CRANBERRY TWP — The historic Plains Presbyterian Church recently welcomed a new pastor after several years of searching.

The Rev. Derek Marotta took over the main pastoral duties at the church at 326 Plains Church Road in March and, as both sides tell it, it’s a match made in heaven.

Marotta became head of the church after a two-year search to replace the Rev. Ed Heller, who left in 2012 after 11 years of service. He also replaces Kimberly Merrill, who served as interim pastor for the last two years.

The new pastor came to the area after serving for seven years in a Presbyterian congregation in Wellsville, Ohio, just over the Pennsylvania border.

As Marotta tells it, it was an easy decision to come to Cranberry Township. All he had to do was listen to God.

“I felt that, with my wife and children, it was time to move on,” Marotta said. “So I sought the Lord in prayer, and God brought us here. It was a very, very easy conversation.”

Marotta, 38, said there were many things about Plains Church that appealed to him. The historic place of worship has an active missions group, which the new pastor hopes to expand.

He was also impressed with the school’s nursery and the emphasis on children’s ministry, particularly the youth group.

“I want to continue to help grow and encourage the missions group here,” he said. “They do some here, but we can do more. There’s a small youth group here, too, that reaches out to the children in the community. I’m interested in helping them work to reach the unmet needs of the community.”

Marotta said he’s already getting comfortable preaching to the 80 or so regular parishioners who attend services.

The people have been incredibly welcoming, the pastor said, which has made his transition even easier.

“Some of the church members have been taking me around, meeting some of the shut-ins,” Marotta said.

“Right now I’m just trying to get connected. But everyone has been so very welcoming.”

Frank Aloi chaired the committee that brought in Marotta.

He said the church and its parishioners were looking for someone who’s a “great preacher and teacher,” and they found that in Marotta.

However, they were also looking for someone interested in building personal relationships with everyone in the community.

“We’re a very eclectic congregation with lots of young children but also lots of older folks,” Aloi said. “We were looking for someone to span the generations, and Derek stood out to us in that approach.”

But perhaps most important, Aloi said, the church and its members were looking for someone unafraid to get out in the community and spread the word about Plains Presbyterian Church.

“We want to get a grassroots effort to show people that we’ve been here for 208 years and what we’re all about,” Aloi said. “We want to show people what we’re all about and what someone looking for a church might find at Plains.”

For his part, Marotta wants to continue meeting people and getting to know the community.

But he also wants to keep doing what he’s always done, which is why he’s here in the first place.

“I just want to spread the Gospel traditionally,” he said. “That’s who I am.”