An associate pastor of a southwest Atlanta church was remembered the day after he was found slain as a man who left an indelible mark on his community.
Derek Moses, 56, was found shot to death inside his Cascade Road office Monday morning, Atlanta police said.
A coworker discovered Moses' body shortly before 10 a.m., said Officer Kim Jones with Atlanta police. Moses' body was identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office.
Moses' BMW was missing from the home, but was later found on Montreat Avenue, Jones said.
Investigators had not yet identified a motive or suspect, police said on Tuesday.
"We really don't have a whole lot to go on," Sgt. Curtis Davenport said. "Our complex case squad is looking into this one."
Moses owned an accounting business based at the Cascade Road address, according to the company's website. He attended Fisk University and Columbia University before starting the business in 1999.
Moses was also an associate pastor at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in southwest Atlanta, where he had been a member for several years.
Moses "always wanted to be in the business world," Senior Pastor Gerald Durley told the AJC. "He did a tremendous amount, working with many ministers here in the area, many people whose homes are going into foreclosure, helping them with their financial background."
Durley said that about 10 years ago, Moses "felt that there was a calling upon his life to not only help people financially, but to encourage them spiritually, so he went to Emory to seminary, and began to combine the skill of managing money with that of spiritual encouragement."
Durley said Moses was supposed to read scripture in church on Sunday, but never arrived. "When he didn't come in, I said, he's probably putting someone's taxes in the mail."
Durley said Moses, whose funeral will likely be held Saturday at the church, lived on a lake in the Camp Creek Road area, enjoying fishing and golfing.
The Rev. Kathi Chavous, assistant pastor at Providence, called Moses "a quiet force' who was "greatly respected. He was not a man of a lot of words, but when he did speak, he had something to say."
Chavous said Moses' presence was felt not just in his southwest Atlanta community, but citywide, as he led classes on money management.
"I don't know that there's a clergy person in this city that does not know him, at least in the African-American community," she said.
Despite that popularity, "when he dealt with you, it was as if you were his only customer," Chavous said. "You were the focus when he was helping you do your taxes, or finance a home."
"This has left a tremendous hole in the resources in this community," she said. "Everybody is still reeling from the shock, trying to figure out why, who would this and for what reason."
Kraig Jennings came to the church before daybreak Tuesday to remember his late friend and lifelong mentor.
“Mr. Moses was a good man,” Jennings told the AJC, adding that Moses was a financial adviser who “did a lot of work in the community, helped a lot of people with their taxes.”
An emotional Jennings said Moses, who “actually helped raise me as a child,” had recently helped him with taxes after Jennings’ mother died.
“His name was Derek Moses,” Jennings said. “Moses was the guy who led the people out of Egypt, and he was leading us to financial prosperity.”
Jennings said he was drawn to the church Tuesday "by the love that he showed. He was leading people," he said. "He'll be greatly missed ... he was being a servant."
Jennings summed up his feelings for his longtime friend: "He was a great man. A great man."
Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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