Brief Historical Account of
Trinity Presbyterian Church
1980
Fall –Bible study begins as a precursor to the Satesboro PCA Mission
1981
January –Central Georgia Presbytery issues a call to Rev. Roland S. Barnes to be the organizing pastor of the Statesboro PCA Mission
April 19–Pastor Barnes leads the first worship service as Organizing Pastor of the Mission; six couples, eight children, and a couple of college students; the sermon was from Matthew 16:18 and Isaiah 9:6-7 “Christ Our King” From a small beginning of 20 people Trinity Presbyterian Church has added almost 600 people to its roll (of course many have moved on to other places) and 177 of that 600 have been added by profession of faith (adults, covenant children, and reaffirmation of faith).
Evening services are often held at the home of Bob and Grace Counts
A men’s prayer meeting was held at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Hickman’s
May 24-a commission from Central Georgia Presbytery installs Pastor Barnes as the organizing pastor of the Statesboro PCA Mission
May 31-the first administration of the sacrament of baptism is administered to Laurel Bailey by Pastor Barnes and to Jennifer Barnes by Dr. Jay E. Adams
October 4-the Statesboro PCA Mission moves to the Time Saver in Grove Lakes, east of Statesboro. The Mission is now called “Trinity Presbyterian Church” The new facility was dedicated on October 18, 1984
October 31-the first Reformation Day Celebration was held by showing a movie on the life of Martin Luther
November 25- the first Thanksgiving Service was held
December 7-the first Inquiry Class was held
January 10-the first Adult Education Hour Class was held
February 26-the first Missions Conference Speaker was Don Williams
1982
Summer -TPC holds its first Vacation Bible School
November- TPC begins a College Bible Study at the home of the Martins
1983
December-the Mission moves to the church building on the corner of Savannah and Zetterower Avenues
As of December 31, 1983 TPC had 71 members (communicants & noncommunicants) on its roll
1984
February 19-the mission is organized as Trinity Presbyterian Church of Statesboro with two ruling elders: Mr. Charles Davis and Mr. Randy Hickman; the congregation then issued a call to Rev. Roland S. Barnes to be their pastor
February 22-the Session of TPC addresses it first discipline case
February 22-the Session receives an offer of land from Mr. Gates Peed
March 14-the Session adopts a budget of $55,000
March 22-the first CFMs [Congregational Fellowship Meetings] begin
May 4-the Session has an informational meeting with Mrs. Helen Davis about the establishment of a Christian School. Mrs. Davis volunteered to move to Statesboro and teach at Trinity, without pay, to help establish a Christian school at Trinity Presbyterian Church
July 4-a motion passed to constitute a provisional school board under the authority and jurisdiction of the Session…
July 11- the first Sunday School class for High School students was taught by John Quattlebaum
July 11-the Session of TPC decides not to receive any more funding from Central Georgia Presbytery and TPC is now self-supporting
September-Trinity Christian School is established with eight students
1985
Fall –the Statesboro chapter of the Christian Action Council is established. Later it becomes the Statesboro Crisis Pregnancy Center
1986
August 2-the TPC Building Fund is established
1987
May 3-Mike Peed, John Marshall, Gayle Bailey and Paul McDonald are elected as ruling elders, and David Marshall, Rob Mayo, John Quattlebaum, Vinny Kochetta, and Peter Martin are elected as deacons
1988
August 24-plans are being made for a RUF ministry at Georgia Southern College
October 2-At a congregational meeting the decision is made to begin with building plans
Reformed University Fellowship is established at Georgia Southern University; Rev. Craig Higgins is called as the Campus Minister and is ordained and installed on August 6, 1989
1989
Fall-Campus Outreach Augusta sends staff to labor on the GSU campus
1990
May 16-the Session endorses the first candidate for the Gospel Ministry, Mr. Joseph Martin (Marty) Fields
November 18- approved to pursue a loan of up to $275,000 for construction
1991
December-TPC and TCS move into its newly constructed facility on East Main Street/Highway 24
1992
January 12-at 3:00 p.m. the building is dedicated with Dr. Douglas Kelly preaching
August-Mr. Mike McKenna is hired as the Headmaster of Trinity Christian School
1993
July-TPC hosts a meeting of Central Georgia Presbytery
January 24-Vinny Kochetta is elected to the office of elder and Pat Calhoun, David Channell, and Chip Bray are elected to the office of deacon
1994
February 13-the congregation approves the plan to build Reformation Hall
August 8-Craig Higgins and family leave for Rye, NY to begin a church planting ministry in that community
1995
January 18-Daryl Madi begins his work as the RUF intern at GSU
January 18-the Session establishes five weekly men’s prayer meetings
February 19-a Day of Prayer and Fasting is held
April 7- the Tenth Anniversary of Trinity Christian School is celebrated with Dr. Jay Adams speaking
September 10-the David Wilson’s are received as members
1996
April 7-the ground-breaking ceremony is held for Reformation Hall
December 1-the Session votes to consider the calling of an Associate Pastor
1997
March 9-TPC begins two morning worship services
March 19-Mr. Damon Scharff begins leading the Youth Group
April 16-a call is issued to Mr. Chris Hutchinson to be the Associate Pastor at TPC
1998
April 19-Mr. John Quattlebaum is elected as an elder, and Travis Grubbs, John Godbee, and Wade Murray are elected to the office of deacon
July 1997 the first MTW-Impact Trip is taken to San Pablo Oztotepec, Mexico; July 1998 the second trip is taken to Mexicon; July 1999 a trip is taken to Ecuador where Phil and Shelby Mullinax are serving as MTW-Impact Missionaries; In July 2000, 2001, and 2002 trips are taken to Cajamarca, Peru
1999
Summer-a ministry to Hispanics is begun; English Language Classes are taught and a home Bible study is taught
May 2-Matt Sauls is hired as a Summer Youth Leader under the supervision of Rev. David Wilson
2000
April 30-the congregation approves a plan to build Westminster Hall
August-Mr. David Lattner is hired as the Headmaster of Trinity Christian School
2001
Fall-Westminster Hall is dedicated
2002
March 27-TPC commits support to the efforts of the Peru Mission
Spring and Summer-Covenant Hall is renovated and new offices are established for TPC
June 2-Tony Gilbreth and Pat Calhoun are elected as elders, and Keith Kibler, David Dowdell, and Tray Miller are elected as deacons
September 18-the Session gave its endorsement to Marc Harrington to become a candidate for the Gospel Ministry of Central Georgia Presbytery
2003
August-Phil Mullinax transitions to a full-time position at TCS
2004
January-Matt Sauls is hired as the Director of Youth Ministries
2005
April 10, Robert Wagner called to be the Assistant Pastor of TPC, beginning in August. He will replace Chris Hutchinson and his focus will be on developing ministry with young couples.
2006
March 19- Robert Wagner’s status is changed to that of Associate Pastor of TPC.
March 22- Assistance is offered to Sacha Walicord to procure an internship at TPC. Pastor Barnes met Sacha at a Spring Theology Conference at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Sacha and Martina and their children moved to Statesboro. Barb McKenna graciously allowed them to move into her home while Sacha finished up his seminary degree on line at GPTS. Sacha and Martina are Austrian and desired to return to a German speaking nations. Pastor Barnes sought to assist them in establishing the German Reformation Project. However, after some consideration it was thought that it would be best for them to stay in the USA and look for ministry opportunities here.
June 28-Craig Rowe called to be the Assistant Pastor to serve as Director of Counseling Ministries. This was a long-time goal of Trinity, even before Pastor Barnes moved to Statesboro. Dr. Rowe was certified Fellows with NANC (counseling ministry), and now is a certified Fellow with ACBC (NANC renamed). Pastor Barnes was trained in counseling at the Middle Georgia Pastoral Counseling Center in Macon, GA, a ministry associated with FPC in Macon. Dr. Rowe contacted Pastor Barnes through a mutual counseling acquaintance, Lou Priolo. After some discussions and a generous gift from on of Dr. Rowe’s friends, the Session decided to call him to begin the Counseling Ministry at TPC. Before Dr. Rowe became a possibility, the Session was seeking to hire a youth minister and had actually offered a man the position. When this person turned down the position, we were free to look elsewhere but were uncertain of how to proceed because if we called Dr. Rowe we would have two ordained ministers in addition to Pastor Barnes. So, Robert Wagner volunteered to change the focus of his ministry to youth and education which allowed us to hire Dr. Rowe for Counseling and met the need for ministry to our youth.
October 15-the family of Sammy Rhodes are received as members. Sammy was called as the Campus Minister for RUF at GSU by Savannah River Presbytery. Sammy was taking David Wilson’s place.
This same year Phil Mullinax began to function as director of Hispanic Ministies and Missions. Phil and Shelby had served with MTW in Colombia and Ecuador. Pastor Barnes and Phil taught several Bible studies to Hispanic immigrants in the community through this year and several following. Also ESL classes were taught, mainly to Hispanics, but in the following years Koreans and a Japanese couple were added.
2007
March 11-Craig Rowe’s status was changed to that of Associate Pastor of TPC
2008
May 23-Groundbreaking ceremony held for the new facility/gym. The gym will eventually have an upstairs with several classrooms that will be used by Trinity Christian School.
June 1-Matt Sauls is elected as elder; Bryan Drury, Bill Hall, Mike Myers, Ben Oldham, & David Raith are elected as deacons.
2010
October-Dedication service held for gym
2011
July-the family of Ro Taylor is received as members. Ro received a call from Savannah River Presbytery to be the Campus Minister at GSU, following Sammy Rhodes.
2012
April-Lucy Anne Adams hired as Music Director. Lucy Anne was a student at Wesleyan College in Macon, GA when Pastor Barnes was on the staff of FPC and was ministering to college students and singles. Lucy Anne was in the Bible study that met at Pastor Barnes’ home. She was married to Todd Adams, the oldest son of Dr. Jay E. Adam, founder of the Biblical Counseling movement. Lucy Anne and Pastor Barnes began a conversation about the possibility of her coming to Trinity to be the Director of Music Ministries after they met at a Reformed Worship Conference in Powder Springs, GA at the Midway Presbyterian Church. Lucy Anne’s husband had died and she was looking for a new venue for ministry. Again, there was a financial challenge to overcome if she were to be hired. Kay McKeever, one of the original participants in the “Statesboro PCA Mission” had passed away and left her residence to TPC. When it was sold it provided some funds to assist Trinity in hiring Lucy Anne as our first ever full time Director of Music. Lucy Anne provided accompaniment for worship services, directed the choir, and taught music at TCS.
April-Damien Scott & Eric Gray elected as elders; David Lattner & Chris Smith elected as deacons
2013
2014
April-Henry Beaulieu called to be the Assistant Pastor in charge of Counseling Ministries. Pastor Rowe had decided to retire and we needed someone to replace him and to continue to develop the counseling ministry. Pastor Barnes and members of the Session had met Pastor Beaulieu as a result of several visits to the counseling ministry of Eastwood PC in Montgomery, AL. Pastor Beaulieu was considering a move, and Pastor Rowe was considering retirement. All of these factors were wonderfully orchestrated by the hand of providence and Lord graciously sent Pastor Beaulieu and his wife, Gretchen and three youngest children (Grace, Jonathan, and Jackson) to Trinity.
April-The congregation voted to begin the 2nd floor of the gym, the sanctuary expansion, and the renovation on Covenant Hall. During this season the Lord provided somewhere around $1.3 million of unsolicited gifts to Trinity which enabled us to expand our facilities for both church and school. The Sanctuary was doubled in capacity to seat around 450-500, and the upstairs of the gym completed so the Highschool classes that were located in Covenant Hall (east wing) could be moved to the second floor in the gym.
Lucy Anne found a mate, an elder of the PCA Church in Blacksburg, VA, pastored by our first Associate Pastor, Chris Hutchinson. Pastor Barnes eventually officiated their wedding and they moved to Blacksburg. We then had to begin to search for her replacement.
2015
Pastor Wagner accepted a call to be an Associate Pastor at Denton Presbyterian Church where David Wilson is the Senior Pastor. The Session began a search for his replacement and through contacts in the PCA Jeff Windt was called as Assistant to focus on Youth Ministry. Jeff was a student at RTS in Charlotte so he came to Statesboro and we assisted him in completing his Masters of Divinity. He was then ordained by Savannah River Presbytery.
James Glass hired as Music Director for TPC and TCS. James was found by Peaches Barnes through an acquaintance in Chattanooga, TN while attending the PCA General Assembly along with Pastor Barnes which was meeting in Chattanooga.
2016
November-Jeff Windt’s status was changed to Associate Pastor for Youth Ministries
2017
November- the family of Josh Keel is received as members. Josh Keel was called by Savannah River Presbytery to assume the position of Campus Minister at GSU. He took the place of Ro Taylor.
2018
Jeff Windt accepted a call from Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC to be their Direct or of Youth Ministries. In June-Gunther Griffin was hired as Youth Leader.
2019
June-Andrew Sears hired part-time as the Director of Assimilation, Mobilization, and Outreach. Andrew will be focusing on ministry to young couples. Andrew’s full-time job is Director for Campus Outreach Augusta.
October-Ben Gilbreth & Gates Peed are elected to the office of elder; Ted Difuntorum, Cameron Durden, & Brian Mitchell are elected to the office of deacon
Gunther and Sam Griffin leave Trinity in order to move to Charlotte, NC so Gunther can begin seminary studies at RTS.
2020
James Glass leaves TPC and TCS and accepts a teaching job in the Chattanooga, TN area.
May-Caitlin Frasure hired as Church Musician
July-Jacob Harper hired as Youth Ministry Director
August-the family of Nathanael Miller is received as members. Nathanael accepted a call from Savannah River Presbytery to assume the position of Campus Minister with RUF at GSU.
March of 2020 the COVID-19 crisis begins, and worship services are online only for six weeks. The seating capacity in the sanctuary is reduced by more than half in order to practice social distancing. All events planned for 2020 were cancelled: picnics, retreats, etc. The Christmas Party was held in the gym.
Former members who are now
serving Christ in various ministries
Tim Phillips, ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
Marty Fields, ordained minister, now serving in Mississippi as a chaplain in the Armed Services.
Trey Holloway, Ph.D. Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
Marc Harrington, ordained minister, Associate Pastor of Midway Presbyterian Church, Powder Springs, GA
John Blancato, Sally Chipman, Allyson Ogle, ELI – China
Phil Mullinax, Teacher/Athletic Director at Trinity Christian School; Director of Hispanic Ministries, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Statesboro, GA
Troy Wilson, PCA Church planter in California
Carson Pittman, PCA pastor pursuing church planting
Lydia Counts Sweet, Youth Ministry, with her husband Robbie, MTW, Scotland
People Associated With TPC
who are now serving in various ministries
Steve and Marie Lindenmeyer, CO Thailand
Clint and Peggy Watson, CO Perimeter Church, Atlanta
Neal Gooch, Pastor in South Africa
Pete Ketterman, CO South Africa
Tom and Molly Mullis
Matt Ballard, PCA Pastor in Tennessee
Men who were ordained to the
Gospel Ministry at TPC
Craig Higgins, now the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Rye, NY
David Wilson, RUF Minister at GSU, Statesboro, GA
Chris Hutchinson, Associate Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Statesboro, GA
Ro Taylor, RUF, Georgia Southern University
Sammy Rhodes, RUF, University of South Carolina
Robert Wagner, Associate Pastor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Statesboro, GA
Former members who are now serving
as officers in the church
David Vial, Deacon in the PCA in Northern Alabama
Mike Peed, served as an elder at the Vineville Presbyterian Church, Macon, GA
Bill Rountree, serves as a deacon at the Dayspring Presbyterian Church, Forsyth, GA
Special Speakers
Dr. Jay Adams
Dr. Henry Krabbendam
Rev. Gary DeMar
Dr. John Gerstner
Dr. Douglas Kelly
Rev. Al Baker
Dr. Jim Baird
Rev. Harry Reeder
Rev. Hal Farnsworth
Rev. Sid Anderson
Dr. John Grauley
Rev. John Oliver
Rev. Gordon Reed
Rev. Oliver Claasen
Rev. Joe Novenson
Rev. Terry Johnson
Dr. Morton Smith
Dr. Richard Watson
Sermon Series by Pastor Barnes
The New Testament
Matthew: 138 sermons
Mark: in process 48 sermons as of 07-23-06
Luke: 26 sermons
John: 91 sermons
Acts: 93 sermons
Romans: 16 sermons
Galatian: 21 sermons
Colossians: 31 sermons
First Thessalonians: 22 sermons
Second Thessalonians: 11 sermons
First Timothy: 37 sermons
Titus: 32 sermons
I John: 19 sermons
II John: 4 sermons
III John: 4 sermons
Jude: 5 sermons
Revelation 1-3: Letters to the Churches; 10 sermons
The Old Testament
Genesis: 85 sermons
Exodus: 100 sermons
Leviticus: 55 sermons
Numbers
Joshua: 33 sermons
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
Ezra: 22 sermons
Psalms: 35 sermons
Psalm 23: 7 sermons
Proverbs: 25 sermons
Nahum: 4 sermons
Jonah: 8 sermons
Malachi: 18 sermons
Various Series
The Nature And Attributes of God: 12 sermons
The Lord’s Prayer: 8 sermons
The Ten Commandments: 21 sermons
The Apostles’ Creed: 18 sermons
The Names of the People of God: 16 sermons
The Names of Jesus: 11 sermons
The Gifts of the Spirit: 9 sermons
Temptation: 10 sermons
The Holy Spirit: 14 sermons
Numerous Miscellaneous
Most of the above history is contained in Summary of Significant Events 1980 – 2004: Twentieth Anniversary Celebration, Trinity Presbyterian Church