From its first meetings in a school auditorium to services in the soaring sanctuary of today, the story of Trinity Presbyterian Church is one of both continuity and adaptation.

Important changes have occurred in its physical structures, its professional and lay leadership, its programs, and its ministry to the community; but, from its beginning and throughout its history, the church’s ministers and elected elders have led it along the “cutting edge” between the promises and requirements of Christian gospel and the intellectual, cultural, and social issues of life in the last half of the 20th century. The story of the church is the story of its commitment to serve this consistent purpose.

Trinity was founded in 1949 through the cooperative efforts of the Atlanta Presbytery and residents of the Springlake-Wildwood area of northwest Atlanta. Three months after Trinity became an official member of Atlanta Presbytery, Allison Williams, a 26-year-old native of Atlanta and son of First Presbyterian Church, was installed as pastor. He and his wife, Josephine Culp, would go on to serve for 40 years.

In 1950 all 150 members of the church contributed to a building fund, and on March 18, 1951, the church celebrated its second anniversary by moving into a newly completed education building with 257 present at the first worship serve. By 1954 membership had reached 800, and a second building program was initiated. By the time the American Greek Revival sanctuary, an additional education unit and a manse were dedicated on June 5, 1955, Trinity had 1000 members. In 1959 an all-purpose building was added, housing additional Sunday School rooms, and a gymnasium for the now more than 1700 member church.

Trinity’s expanding program during these early years set a pattern for its ongoing ministry to all age groups, with a special emphasis on education, the arts, and community service. Trinity School, begun in 1951 as a nursery school, had expanded by 1964 into a complete elementary school. That Trinity’s commitment to the arts was also flourishing became evident with the first drama by the Trinity Players in May of 1962, an invitational art exhibition in 1963, and a festival of music in 1964, which included the premiere of a new hymn chosen as the winner in a competition in which 140 manuscripts were submitted from across the nation and Europe.

The 1960s and 70s were turbulent times in the history of the U.S. and in the history of Trinity Church. The country and its churches were deeply divided as they confronted the civil rights movement protesting the injustice of racial segregation; the Vietnam war; the murders of Martin Luther King, Jr., and John and Robert Kennedy; and the economic, political and social problems that characterized this period. Trinity not only faced the challenge of these developments in the life of the congregation itself but made this church, with some other ministers and churches in Atlanta, a reconciling influence that helped save Atlanta from the chaos and violence that shook other cities in the country.

In addition, Trinity helped in the initial plans and sponsorship of two new churches in the northern part of metropolitan Atlanta, Northwest Presbyterian and Mt. Vernon Presbyterian.

In 1964 Trinity became the first Presbyterian church in Atlanta to elect a woman as a church officer.

During the 1970s, while Trinity addressed some new issues such as the energy crisis and ecology, it gave top priority to the problem of world hunger and economic problems in Atlanta. It established a Task Force on Hunger and administered a food closet.

During the 1980s the ministries of the church flourished, serving a congregation of about 1400 members. The life of Trinity, which has always been centered in Sunday worship services in which organ and choral music played a significant role, was further enriched under the direction of Norman Mackenzie, who succeeded Adele Dieckmann McKee in 1983, and when a Petty-Madden organ, especially designed and custom-built for Trinity’s space and program, was installed and dedicated in 1987.

Trinity began the Nursery Division of Trinity School in 1951 and from 1964-1980 housed and supported an excellent, full-range elementary school, which continues to thrive under its own institutional status. By 1986, recognizing the need for a day care program that would serve preschool age children, Trinity opened a Child Development Center. This fully accredited Center, now call the Trinity Early Learning Center, is distinguished by a sliding pay scale to help families who could not otherwise afford this service.

During the 1990s, Trinity became one of the leading churches in Atlanta Presbytery and across the denomination in the addition of new members, baptism of infants and adults, and support of the denomination. By 1999 its membership had grown to more than 2100, and its staff and facilities had expanded to meet the needs and fulfill the mission of this larger congregation.

In 1989 Allison Williams retired after 40 years of service and was named Minister Emeritus. In 1991, Joanna Moseley Adams was called to be senior pastor, making Trinity the largest church in the denomination to call a woman to this office.

In 1993, the Session approved the report of a task force that defined current goals of the church and proposed a financial campaign, Vision 2000, to meet these goals. The campaign raised money to fund improvement and expansion of its own facilities as well as to expand the church’s ministry in the Bolton Road corridor, a predominantly African-American community a few miles west of Trinity.

In 1994 Trinity developed and dedicated a Memorial Garden on the south side of the sanctuary as a place for the internment of the cremated remains of church members.

A major building project culminated in 1996 with the dedication of Williams Hall, a new fellowship room named in honor of Allison and Jo Williams and the Bettye Sue Wright Education Building, an additional wing of the church for Christian education. The building project also included new marble floors in the chancel and front of the sanctuary, enlarged seating capacity for the choir, and a new Music Center. In 1996 an organ concert with brass accompaniment inaugurated an annual summer organ festival in conjunction with two other churches.

IN November 1998 Trinity launched a year-long celebration of its fiftieth anniversary with a comprehensive program of events. The Jubilee celebration included a gift of a wheelchair-accessible van to the Agape Community Center, a commissioned anthem by Stephen Paulus, two art quilts for the Narthex by Elizabeth Barton, a mirror frame built from drawings by Trinity’s children, a new edition of The Worship Book, and a Heritage Room and Archives.

In 2001, Trinity once again sought to meet the growing challenge of its 2000-member congregation and expanding mission through the capital campaign, Forward Together: Generation-to-Generation. The Forward Together campaign was rooted in the strategic plan presented by the Strategic Planning Task Force and adopted by the Session in January of 1999. The Task Force identified three primary areas of concern: commitment, community, and children. An additional education wing, a chapel, and gymnasium were added to the facilities, as well as a greater commitment and funding of mission projects here and abroad.

In 2001, Joanna Adams accepted a call to Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois. During the search for a new Senior Pastor, Trinity's Theologian in Residence, the Rev. Dr. P.C. Enniss, served as Interim Senior Pastor until July 2003.

In 2003, Dr. Scott Black Johnston was called to be Trinity’s third senior pastor. Before coming to Trinity, Scott was the Jean Brown Associate Professor of Homiletics and Liturgics at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, where he taught since 1993. In 2008, Dr. Scott Black Johnston accepted a call to Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.

In October 2010, the Rev. Pam Driesell became Trinity's fourth senior pastor. Prior to accepting the call to Trinity Church, Pam led the organization of a new church in Oconee County, Georgia.

The story of Trinity Church is a continuing story of its resolve to be a community of Christians who love and serve God, neighbor and world.