By Paul Gordon • March 25, 2024
The story of Terra Nova Church is one that started with our former Lead Pastor, Ed Marcelle who wanted to be a part of a church where the worship, teaching and life resonated with his soul and felt normal and natural in our time. In 2004, Pastor Ed and his wife Diane began gathering a small group to dream, plan, and pray. In April of 2005 our first worship service was held at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy where Pastor Ed shared the newly forming vision and values of Terra Nova. There were several more gatherings over the next few months that Loudonville Community Church was gracious to host for us.
In January of 2006 we officially began having weekly worship services at Revolution Hall. There were about 60 people in attendance that first Sunday and we were off as an official church plant and the first Acts 29 Network church plant in the Northeast.
Over the past 10 years, God has blessed our community with growth and using us to serve and bless others. We grew to the place where we had to multiply our services to two gatherings in Troy every Sunday. We then continued to grow, which led to sending out and launching the second Terra Nova church, Terra Saratoga.
What was initially one Tribe of 4 couples has multiplied and grown to over twenty Tribes, which are small groups that gather around the Capital District regularly to study the Bible, worship, care for one another in community, invite others to join their group and to serve their communities. Throughout our story, we’ve been grateful that approximately 70% of people at Terra are active in our Tribes, which continue to be the primary place of discipleship, pastoral care, and mission at Terra Nova.
We’ve equipped and raised up numerous leaders to serve within the church and to be sent out from Terra. For the first 10-years Terra Nova was able to provide leadership for the regional work of Acts 29. We’ve seen God continue to provide the people He needs to lead and care for His church.
Terra Nova, the name means new earth or fresh ground. It is life at the edge of the map. It is life with the Lord leading us where we have not been. It is a matter of faith and following Him.
There are things we do no want to lose in that journey. We will continue to meet in Revolution Hall, to preach books of the Bible in order to display Jesus. We will continue to sing to Him with words that wake the soul of worship and with music the resonates with our times. We will continue to meet together in Tribes, small groups, that meet in homes throughout the area.
The life of church does not end with a benediction or find borders at church walls. Through work with The Salvation Army, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Troy, and Joseph’s House, we seek to live the life of Church to bless the city in which we worship and the communities in which we live. Our gallery seeks to share beauty in our city. Our small business incubator seeks to seed the future of our city. We remind ourselves that we are blessed to be a blessing.
As we have seen people from Troy head to Saratoga and The Berkshires to plant new churches, we want to continually pray and prepare for the future. The Terra Nova Network works to plant more and better Christ centered churches. Part of that plan includes a residency based in Troy. It is designed to train future leaders for ministry in the Northeast.
We invite you to join us as we journey into new places, fresh ground, Terra Nova, with the Lord.