Trinity Today

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As the industries that had stoked the Tri-State’s growth began to decline, Huntington’s population dropped from a high of 90,000 in the 1970’s to half that today. Trinity went from a weekly attendance in the 1970s
of more than 500 to a low
​of around 130 in 2011.
 
By the turn of the 21st Century, the once-grand neighborhood that had surrounded Trinity had morphed into a mixed-use urban environment.
 
CALLED ON TO FIND NEW WAYS TO SERVE
Like urban churches everywhere—along with many of our other
social institutions—Trinity had probably never been more challenged
in terms of being relevant. Once a quiet city church made up
largely of parishioners of wealth and privilege, the Church was suddenly called on to find new ways of serving
​a mostly poor, geographically dispersed area.
 
But when you’re an urban church, you don’t need to look far afield
for opportunities to do God’s work. They’re right outside
your sanctuary door.

Blessed with visionary clergy, strong lay leadership, and a renewed sense of Christian community, Trinity underwent a renaissance.
 
TRANSLATING THE SPIRITUAL INTO TANGIBLE
WORKS IN THE WORLD
The synergies between church and community were energizing.
We got excited again about being God’s hands and feet, and about translating the mystery of the Holy Spirit into tangible works
in the world.
 
Trinity today is a vital, relevant, resonant place where
​Christian community is alive and well.

A Renaissance . . . 

  • As of 2015, Trinity's weekly attendance is up by 60%.
    ​
  • Annual giving is up by 70%.

  • We’ve expanded our existing ministries and introduced others.

  • A new, non-traditional Wednesday night worship service, The Gathering, attracts more than 100 souls each week.

  • Other outreach programs include a food and clothing pantry
    ​and a Saturday morning program that provides a hot breakfast, toiletries, and free medical care each week for as many as 200 needy community members.

  • Our “kitchen ministries” this year will cook over 14,000 meals, and provide food for another 60,000 meals to some 5,000 families.

  • We’ve partnered with our local food bank to get food for little or nothing for the meals we’ll serve this year.
    ​
  • Metro Theology, founded by Fr. Chip, pools the church’s management capability, its members and their relationships, local for-profit and not-for-profit businesses, the city’s mayor and administrators, other churches, and local civic associations has infused new energy into Trinity's outreach efforts.

​Thanks to strategic partnerships with other churches and non-profits, Marshall University, and mainstream charities like United Way, Trinity has more than doubled its capacity for community outreach.