David entered the ordained ministry of the M.E. Church in 1860, admitted as a probationer in the Ohio
Annual Conference. His pastoral ministry actually began in 1855, when he was appointed pastor of the Second Street M.E. Church in
Zanesville, Ohio (serving there until 1868, before and after military service). Moore subsequently served these appointments: St. Paul's M.E. in
Delaware, Ohio (1868–70); Wesley Chapel in
Columbus, Ohio (1870–72); and Trinity M.E. in
Cincinnati (1872–75), having transferred his conference membership to the Cincinnati Annual Conference in 1872. Moore became the president of the Cincinnati Wesleyan Female Seminary (
aka Cincinnati Wesleyan College) in 1875, serving until 1880. He then followed fellow Athens, Ohio-born Methodist
Earl Cranston to
Colorado, where he became the president of the
Colorado Seminary. As such Moore also became the first
chancellor of the
University of Denver (which the Colorado Seminary became), which he organized under favorable auspices, serving in this capacity from October 1880 to June 1889. He also served as the pastor of
Evans Memorial Chapel at this time, assigned to this role in 1883. ==Editorial ministry==