Trinity’s Mission:

…Is to empower people to celebrate and affirm God’s love for all.

Core Values:

• We value each person as a unique child of God.

• We value creative interactions with God that nurture spiritual growth.

• We value authentic fellowship that celebrates diversity.

• We value the participation of men, women, and children in a Christ-centered life of ministry.

• We value partnering with God on mission beyond the walls of the church.

Vision:

We envision a courageous and generous community of servant-priests whose love casts out fear, whose stewardship builds bridges of hope, and whose proclamation of Christ liberates others from theological oppression, political discord, and economic discrimination (1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 4:18-21; Luke 4:14-19).

We seek to fulfill this vision by living out our core values, upholding our mission, and promising to be…

• A passionate people: We are a people passionate about our relationship with God, about the integrity of the Gospel, the lordship of Christ, and the ideal of being Good News throughout our community.

• A Great Commission people: We believe church to be a resource rather than a destination to equip ministers and missionaries whom Jesus calls to reach the world.  We commit to sending all people every week to be a minister of reconciliation in their family, workplace, neighborhood, and community.

• An inclusive people: We welcome people of various theological and political backgrounds, as well as build partnerships with other faith groups and our local non-profits to further God’s reign in all creation.

• A missional people:  We invite others to be in ministry with us to help further the gospel by planting diverse communities of faith throughout our county, be it a new church start, home fellowship group, or ministry-specific project.

History:

Trinity Baptist Church is located in Conyers, Rockdale County.    Conyers became an important rural community after its establishment in the early 1800s when it served as a mill town and strategic way-station for rail commuters traveling from Augusta to Atlanta.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as families moved from Atlanta, Conyers emerged as a thriving suburban neighborhood.   One such neighborhood was the Honey Creek Country Club community.

Zion Baptist Church in Covington, Georgia; the Stone Mountain Baptist Association in Conyers, Georgia; and several other local churches quickly identified the need for a new church to reach families moving into the Honey Creek area.

In May of 1983 twelve parishioners from Zion Baptist Church started a Bible study in the home of Joel and Carolyn Land with the intention of establishing a new church.  The fellowship grew, and the home church moved into the Honey Creek Elementary School by the winter of that year.  The growing congregation constituted Trinity Baptist Church in the summer of 1984 and purchased land at the current address, 301 Honey Creek Road, that same year.

Under its first pastor, Rev. Benny Clark, Trinity Baptist Church gained the reputation for being a church on the cutting edge of theological diversity and ministry in the community.   The church cherished and valued mission-minded participation of the laity and the creative arts in worship.

Trinity Baptist Church continues to provide innovative ministry and inclusive diversity.  It is devoted to the practice of classical spiritual disciplines and a liturgy that incorporates social justice and spiritual formation.   The vision of the church is to empower people to celebrate and affirm God’s love for all.

In empowering people, the church aims to make disciples who cherish God’s movements in their lives and share God’s love with others regardless of ethnic, socio-economic, political, or theological differences.

Trinity Baptist is also the host site for three other churches:

• Moldovan Baptist Mission Church, Rev. Igor Coada
• Grace Christian Church, Rev. Quincy Barnwell
• Caring Touch Seventh-Day Adventist, Elder Darrell Palmes

Sources:

“History of Rockdale County,” online: http://www.rockdalecounty.org/main.cfm?id=2581 (accessed 8 July 2009).

Joe LaGuardia, “Towards Spiritual Growth: Implementing Small Group Spiritual Direction for Caregivers at Trinity Baptist Church, Conyers” (D.Min. diss., McAfee School of Theology, 2010).

Joel Land, “History of Trinity Baptist Church” (History written for the Trinity Baptist Church community, Trinity Baptist Church, Conyers, 1994, photocopied).

Steve deClaissé-Walford, “Led By the Spirit? Discovering the Ethos of Congregations That Reach Out” (Ph.D. diss., University of Pretoria, 2005).