Called to Serve: Jim Mohr ’81 Leads with Faith and Purpose

When the Rev. James "Jim" Mohr '81 loads a van full of college students for spring break, he isn't headed toward beaches or resorts. Instead, the group travels to communities in North Carolina still recovering from the devastating hurricanes of recent years. There, they spend their week repairing homes, clearing debris and offering something just as vital as physical labor-presence. For Rev. Mohr, now in his 22nd year as College Chaplain and Director of Church Relations at Westminster College, these trips represent the heart of his ministry: faith expressed through action.

Rev. Mohr's journey toward chaplaincy began during his time at Muskingum. The close-knit campus environment and meaningful relationships with faculty and mentors helped shape both his theological perspective and his understanding of leadership. Muskingum encouraged thoughtful faith-one that asked hard questions and engaged the world beyond the classroom.

That formative experience stayed with him-and became part of a shared story. His wife, Jill Hollinger Mohr '78, is also a Muskie. Their time in New Concord helped lay the foundation for both a lifelong partnership and a shared commitment to ministry.

After graduating in 1981, Rev. Mohr attended Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and was ordained ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). During his 40 years of ministry he served congregations in St. Petersburg, Florida; Silver Creek, New York; and Butler, Pennsylvania, gaining experience in diverse communities before feeling drawn toward work in higher education.

That calling eventually led him to Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, where he has become a steady pastoral presence on campus. In addition to his work with students, Rev. Mohr serves on the President's Leadership Team and currently serves Shenango Presbytery on the Ministry Leadership Team as one of four leaders sharing the position of Executive Presbyter. His leadership and innovation in campus ministry were recently recognized when he was named one of Pennsylvania's Top 100 Trailblazers in Higher Education.

At Westminster, Rev. Mohr's role extends well beyond leading worship services. He provides pastoral care, supports students in vocational discernment, collaborates with faculty and staff and cultivates relationships between the college and the broader church community.

But perhaps the most visible expression of his leadership is the annual spring break service trip.

Each year, Mohr organizes a group of Westminster students to travel to communities impacted by natural disasters through "Spring Break With A Purpose" trips. In recent years, those trips have focused on hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. Students work alongside local partners to rebuild homes and restore hope. Over the years, Jim has led trips to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, Alaska, Malawi, the Bahamas, and Mexico.

The experience, Rev. Mohr says, changes students. Many return with a deeper understanding of privilege, resilience and responsibility. The physical work matters-but so do the conversations at the end of long days, when students reflect on what it means to live out their faith in tangible ways.

For the second year, the trip includes an added dimension. Muskingum's Chaplain, Derek Wadlington, has partnered with Rev. Mohr to bring a group of Muskingum students as well. Together, students from both institutions will serve side by side-strengthening ties between the colleges while making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

For Rev. Mohr, the collaboration feels especially significant. The campus that helped shape his own calling is now sending students to join him in living out that same spirit of service.

Mohr and Jill live in New Wilmington, just a short distance from Westminster's campus. Their daughters carry forward the values they modeled. Angie and her husband live nearby with their two sons. Their daughter Katie followed in her parents' vocational footsteps and now serves as a Presbyterian pastor alongside her husband in Pittsburgh, where they are raising three children.

For Rev. Mohr, ministry has never been confined to a chapel. It is woven into family, community, and the mentoring relationships that define his work with students.

Four decades into ordained ministry, Rev. Mohr remains grounded in the values first nurtured during his undergraduate years: thoughtful faith, relational leadership, and a commitment to service.

The spring break trip may last only a week, but its impact extends far beyond seven days. Students return with renewed purpose. Communities gain partners in rebuilding. And Mohr continues the work he first imagined as a Muskingum student-helping young people discover how their gifts can meet the world's needs.

For Jim Mohr '81, the calling that began in New Concord continues to unfold-one repaired roof, one student conversation and one act of service at a time.