So much has happened since we took up residence in our current location. We’ve seen loads of people come to faith, we’ve baptized many, we’ve dedicated countless babies, we’ve seen couples marry – truly more has happened than we can quantify. In short, life has happened here. Good life. Our current church facility has been the setting for Trinity to take root and grow. In a way, we’ve discovered who we are and more about who we want to be when we grow up during our 4 years in this current location.

Our original landlord sold the building where we meet to an owner who wants to occupy our space. He’s a local business owner who plans to convert our facility into a musical mastering studio after we move on. And, consequently, it appears as if our building is destined to return to its original purpose. This facility was first built as a recording studio and now it’s going back to those roots. Back in the 70’s and 80’s bands like Sting and the Police, Kansas, and James Brown (just to name a few) recorded in what is now our sanctuary and in just a few short months artists will once again be making music here.

In addition to a new owner wanting to use our space, there are other reasons for moving. We have grown from a community of 190 to one that currently numbers over 800 in weekly attendance in just four years. This is the reason we have five Sunday services. While this has been great, we look forward to having more space in our new building. The growth of our church is not something we schemed to accomplish, but it is a practical reality and we’re accommodating the growth, in part, by relocating to a new facility.

Our new church building is located at 2270 Defoor Hills Rd., right off Collier Rd. It’s less than two miles from where we currently worship and so the geographical impact of this upcoming change will be minimal. But relocating will present real changes to us as a community. For starters, the building is bigger. We’re moving from an 8k square foot facility to one that’s over 20k. This increase in square footage will allow us to have a 400-seat auditorium as opposed to the 200-seat sanctuary where we currently meet. It’ll also allow us to provide space for our growing kids ministry as well as more room for folks to congregate in the café/lobby area.

The location change is also somewhat symbolic. We’ve been able to purchase our new church facility, which speaks of ownership in the community. Since Trinity’s beginning, we’ve sensed that God was calling us to Atlanta – the city center in particular – and so owning a piece of land here is important to us. We don’t know that we’ll be in this new location forever – but we do feel confident that God has us here in Atlanta for the long haul, thus owning a building is an affirmation of the long term view we’ve adopted for Atlanta. It takes time (years, not months) to impact a city.

As we approach this season of change I think it’s important for all of us who call this church home to take a moment to reflect on why we’re part of this community. It’s my hope that our ultimate goal – namely, that we would all engage with people in order to transform their perceptions of what it means to be a Christian – would lead us all into greater levels of involvement. We want to see Atlanta’s perceptions changed one person at a time. We want to show people the character of God by how we live and relate to those around us. Being part of a community is not simply about whether you like the music, the teaching or the atmosphere. But rather, being part of this community is really about being on mission together. And, in my opinion, our mission is a compelling one. It is the means by which we will accomplish our ultimate goal. Our mission is to convert and grow people in Atlanta, creating a community inspired to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus. By changing, growing and serving (both individually and corporately) we can change Atlanta! That may seem like a crazy goal, but I believe that’s what God has called us to give ourselves to accomplish.

As we approach a huge season of transition I am more convinced than ever that something special is happening within the community here at Trinity. More and more people are joining hands in an effort to engage with the mission. It’s our hope that this new facility, and all the changes that come with it, will inspire us to press on in order to make a lasting impression on our city. When we look at it that way, buildings are just tools. A facility made of brick and mortar is not the church – rather, it’s just the place where the church meets. Because of Trinity’s numerical growth it follows logic that the place that will house us would be bigger than where we currently meet. But that being said, our focus will not be (and will never be) on the building where we meet. Facilities are not called to accomplish a mission. Buildings cannot convert, grow and serve– when we think about it we realize that these tasks are our job. It takes a community to accomplish a mission. Our new church building will simply provide a setting for the mission to be discussed, prayed about, and a place where our dreams to impact our city can rise up before God.

Here’s to the future!