Dr. R. Hudson Moody was born in the mountains of North Georgia, in a small house along the edge of the Tallulah River, on August 9, 1927.  After his family moved to Atlanta, Dr. Moody was saved in a tent meeting on Hunnicutt Street where Bro. Guy Rainwater was preaching one of his first meetings.

After returning from WWII and becoming a deacon at Immanuel Baptist Church in Cabbagetown of Atlanta, his mother, Mrs. Mary Beulah Moody, told him one day that she invited a young lady to church that she wanted him to meet.  That meeting led to what he calls love at first sight, and he and Frances Cooper were soon married.

Dr. Moody was called of God to preach the Gospel in 1950.  Three years later, he accepted a call to pastor High Point Baptist Church in Covington.  High Point grew from a congregation of less than 50 to over 300, and led the state in church growth and baptisms.  While at High Point, Dr. Moody was instrumental in starting Oxford Baptist Church, the first Baptist church in Oxford, Midway Baptist Church, Canaan Baptist Church and Harmony Baptist Church, all in Covington, McDonough Baptist Tabernacle, as well as other ministries and churches throughout Georgia and the Southeast.

During the eleven years at High Point, Dr. Moody felt the burden to begin an Independent Baptist Church in the Covington area and on July 19, 1964, The Baptist Tabernacle was established. In 1972, he began Tabernacle Christian School, where hundreds of young people were saved and later called to serve in full time ministry.

In 2003, Dr. Moody became Pastor Emeritus and the church voted to call his youngest son, Dr. David C. Moody, to serve as pastor.  Dr. Moody and Mrs. Frankie have five children, eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and they have continued to serve the Lord faithfully now for over 60 years.