About Us: History of Trinity

From its humble beginnings with a handful of people, Trinity Assembly today is a church home to over 1,600 people from the Upper Cumberland of Middle Tennessee. Trinity's story is a miraculous one about God's power and faithfulness to His Word.

Our church was first called First Assembly of God and was set in order in 1966 by our founding pastor, W.F. Carlile. Brother Carlile served as Pastor for nearly 10 years. At our onset, there were fourteen charter members. Thirty years later, four of those original charter members still attend Trinity.

Our original 40x40 building was called "The Cracker Box Church" until the late 1970's when, under the direction of Pastor Buford Nivens, Trinity launched a major building program adding a new sanctuary and fellowship hall which doubled as a day-care facility. Although the new construction was born of a vision for growth, the new facilities with its $1345 per month payment became a staggering financial strain for the congregation. People came and went, mostly the latter. There was plenty of room in the new 300-seat sanctuary, but our attendance had fallen off to 35 - 40. In fact, Wednesday evening services had been cancelled due to a lack of interest.

During the pastorate of Buford Nivens, our church's name was changed. August 1, 1977 marks the date when First Assembly of God became Trinity Assembly of God. Pastor Nivens stayed on as Pastor until 1980, when Pastor Terry Collier took over the ministry, and ten months later, Ron Lawson became pastor.

It was in September of 1983, when our small congregation voted in Robert "Eddie" Turner as pastor, hoping he could make a difference and turn around the church's deficit. The church board hired Eddie to oversee the church and Amanda to run the daycare center. Pastor Turner recalls the day he and Amanda arrived in Algood, Tennessee. "The deacons showed me to my office which consisted of a room with worn-out shag carpet, a phone laying on the floor, and an empty file cabinet. The week after I arrived," Pastor Turner continues, "I was told the most I should ever expect for the church was 150 in attendance and that nobody before me could handle the financial load."

Pastor Turner recalls those slim months during the first couple of years. Amanda cooked all their meals on a hot plate for the first six months. The first major purchase Pastor incurred was letterhead stationery on which he typed visitor letters. It took the church three months to pay off the $90 debt. He didn't have a desk so he sat on the floor while he typed. There were many times when Pastor Turner would come to the office and sit in his heavy overcoat, trying to study and pray in freezing temperatures because there wasn't extra money to turn the heat on during the week. But as Pastor Turner recollects, "It was in those cold early mornings," he shares, "when the Lord really began to minister to me."

God began to deal with Pastor Eddie concerning various areas of ministry at Trinity Assembly. Things like missions support, beginning a radio program, local benevolences, and church growth. He brought these areas before the church board and we immediately began giving to missions. Within a few months, our little church began to experience growth which necessitated the addition of a part-time associate pastor. Pastor Jim Zlaten came on board assisting Pastor Turner in the area of administration and as Trinity's Worship Leader. We were blessed to have him with us until 1990 when he left to pursue a full-time pastorate.

Pastor Turner next began a local radio program called Winner's Workshop. It was a step of faith that was richly rewarded. Once again we began to experience rapid growth, and as the people came, the financial strain was greatly relieved. We no longer dwelled on how to pay the bills, but were able to focus on God, and what He had in store for us.

In the late 1980's Trinity began to purchase some of its surrounding properties with ideas of expansion, and in 1989 a new fellowship hall, classrooms and foyer were dedicated to the glory of God. Because of God's faithfulness, the $306,000 building expansion was paid off in less than two years. And yet, even with these new additions, we were still having problems holding all those who wanted to come. Sunday attendance had increased from the 40 people in 1983 to over 300 people by 1989.

Pastor's vision for Trinity was to make an impact on our community for eternity. So, once again, he began to pray and seek the heart of God for continued direction and guidance. In 1990, it was imparted that we were to begin a program that would minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the hopeless, the hurting, and the hungry people in our community. If we wanted to do true ministry, this is where we would focus our energies.

With this thought in mind, the Holy Spirit next conveyed to Pastor that there are two types of "hopeless" people. There are those who are without "hope" because of their financial and physical lack, and there are those who have plenty but have no "hope" because they do not know Christ.

Secondly, there are two types of "hurting" people. There are those who have been "hurt" by life's trials, and those who have been "hurt" by religion. We are to minister to both.

And lastly, there are two types of "hungry" people -- the physically "hungry" and the spiritually "hungry." With the vision cast, we began our journey of ministering to "the hopeless, the hurting and the hungry."

In February of 1991, Trinity rented a small building located across the street from its facilities. What once housed AM radio station, Life 16, became home to the Trinity Outreach Center. We began as an emergency food and clothing center that was open 3 days a week for a couple of hours . And though we had meager supplies, our numerous volunteers had generous hearts. We would pack up food baskets that would tide a family over for 3 days. And as the ministry began to grow, God provided for all our needs. In fact, the Wilmoth family, who owned our building, generously donated the facility to us. The vision continued to expand and we soon found ourselves in need of additional space to minister to the hopeless, the hurting and the hungry.

In January 1998, we began an expansion program of the Trinity Outreach Center that had the capacity to house 3 times the supplies of our present facilities. By the year 2000, the Outreach Center had increased its help to area families by 197% from when it first opened its doors in 1991.

As Pastor's vision continued, so did Trinity's growth. By 1992 our staff of seven was diligently working to minister effectively to the needs of the church. Attendance had grown to over 500 people and the little sanctuary was bursting at its seams. A decision was made that we would expand our Sunday morning services to include an 8:30 and 10:30 am services - and still the growth continued. Once more, we began purchasing as much of the surrounding properties as possible and began to make plans for a new sanctuary complex.

A few more years passed with people arriving at church early just to get a good parking spot. Then it became a goal just to get a seat -- on the very front row, in the back, in folding chairs placed on the sides of the pews. Wherever we could find space. "We had to turn people away," said Pastor Turner. There was no parking, no seating, our ushers literally had to tell some people that there was no place to seat them. Late in 1995 saw the two Sunday morning services with a total average attendance of over 1,000 people. On March 24, 1996 we moved into our new sanctuary complex. The building, which could easily hold 1,200 people, was nearly packed, with attendance soaring over 1,125. Within a year's time, we were back again holding two Sunday morning services to accommodate the continued growth.

As the millennium approached, the Trinity saga continued. Our 20 employees included pastors, administrative and support staff, housekeeping, maintenance personnel, and grounds keepers. But the success of our church lies with the hundreds of faithful, spirit-filled volunteers who work each week within the various ministries. They are the backbone of Trinity Assembly.

Trinity's growth still seems to confound the imagination, but God will not be held back when His purpose and vision are being done. As long as we extend our faith, God will be faithful to fulfill all that He said He would. During the year 2000 over 1,500 people attended Trinity until we were once again turning cars away because of the lack of room.

In the years ahead Trinity will travel new roads, each leading to greater adventures as only the Holy Ghost can lead, and so, the miraculous story continues of God's power and faithfulness to His Word. Stay tuned, it will only get better.