Our Pastor
The Reverend Tara (pronounced TAR-uh) Paul was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin (Go! Pack Go!), but circled the Midwest and Florida until she eventually arrived in Dekalb county in 1987 to start High School in Lithonia.
After attending a myriad of universities and colleges, Tara received her BS in Religion from the University of Georgia in December 2001. That spring, while a student at the University of Georgia, her grandfather died and at his funeral in Iowa there were three distinct times where Tara heard God calling her to step up and take his place (she is third generation clergy).
The next year, Tara started Candler School of Theology, Emory University, where she received her Master of Divinity with Certification in Christian Education in 2005. The same year, she was commissioned a Deacon.
Because of the call to preach, in 2007, Tara transferred her orders to become an Elder in the United Methodist Church.
In 2009, she was ordained and also started work on her Doctor of Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary.
Tara comes to us from Mountain Park UMC, Stone Mountain, where she was Pastor-in-Charge of the Contemporary Worship Service.