(His Story)

His Call, Our Obedience

Following God’s Call to Build His Church in Paoli

During the summer of 2022, God told me to build a church. To put it plainly I was neither excited nor willing. I felt a little like Jonah in trying to avoid the obvious and a little like Noah in wondering what was going on. Needless to say God sent me a few big whales to show me He was serious and gave me clear instructions on what to build. What can only be seen as distinct and awestruck God-callings, helped to be our pillar of clouds by day and fire by night as we wandered out into the wilderness together.

Since then, Marianne and I have embraced this beautiful burden and continue to walk in obedience and met some amazing friends along the way that God had been calling to the same vision. What is clear is that this is not our church or our story - but His story and His Church. In our obedience we are waiting. Waiting for God to send those He calls and waiting for God to send the rain in our desert place. In the meantime we continue to obey, pray, build, grow, and give Him praise in every blessing and every storm we face together as the beginning faithful of His dwelling place.

Pastor Nate (March '23)

Distinctives

God Told Us to Build a Church With a Renewed Focus on These Distinctives

Rooted in Christ

Not only do we want to be a church that builds lives on God's unfailing Word but we want to be a people who know it and can apply it with discernment in our drifting world. We are dedicated to sharpening each other in our walk with Christ and want to spur one another on in spiritual growth. We are dedicated to caring for the 99 as much as we are to the one that strayed. We are dedicated to helping build the spiritual discipline of reading scripture. It is only through the understanding of Christ's love for us and obedience to His headship and precepts that we know fully how to love and serve our community with love, justice and mercy.

Let God Lead

We may look different being this intentional about Jesus Christ being Lord over our church but we want to daily welcome His spirit into our midst and be purposeful about making The Word the foundation of our ministry. This is God's church and we want to give Him his rightful place of headship over our leadership as we look to make Him the foundation for how we live, serve and lead. We recognize our imperfections as servants of Christ, and will constantly fail in our conscious attempt to lead and obey, but we serve a God who never fails us or forsakes us. We desire to be a church that can sacrifice our will to the Will of God and sacrifice our truth for the Truth of God.

Invest In the Family

We don't only want to make disciples of Christ in our communities, we want to help make disciples of Christ in our homes and families. We aim to provide resources to help parents disciple their children well. We want to see families thrive, marriages strengthened and brotherhoods and sisterhoods grown within our church family. God calls us to be real with one another and part of authenticity means sharing our failures as a community, giving testimonies of God's goodness, sharpening our friends and spurring each other on in love. We aim to be a church that helps root our congregants with biblical tools on how to live for Christ in a drifting world.

Follow an Early

Church Model

Like the church in Acts, we want to be dedicated to biblical teaching, believer fellowship, breaking bread together, and prayer (Acts 2:42).

We want to produce the practical fruits of togetherness and unity in Christ, authentic communal sharing of needs and belongings, a dedication to Christian community beyond Sundays, and an attitude of praise on our lips (Acts 2:44-47).

Meet The TDP Founders

Meet Our founders and discover the story, calling, and acts of obedience that helped build and grow our humble church.