My Love for Trinity... From Bro. Greg Stringfield

I can truly say through my tenure here that I have experienced a “true love relationship” with Trinity.  There have been times of joy, times of tears, times of indecision, times of frustration, times of victory, and times of just standing in awe of God! 

So often we get caught up looking for the end result and miss out on the blessing of the journey.  It’s hard in the midst of the storm to be thankful when the spray is falling on you! The statement is just as true today as when my first pastor I served with made this statement to me. He said, “When you are the captain of the ship, sometimes the waves crash in on you from over the bow.”  During these times we must remember to hold on to our calling and to what God has specifically promised/called you to do.  The journey of those times strengthens our relationship with the church as well as our relationship with Christ.

James 1:12 states “Blessed is the man who preservers under trial; because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

I’m grateful for times of trial in my life because in and through them my foundation of Spiritual belief is strengthened.  Trinity is no different than any other church in that we have had times of trial and struggles, times where we were strengthen due to our experiences.  I love Trinity for the growth I have seen in her and the foundation we are laying for an incredible future. We are becoming a church where we hear often from so many that "you just can’t find this anywhere else."  I’m overjoyed at those who come in and appreciate that Trinity is preaching and teaching a true Gospel.  It is so refreshing to see the new members God is sending us who come in like minded and ready to serve!  We (staff) often are focused on the end result or where we are headed, and we sometimes forget or miss what God is already doing and has done.  No one could have imagined what we are experiencing today!  Trinity has become a fellowship where the Gospel is presented correctly and through that our church is experiencing healthy spiritual growth.  As we experience this growth we are able to see the true love God has for His body.  I can’t imagine being anywhere else at this time in my life.  I love Trinity for the lighthouse it has become to each of us and to the community.

Greg Stringfield

Administrative Pastor 

A Message of Encouragement and Thankfulness from Bro. Greg Stringfield

As I reflect on the past year, like most everyone, we have had some tremendous “highs” and we have weathered the storms.  Like Nehemiah, we as the body of Trinity Baptist Church, need to rely on God’s supernatural power, provision and guidance when faced with problems, storm or goals that seem unreachable.  At the same time, God has blessed us with incredible members and we need to use all our skill, energy and abilities as God directs in each situation.  We need to find the balance that Nehemiah found between work and trust.  While we work and trust, we must also realize that every success we achieve is because of God’s hand of blessing.  Let’s make sure, as Nehemiah did, that we give God the glory for it all.   

As most of you know my role on staff deals primarily with budgets and day to day needs throughout the church, so naturally I see the movement and grace of God in our fellowship in a very poignant way!  As we were preparing the 2011 budget we had to make some difficult decisions knowing that, without a supernatural movement from God, we would not be able to fully meet our expected needs.   Month after month this year God continues to “show up” in a big way and meet the needs we have.  We have taken the steps necessary to be very diligent and resourceful, but God truly receives the glory as time after time He has met and exceeded our expectations!   What Trinity has experienced during 2011 is only an expression of God’s grace and love!  I’m so thankful that God has led many to respond for the first time in being faithful to their tithes and offerings.  God is doing a great work through our fellowship, so let’s continue to be faithful to the tithe and allow God to provide and bless us with the desires of His heart.   Pastor has just led us through Malachi 3 and taught us how easily we can be consumed with the world and our material wants - and when that happens, we are tempted to rob God.  Let’s continue to be known through our community as a very giving church.   

Thank you Trinity for your desire to have a deeper intimacy with Christ and because of that, we are experiencing growth in our tithes and offerings, growth in our desire to serve, and we are experiencing the fruits that come from a strong Biblically driven church.  It is a rarity today to attend a church like Trinity; a church that is dedicated to presenting the Gospel correctly to our neighbors, and around the world.    

In Him and Through Him Always,

Greg Stringfield

Pastor of Administration

“Loving My Church”

It has now been four years since I first was introduced to the Church family of Trinity. I can remember that day vividly because of the overwhelming receptiveness and friendliness of our Church body. My family and I were greeted with open arms - and that’s what I love most about our Church. In a church this size we are so different and are at many different stages of life. That’s what makes us so unique!!! If we were all the same, it would make a pretty boring place to be. God has designed and brought together a fellowship of different ethnic backgrounds, cultural background and nationalities that have a common interest in desiring God. In these four years a lot of water has passed under the bridge with changes of faces, ministries, and the vision for the church. Because of these changes, I can say that we are a stronger, more Biblically-based Church than we were when I first joined our fellowship four years ago. I thank God for the “trials” we have experienced because it has brought our focus off of ourselves, and back on God. We are finally realizing that church is not about what we want individually…it is unequivocally about what God desires for Trinity…I can say without reservation, it is a joy to love and to serve my Church!

I also love my Church because of the leadership God has crafted together. We have some of the best Bible study teachers I have ever had the opportunity to serve with. From the teaching on Sunday mornings, to the facilitating of disciplining classes on Sunday evening and during the week, to the “one on one” disciplining of each other, it truly excites and encourages me how God is working within our Church body.

Working on staff at Trinity reminds me how fortunate I am to work with a team that only God could have put together. It is not by accident that God has put this group of individuals together because they are so supportive of each other. Our administrative staff is second to none. I know they each love our Church immensely - they work so hard and are so faithful to the Church and ministerial staff. Finally, it is great to work on a staff that supports each other, loves each other, and has a common goal - which is serving Christ through serving our fellowship!

I thank God for Trinity…

Greg

Thankfulness....from Guest Blogger, Bro. Greg Stringfield

It is indeed a blessing and a privilege to serve my church family as your administrator. I can remember when I first felt God leading me into fulltime ministry. My first reaction was “Are you kidding?” Two years prior, I had just completed my masters degree in Personnel Management and wasn’t ready to consider another masters degree. Now, fast forward thirteen years and I can truthfully acknowledge how thankful I am that God saw fit to use me in this manner. Through these years there have been trials and challenges that have increased my reliance on God’s providence.


This Thanksgiving, we will all have the opportunity to reflect on the many reasons we have to be thankful. Of course, I’m thankful most of all for my relationship with Christ and also for my wife and my two boys. Outside of that, I receive a true blessing in serving you. The joy I experience day after day only comes from being in God’s will. There is no doubt in my mind that, at this time in my life, God has called me to serve the Trinity family. God has put together a staff that loves the body of Christ... and a staff that truly enjoys serving along side of each other. I have served in four different churches and none of them had the continuity that our staff exhibits. I’m grateful and thankful for that continuity. I would have to admit that at times working in the area of finances has been challenging and has caused me to pull a few hairs out...but, in the end, I can’t imagine serving my God and my church family in any other manner!!

A Guest Blog on Family Worship....from Bro. Greg Stringfield...

Bro. Greg Stringfield has been at Trinity for several years and we are a blessed Church by his faithfulness. He has been so patient and so willing to undertake some very drastic changes and has done all he can to make this Pastor's role at Trinity much easier. Greg has been a great help in identifying areas of need and making timely suggestions in meeting those needs. I am thankful that God had placed Bro. Greg at Trinity and had given some years of experience here before I came, and especially that Bro. Greg has been such a willing partner in bringing about a culture of love and unity during these most recent days. I look forward to years of serving with Bro. Greg and think that Trinity will only be stronger for his devotion.


Now, from Bro. Greg Stringfield...
I’m blessed to have a family unit united with Christ! My wife Leigh, my sons Carter (age 17) and Davis (age 13) have all committed their life to Christ and walk daily through God’s sanctification process. I’m so thankful for the grace He shows me in my leadership to my family…because at times, I feel so inadequate!!!

I have been asked to share insight into my family’s worship time at home, creating a lens of transparency so others can know of the rewards and failures we have experienced. I will start off by saying - it’s not a proving process - it is an example of “Grace”, “Love”, and “Forgiveness”. My boys like and respect consistency - and Leigh and I have tried the best we could to show consistency in our personal prayer and study time. I am a morning person, so I use the morning hours to spend my intimate time with Christ before the rest of the family awakes. If you ask the boys, they will tell you about my “prayer chair” and probably how they have seen me through the years being in prayer when they were headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Leigh spends the first part of the day (after the boys have left for school and I’m at the office) to study and pray.

Through the years, our approach has changed drastically. As the boys grew older it became easier than the earlier years, in my opinion. In the earlier years we would use the dinner table to share things with them that were building the foundation out of which their Spiritual relationship would be built. In most cases, it was very elementary and very short in time. As the years have progressed, we spend less time sharing around the dinner table because of all of our different schedules. We try desperately to not miss opportunities to be very frank with the boys individually about the amount of time they spend reading and praying. Leigh has been the cheerleader, reminding me through the years to maintain a time for growing as a family unit. I will be very frank and say it’s been a struggle. This is the “Grace” I spoke of earlier, that God provides to me in my inadequacies in this area. Now that the boys are older, we have conversations on an adult level and, to be honest, Leigh and I learn from them as well - and this adds to our worship time together. Carter especially, is at the age where he will open up and discuss questions and concerns in his Spiritual walk. They now read and ask questions about what it means to be a “Christian” at school and with their close friends. Carter often picks a book from my library to read - this allows us an opportunity to discuss the book and how he might implement what he has read. Davis, on the other hand, is beginning to be challenged by Brad (Trinity’s Student Pastor) to read books that will aide in his relationship and understanding of basic doctrine. I try to use this opportunity to discuss the book with him so I might help in his understanding of the key points.

Just writing this blog has illuminated to me that my family spends more one on one time with each other than we do as a family unit in worship. Can and has this worked for us? In a lot of ways we have made it work. Could we benefit from making more time as a complete unit in worship? Absolutely!!! It is by God’s grace that my wife and my boys continue to grow in their relationship, sometimes in spite of my leadership. My encouragement to you is to find what works for your family, be consistent working that plan and allow God to open doors of opportunity. Whether you have your family worship time in the evening or the morning, just maintain consistency. God will provide those teachable moments - so don’t miss them.