A congregation rooted in Columbia since 1958
Trinity Presbyterian Church has stood on a wooded five-acre lot on West Rollins Road in Columbia, Missouri, since the early 1960s, but its life as a worshiping community began years earlier. On May 25, 1958, a service in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church formally organized the new congregation under the Presbytery of Missouri of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the predecessor body of today's Missouri Union Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Eighty charter members signed on that spring, and worship services began on April 13, 1958, in Lowry Hall on the University of Missouri campus. From the start, the congregation emphasized intergenerational worship, Christian education, service to others, and outreach, four values still visible in its ministry today.
Building a home on Rollins Road
Even before the new church was formally organized, members of First Presbyterian had purchased five acres of land and a manse in west Columbia. The Rev. James M. Blanton, called by the Presbytery as organizing pastor in late 1957, moved to Columbia with his wife Jacqueline and their children in January 1958. Construction of the first phase of a functional, utilitarian building began in mid-1960, and the first service in the new fellowship and education wing was held on World Communion Sunday, October 5, 1961. The building was dedicated on November 19, 1961.
A major addition in 1990 added the present sanctuary, library, choir room, and additional Christian education space; the loan was paid off in September 2016. In the summer of 2023, Trinity completed a sweeping interior renovation over ten months and without taking on debt: the central stairwell was rebuilt and a vertical platform lift was installed, upper-level carpet was replaced, the Fellowship Hall was refreshed, the church offices moved to the lower level, the libraries were relocated, and the kitchen was completely remodeled.
Worship at 10:30 on Sunday morning
Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. The service moves through prayer, scripture, a children's moment, meaningful sermons, and the sacraments, with music drawn from a blend of traditional hymns, vocal choir anthems, and more contemporary pieces backed by a variety of instruments. Members of the congregation serve as liturgists, audio-visual technicians, communion servers, ushers, and greeters, making worship a shared effort rather than a spectator event. A candlelight and communion service marks Christmas Eve, and additional special services are held during the Lenten season.
Worship services are livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, and recordings are archived online so members and friends can catch up on sermons they missed. The Trinity Times newsletter is published throughout the year, and the church office keeps an active calendar of upcoming events.
Music that runs on choir and congregational gifts
Music is one of Trinity's calling cards. The Director of Music leads the vocal choir and instrumentalists, and many in the pews contribute their own talents each week. Choir rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. from September through May, and the choir sings every Sunday at worship. The choir also presents an Easter or Christmas cantata and goes caroling at Christmas, visiting homebound members. The organist and pianist, who is ordained clergy himself, supports both the choir and the congregation across the full range of musical styles heard in the sanctuary.
Sunday school for every age
Christian education runs deep. Sunday school meets at 9:15 a.m. from September through May, with classes for elementary, middle school, high school, and adult learners. The high school and middle school classes meet in lower-level classrooms, while the adult class gathers in Room 12 across from the church offices. Trinity describes its teachers as a large cadre of gifted leaders who study the word on their own so they can share the meaning of discipleship with others, an approach that has produced multiple generations of members who grew up in the Sunday school program.
Mission as a way of life
If worship and education are the spine of Trinity, mission is the muscle. Trinity in Action is the congregation's umbrella for hands-on service, and several of its ministries run on a regular, dependable schedule.
- Loaves and Fishes. Loaves and Fishes serves a hot meal seven nights a week from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. at the Ashley Street Center, 1509 Ashley Street. Trinity volunteers prepare and serve the meal on the second Thursday of each month.
- The Wardrobe. This nonprofit thrift shop is staffed entirely by volunteers, with proceeds used to provide shoes for children in Boone County. Trinity members work at The Wardrobe from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.
- Russell Boulevard Elementary School. Since 2018, Trinity has been an informal partner with its Rollins Road neighbor, providing treats for teachers, donating prizes for Bingo Night, reading to children, and finding other ways to support the school.
- Church World Service kits. Trinity members purchase and assemble school kits and hygiene kits for distribution to children and families in refugee camps, disaster zones, and impoverished communities.
- Refugee sponsorship. Over the years Trinity has helped resettle more than thirty Asian and Ethiopian refugees, including a family of thirteen from Cambodia, helping with housing, furnishings, clothing, jobs, and English language learning.
- Boy Scout Troop 4. The session approved sponsorship of Troop 4 on March 5, 1963, and the troop has produced more than one hundred Eagle Scouts since. Several former scouts remain active as leaders.
A long list of mission partners
Trinity also supports a wide network of local, regional, and international partners through its annual mission budget and special offerings. Locally, that includes Granny's House, Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services (PCHAS), Share Food Bring Hope, Love Columbia, the Voluntary Action Center, the Columbia Housing Authority, the City of Refuge, the Agape House, Columbia Love Coffee, True North of Columbia, and the Columbia chapter of Refuge and Transitions for Independence, among others. Regionally and globally, the congregation walks with Show Me Habitat, the Missouri Baptist Foundation, the Festival of Sharing, Bread.org, the Outreach Foundation, Frontera de Cristo, Gift of Mobility, Como Mobile Aid, Hosean (Haiti), and Presbyterian Disaster Relief. Trinity also contributes to the four PC(USA) special offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing, the Pentecost Offering, the Peace and Global Witness Offering, and the Christmas Joy Offering.
Women's Bible study and Presbyterian Women
Two Presbyterian Women's Bible study circles meet monthly from September through May. The Afternoon Circle gathers on the first Wednesday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at the church, and the Evening Circle meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m., also at the church. Both groups study the denomination's PW Horizons Bible study; the 2026-2027 curriculum is United Through Christ, Bound to Each Other by Rev. Dr. Rhonda Mawhood Lee, drawn from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. The wider PW purpose, to nurture faith through prayer and Bible study, support the mission of the church worldwide, work for justice and peace, and build an inclusive community of women, frames the work of both circles.
Fellowship that fills the calendar
Trinity's Building Connections ministries cover a wide range of interests. A Women's Coffee Club meets at 9:30 a.m. on the second Friday of each month at Love Coffee on the Bus Loop. A Men's Coffee gathers at 8:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at JJ's Cafe on North Providence Road. A Mahjong Group meets in the Fellowship Hall on Friday afternoons at 1:30 p.m., and Fiber Fellowship brings together knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers, and rug hookers from 10:00 a.m. to noon on the fourth Saturday of the month, September through May, in the lower level youth room. A Public Witness Small Group meets on Monday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. to discuss how members can respond to policies, legislation, and activities at odds with their Christian faith.
The Fellowship Committee also plans larger gatherings, including an annual Labor Day Ice Cream Social, Trunk or Treat, Movie Nights, and group outings to plays, tours, and lunches. After worship each Sunday, attendees are invited to stay for coffee and conversation.
Leadership in a season of transition
Trinity is currently in a pastoral transition. The Rev. Dr. Michael Stanfield, who accepted a call to Trinity in 2015, concluded his ministry on September 1, 2024. The Rev. Ronnie Osborn began serving as Transitional Pastor in December 2024, and a Pastor Nominating Committee was formed in September 2025 to search for the next installed pastor. The PNC includes Chris Bouchard (Personal Discernment Profile Clerk), Karen Kennedy, Wade Schondelmeyer (Moderator), Brian Griffith (PNC Clerk), Fran Muench, and Sue Young, each bringing years of Presbyterian service, committee work, and Columbia roots to the search.
The Director of Music is James West, and the Organist/Pianist is the Rev. Bruce Jeffries. The office is staffed by Administrative Assistant Ann Bouchard and Office Assistant Debbie Newkirk. Trinity also has a strong tie to Missouri Union Presbytery: members serve on presbytery committees, and Ann Bouchard served as Moderator of MUP in 2024 and was reinstalled as Moderator at the August 2025 presbytery meeting.
Giving and legacy
Members support Trinity's ministry through annual financial pledges and ongoing electronic giving. Contributions can be one-time or recurring and may be directed to the operating budget, a specialized ministry such as the Brotherhood Fund or Loaves and Fishes, one of the four PC(USA) special offerings, or any other program or project. In 2025, the Session established the Trinity Legacy Fund to help ensure the congregation's mission and ministry can continue long into the future; the fund may be used for unexpected or unbudgeted expenses, capital needs, or operating budget shortfalls. Memorial gifts in recent years have funded a new sanctuary sound system, audio-visual equipment for the Fellowship Hall, new hymnals, the Brotherhood Fund, the youth room, and chairs for the choir room.
A church open to its community
From its charter in 1958 to its 2023 renovation and its current pastoral search, Trinity Presbyterian Church has held to the same purpose it adopted at the start: to reach out and share God's love in Christ while nurturing a firm Christian faith in an atmosphere of learning, loving, and giving, together. Members come from across Columbia, drawn by a sanctuary filled with blended music, classrooms for every age, a deep bench of small groups, and a mission program that puts hands and feet on the gospel every week of the year.