A Church Built on Prayer.
Shaped by Generosity.
Centered on Jesus.
God is doing something new in Austin & we believe the local church has a vital part to play.
The Altar ATX is a new church in the west side of Austin led by Pastor Chris Tapken. We believe that when a church seeks God wholeheartedly, lives generously & follows Jesus faithfully, communities are changed.
Prayer is where everything begins. We want to be a people who know God's presence, listen for His voice & trust Him with every part of our lives.
And generosity isn't simply about what we give. It's about who we're becoming. We believe we've been blessed to be a blessing—to give our time, resources, gifts, encouragement & lives for the good of others and the glory of God.
Meet the Pastor
Chris Tapken didn't learn prayer as a ministry strategy. He learned it because he needed it.
He grew up in Yankton, South Dakota, went to law school & spent years in business before God took his life apart & rebuilt it around prayer.
Chris served churches in Austin for years, most recently as a prayer pastor. He stepped away from that role to give The Altar ATX his full attention.
He and Kelly raised their family in the west Austin area. Their sons, Teddy and Tate, attended Lake Travis High School & both play basketball at Texas Lutheran University — so if you can't find Chris on a Saturday in the winter, check a gym in Seguin.
The Cornelius Call
Cornelius was not a religious professional. He was a soldier, a foreigner, a man with a household & a job. What Scripture says about him is short: he prayed & he gave. Not once. Regularly.
When the angel spoke, it did not separate the two. His prayers & his giving had gone up together & they were remembered. Both of them. That phrase — a memorial offering coming up before God — is altar language. It is where this church gets its name.
Prayer that does not stop & open hands that do not close. One without the other goes nowhere. Prayer without generosity turns inward. Generosity without prayer is just charity with our name on it.
And it does not all stay here. What comes through this church should fund missions around the world — work most of us will never see with our own eyes.
Unhurried Time
Nearly a decade ago, at a prayer conference in Houston, God gave Chris two words that have defined his ministry since: Unhurried Time.
The calling has been the same ever since — teaching people to sit with the Lord every single day, and not rush it.
Our worship leader is Candy Coburn — a longtime touring artist and songwriter who now writes and leads worship in Austin. She took those two words and wrote an original song, “Unhurried Time.” It is a foundation of our worship culture.
"At this church, prayer is our first response, not our last resort."
~ Pastor Chris Tapken
Your prayers & gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
~ Acts 10:4
