strategy

mission

Simple: to love people as they discover and live out their place in God’s story. God is up to something beautiful: God’s grace gives room for good things to grow wild. Whether you are a seeker or skeptic, gave up on the church or fear God gave up on you, there is a place for you here. A people who will love you. And a beautiful plotline and purpose waiting to be discovered.

  1. Story and Power from the Center: by believing Jesus’ grace and truth in all things, we live from the center of our union with God. 
  2. Humility and Confidence: by hitting our knees first, we hunger for a wholeness where our lips, lives, and loves align with God’s heart. 
  3. Hospitality through Strength and Weakness: we open our lives to others by extending our agency (strength) and revealing our vulnerability (weakness) 
  4. Joyful Generosity in Monday Matters: we practice faithful presence and wise stewardship in our relationships, resources, and tasks where we live, work/learn, and play. 

strategy

The basic shape of Christian ministry is three leaves on the tree of deep relationships (up/in/out), drawing from the well of God’s grace in Jesus. To be a church, we need to thrive in each of these: to forfeit one is to compromise the others. 

  1. up: communion with God in worship (walking with Jesus, by both gathering with others and seeking him on our own).
  2. in: community with one another in fellowship (learning to love like Jesus, in grace and truth, with others during the week).
  3. out: commission to the world where we serve, share, and show the grace of God in the places we live, work/learn, and play. Sometimes we do this together in joint efforts, but most often it’s all the wide and wonderful ways and places we are scattered as people.

“Community without mission dies out and mission without community burns out” (Titus Presley). And both need the spark and flame of worship to burn brightly.

From the center: missional engagement with other people as the heart of Christian witness. We welcome one another just as God in Christ has welcomed us (Romans 15:7). We long to see people move from strangers to guests, from guests to friends, from friends to the family of God, and from family (brothers and sisters in Christ) into servant-leaders who gather one more person into God’s family!

welcome 101

Why welcome 101? Maybe you’re brand new at Trinity Forest, or maybe you’ve been here from day one – but you’re curious about this church. You’re cautious about “getting involved” in a church and want to kick the tires a bit. You want to know how we’re connected, organized, and accountable. You wonder what commitment looks like here or how our core beliefs and values cash out. Or maybe you just feel like it’s time to take a next step in faith in Jesus.

Welcome 101 is designed for you. It’s a series of sessions – with Andy, leaders, and other people – that will 1) help you grow in connection with others in our church, 2) give you a clear picture of what we believe and how we serve together, and 3) open the pathway into ministry partnership. Welcome 101 opens the door to baptism at our church (if not already baptized as a child).

“Ministry partner” is our phrase for “membership” – we take it from Philippians 1.5 where Paul thanks God and prays with joy because of their “partnership in the gospel.” It’s about both being on mission together and belonging to one another as God joins us to one another. 

In the fall of 2026, we’ll host a weekend edition September 19-20 AND a Monday night edition (Sept 14, 21, 28) plus a Sunday morning student version. Check our calendar for details and registration. We’ll do them a few times each year after that.

measures

How do we know if our ministry is bearing fruit? What happens when the seeds God plants root down and spring up, spreading out to give shade and shelter to others? 

By God’s grace we hope to see a community that

  1. walks with Jesus in the company of others 
  2. loves like Jesus in grace and truth 
  3. goes with Jesus and leads under Jesus in the Missio Dei (it’s God’s mission, not “ours”)
  4. from the center: a people that welcomes like Jesus – who he welcomed, and as he welcomed them.