Please join the Coming Home Network family in praying for the repose of the soul of Dr. Paul Thigpen, who passed away this week at his home in Georgia.
Dr. Thigpen was a beloved friend of the Coming Home Network from the earliest days of our apostolate, having first appeared on The Journey Home in January of 1998, only a few months into the show’s launch on EWTN television. Additionally, Paul served for a number of years as a Coming Home Network board member, and on staff as Director of CHResources from 2010-2011.
Panel discussion from the 2007 Deep in History Conference. L-R: Dr. Kenneth Howell, Bruce Sullivan, Dr. Paul Thigpen, Richard Lane, Dr. Scott Hahn, Marcus Grodi.
In many ways, Dr. Thigpen embodied everything that The Coming Home Network seeks to be; raised Presbyterian, he became an atheist as a young man, before having a radical conversion to Christianity that led him to pastor in both Assembly of God and United Methodist congregations before entering the Catholic Church in 1993. He went on to share aspects of his story on several episodes of The Journey Home, as well as the Deep in Scripture podcast and the CHNetwork Deep in History conferences. His testimony was also featured in the 2025 book Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics, in which he described how his experience in the Assemblies of God uniquely prepared him to be open to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“I am greatly saddened to hear of my kind and good friend’s passing,” said Marcus Grodi, who founded the Coming Home Network in 1993, noting that Thigpen had been connected with CHNetwork since 1995, and attended the Network’s 2nd ever retreat for clergy converts. “For more than 30 years, I was honored to call Paul a close friend. He has long been a model of kindness and joy. When I think of him, I see his broad smile and contagious laugh. May God rest his soul.”
May Dr. Paul Thigpen rest in the Lord’s perfect peace, and may the angels lead him into paradise.
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Dr. Paul Thigpen presenting at the 2007 Deep in History conference.
Dr. Paul Thigpen’s books
- Dr. Thigpen’s The Journey Home episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Paul & Leisa Thigpen
- Dr. Thigpen’s discussion the Rapture on CHNetwork Presents
- Dr. Thigpen’s written conversion story, His Open Arms Welcomed Me
- Dr. Thigpen’s Deep in History talks: Martin Luther, The Martyrs of the English Reformation, Spiritual Authority: Who Needs It?, Pentecostalism and Catholicism, The Southeastern Missions
- Dr. Thigpen’s story is also the first testimony in Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics.
