nearly 30 years, and they are the parents of four children.