OUR SENIOR PASTOR
RAPHAELLE P. DARDEN
Pastor Raphaelle Darden is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. She was educated at the Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School in North St. Louis City, where she began the development of her leadership qualities. Pastor Darden has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Theological Studies from St. Louis Christian College and is currently pursuing a Masters in Biblical History. Her ultimate seminary goal is to obtain a Doctorate in Theology. Under the leadership of the late Bishop Courtney Allan Jones, Pastor Raphaelle Darden embraced her call to the preaching ministry and was licensed during a season when women were not readily accepted in the pulpit. Positioned by God and mentored by Bishop Jones, Raphaelle’s obedience and faithfulness established her maturing process to become Senior Pastor. With over 25 years in ministry leadership, Pastor Darden has served as Pastor of Youth, Executive Pastor, Pastor of Christian Education, Pastor of Women and overseer of multiple other ministerial assignments given by Bishop Jones, all leading to the purposeful plan of God.
As Senior Pastor of The Cathedral at Pleasant Grove, Pastor Darden leads with a servant’s heart. Her guiding principles center around Real Love, Encouragement, Support and The Truth (which is the Word of God). Essential to Pastor Darden is kingdom development through winning evangelistic outreach approaches and a solid foundation of Christian Education. Pastor Darden is a “champion” for the community and has a sincere passion for mentoring loss souls to “Life”. In concert with her calling as Senior Pastor of The Cathedral at Pleasant Grove, Pastor Darden is abundantly gifted with creative, artistic talents that God uses to draw people to the kingdom. She is the founder of Bible Stories Theatre Group, which brings the Bible and life of Jesus Christ to the stage through drama and songs. She is also an author, playwright and recording artist.