Trinity Baptist Church has been a steady presence on Charleston Highway in Cayce, South Carolina, since 1974. Located on the western edge of Lexington County just minutes from downtown Columbia, the church has grown from 129 charter members into a multi-generational congregation that fills its Worship Center every weekend. Its mission, expressed in three words, says it plainly: Love, Reach, Grow, fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ for the glory of God.
First-time guests and longtime members alike find a church that takes the next step seriously. Trinity runs two distinct Sunday services, an extensive weekday preschool, full ministries for every age from newborns through senior adults, midweek meals and Bible studies, choir and orchestra, and long-term mission partnerships that span two continents. What follows is a look at how the church is put together, from the parking lot to the mission field.
Two Sunday Gatherings: Blended at 9:30, Contemporary at 11:00
Trinity offers two Sunday services in the Worship Center that share the same sermon and the same basic order of worship but lead with very different sounds. The early service at 9:30 a.m. is the Blended Worship Service, a mix of classic hymns, modern hymns, classic praise songs, and modern worship songs, led by the Worship Choir and Orchestra. The later service at 11:00 a.m. is the Contemporary Worship Service, led by a worship band and a team of vocalists in a more relaxed, laid-back setting. Both services run about sixty minutes and follow the same basic structure after the music, so a family can pick the one that fits their style without missing anything.
Music is woven into the identity of the church. The Worship Ministry is anchored by Music Pastor Marty Hamby and Modern Worship Leader Grace Rocker. Rehearsals happen midweek: the Worship Orchestra rehearses in the Worship Center at 5:30 on Wednesdays, and the Worship Choir and Worship Band both rehearse at 6:30 on Wednesdays. Anyone who wants to serve through music can sign up through the church's connect page.
What to Expect as a First-Time Guest
Trinity takes the friction out of a first visit. Greeters hand out bulletins at the door to the Worship Center (to the left of the breezeway), and they are happy to help with seating or questions. Parking is free and open in the main lot. First-time guests are not asked to stand, give, or do anything at all. There is no pressure, and there is no dress code. Jeans and t-shirts are as welcome as Sunday best.
Worship runs about an hour in each service, and the order of worship is published in a digital bulletin that is available each week. Services are livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person, and recorded services are archived for later viewing.
Families with children should head to the right of the breezeway to the Welcome Center. Trinity has dedicated, age-graded environments for every stage from newborn through high school, and every volunteer who works with children is an active church member who has passed a background check.
Children: Preschool, Kids, and Students
Trinity has invested heavily in its next generation. Children are not an afterthought on Sunday morning; they have their own dedicated spaces, their own curriculum, and their own directors.
Trinity Preschool covers newborns through kindergarten. On Sunday mornings the Preschool department is located on the first floor at the back of the building, and signs lead the way. Check-in uses the KidCheck system, which can be set up in advance through an app. Preschool Worship runs from 9:30 to 11:00 and uses the Wonderink Curriculum, which walks children through the entire Bible on a three-year plan at an age-appropriate level. Sunday School is offered at both 9:30 and 11:00 for children birth through kindergarten. On Wednesday evenings, three- to five-year-olds can join Preschool Choir from 6:30 to 7:30, while childcare for infants through two-year-olds is provided for parents attending other church activities. Preschool Ministries Director Kristine Hoskins oversees the program.
Trinity Kids is for 1st through 5th graders. The check-in area is just inside the door by the playground, and kids head upstairs from there. Kids' Worship meets at 9:30 on Sunday mornings with music, Bible lessons, games, verse memorization, and small-group discussion designed to help children apply biblical principles to their everyday lives. Small Groups meet again at 11:00, taking kids chronologically through the stories of the Bible. On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:15, Trinity Kids Midweek gathers after the free family meal for kids' worship and Bible lessons. Kids Ministry and Family Events Director Morgan Hayden leads the team.
Trinity Students covers 6th through 12th grade. Students meet in Bible Fellowship Groups on Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30 and gather again on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 7:30 in the auxiliary building across the parking lot called Solomon's Porch. The student ministry exists to partner with parents to love, reach, and grow students into followers of Jesus, and it offers a pre-registration track called SLU 201 for students who want to take next steps. Student Pastor Chris Rocker leads the team.
Small Groups for Every Age and Stage
Trinity considers community essential to spiritual growth, and the church runs an extensive small-group system in three Sunday morning slots. The 8:30 a.m. hour leans toward older adults, with men's, women's, and co-ed classes for ages 45 and up. The 9:30 a.m. hour includes a college class, a young adults class, a young parents class for ages 25 to 45, and several co-ed classes for adults of all ages. The 11:00 a.m. hour is geared toward mid-life and older adults and offers a strong mix of men's, women's, and co-ed options. Small groups meet in rooms throughout the main building and in Solomon's Porch, with locations including Davis Hall, the Conference Room, Solomon's Porch Classroom, and rooms in the 220s wing.
Beyond Sunday morning, the church offers several weekly Bible studies. GriefShare meets Sunday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00 in the conference room across from the church offices, providing a supportive Bible study for those who have experienced loss. Women's Bible studies rotate through books of the Bible and meet at various times, including a Thursday morning Romans study in Solomon's Porch and a Sunday evening study through 2 Corinthians. A Monday Morning Prayer Breakfast runs from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m.
Young Adults, College, and Adults
Trinity has built specific ministry tracks for the seasons between high school and midlife. The Young Adult ministry gathers on Sunday mornings with coffee and doughnuts at 9:30, followed by a teaching and discussion at 9:45 in Room 226 in the main Sunday school hall, then joins the rest of the congregation for the 11:00 contemporary worship service. The class aims to make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ through theological teaching, discipleship, and gospel community, and the church provides a four-step Lectio Divina guide for members who want to go deeper in personal scripture reading.
The College ministry shares much of the same DNA and meets as part of the 9:30 small group hour in Solomon's Porch Room 10, taught by Parker and Abbi Whittle.
Adult ministries include the broader Sunday morning small-group system, ongoing weekday Bible studies, and special interest groups like JOY Club, a 55-and-up ministry that meets for potlucks and fellowship. Men's and Women's ministries round out the adult offerings.
Midweek: A Free Family Meal, Then Bible Study
Wednesday nights at Trinity have a distinctive rhythm that has become a cornerstone of church life. At 5:30 p.m. the doors open for a free family meal that runs until 6:30, a tradition that takes the pressure off parents feeding kids between work, school, and evening activities. At 6:30 p.m. the Midweek Bible Study begins and runs until 7:15, with classes for adults. Children and students have age-appropriate programming at the same time: Preschool Choir for three- to five-year-olds runs from 6:30 to 7:30, Trinity Kids Midweek meets from 6:30 to 7:15, and Trinity Students gather from 6:30 to 7:30 in Solomon's Porch. Worship music rehearsals also happen on Wednesday evenings for the choir, orchestra, and band.
Women's and Men's Ministry
Trinity supports robust ministries for both men and women. Women's Ministry gathers for studies, retreats, and fellowship events. The Romans Bible study meets Thursday mornings in Solomon's Porch and is led by Donna Wingard. A second women's study, the Michelle Hooks Women's Bible Study, meets on Monday mornings. Women's Ministry also hosts events like Friendsgiving and an annual fall retreat.
Men's Ministry holds periodic meals in Solomon's Porch, often with a guest speaker and a theme. Recent events have included a Low Country Shrimp Boil for the fall kickoff, with a message from Pastor Eddie Coakley. Men 14 and up are invited to attend.
Trinity Baptist Weekday Preschool (TBWP)
Beyond its Sunday preschool ministry, Trinity operates a part-time weekday preschool program that has become a ministry of its own. Trinity Baptist Weekday Preschool, known on campus as TBWP, was voted "Best Preschool" for 2025 in the Lexington Chronicle contest.
TBWP offers classes for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds, with younger children meeting four days a week and 4-year-olds meeting five days a week. Each class meets three hours a day and maintains a smaller student-to-teacher ratio than the State of South Carolina recommends. Every class has two adult teachers, a lead teacher and an assistant, both required to pass a background check. The program uses the Funshine Express learning system along with a wide variety of early childhood curriculum resources, and healthy snacks and water are provided.
The purpose of TBWP is to provide a Christian learning environment where preschoolers can interact with peers, experience God's love, and build a foundation for lifelong learning. The school develops children spiritually, socially, physically, emotionally, and mentally, and aims to send children to kindergarten with the skills, manners, and classroom behaviors that set them up for success.
TBWP also runs a half-day summer camp for 2- to 4-year-olds running June 1 through July 30, with weekly themed sessions like Gardening and Growing, Summer Days, Super Sports, Happy Birthday USA, Pond Life, Interesting Insects, Tinker Time, and From Here to There. Director Kristine Hoskins can be reached at 803-708-4147 for more information.
50 Years on Charleston Highway
Trinity was constituted on June 2, 1974, in West Columbia, with 129 members, most of them coming from Holland Avenue Baptist Church. Within months, Trinity merged with Line Street Baptist Church, accelerating early growth. In April 1975, Don Davis was called as the church's first senior pastor. By 1977, Trinity had purchased land on Charleston Highway; the first phase of the new building was completed in 1978.
The 1980s were a season of expansion. The "Here We Grow" campaign in 1981 funded an educational building completed in 1984, and by the end of the decade membership had grown to nearly 1,000. In 1988, Trinity launched the "Building on the Promise" campaign, which funded a new Worship Center completed in 1990 with seating for 1,800. The 1990s brought more long-range planning, the "Building on Purpose" campaign of 1998, and a multipurpose building. By 1999, Trinity had grown to over 1,550 members with property valued at approximately $5 million.
The new millennium brought a renewed missional focus, with the Acts 1:8 strategy adopted in 2001. Pastor Don Davis retired in 2005 after 30 years, and Rob White became the second senior pastor in 2006. In 2010, Eddie Coakley became Trinity's third senior pastor. Under Pastor Eddie, the church became debt-free in 2013 and launched the "Go Campaign," which established long-term mission partnerships in India and Guatemala. In response to growth, the church transitioned to a two-service format in 2014 and embraced online streaming in 2019, a move that proved invaluable when the COVID-19 pandemic closed in-person services in 2020. In February 2022, a fire caused significant damage to the building, displacing the congregation for 16 months. The church reopened with a celebratory event in August 2023.
Worship Ministry: Choir, Orchestra, Band
Music sits at the heart of Trinity's identity, and the Worship Ministry is built to support both services. Music Pastor Marty Hamby oversees the traditional side, while Grace Rocker leads the modern worship team. Together they shepherd a Worship Choir that leads the 9:30 service, a Worship Orchestra that supports the same service, and a Worship Band that leads the 11:00 service. The team recently produced a music video featuring members of the congregation, an expression of the church's belief that worship is participatory, not performed.
Anyone who wants to use their gifts in the Worship Ministry can connect with Marty Hamby or Grace Rocker through the church's connect page.
Missions: Guatemala, India, and the Midlands Chainsaw Unit
Trinity has built its missions strategy around long-term partnerships rather than short trips. Two primary international partnerships anchor the work.
In Guatemala, Trinity supports Missionaries Without Boundaries, founded and run by Pastor Cristian and his wife Euginia. The ministry rescues impoverished and malnourished children from mountain villages and nourishes, educates, and provides an environment for each child to learn and experience the love of Christ. They currently run a children's home in the city of Coban and are constructing a multi-building site on 25 acres outside the city known as The City of Children.
In India, Trinity partners with AJ, founder and head of the GAP Foundation in Lucknow. GAP plants churches, trains leaders, and provides humanitarian relief throughout Northern India.
Closer to home, Trinity has a partnership with the Midlands Chainsaw Unit, a local missions initiative that responds to disaster cleanup needs in the region.
What Trinity Believes
Trinity's beliefs are presented in six short statements. The church believes the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by men who were moved by the Spirit of God, and therefore without error. Trinity believes in one God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity, became flesh to reveal God to humanity and to become the Savior of the lost world.
The church believes that all people were created in the image of God to have fellowship with him but became alienated through sinful disobedience, and that people are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts. Salvation comes through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, which provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sin; God freely offers salvation to those who place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin.
Trinity believes that all Christians should live for Christ and not for themselves, maturing and being conformed to the image of Christ through obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Spirit of God. Finally, the church believes that the church is the body of Christ with Jesus as its head, made up of those who have trusted by faith the finished work of Christ, and that its purpose is to glorify God by loving him and making him known to the lost world.
Pastoral Team and Staff
Trinity's pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor Eddie Coakley, who has served since 2010. Micah Merchant serves as Executive Pastor and Wes McKinney as Associate Pastor. Chris Rocker is the Student Pastor. Morgan Hayden directs Kids Ministry and Family Events, and Kristine Hoskins directs Preschool Ministries. Marty Hamby serves as Music Pastor and Grace Rocker as Modern Worship Leader. Jerry Fralick directs Local Missions and Worship AV, and Kyle Hayden directs Communications.
Right Now Media, Giving, and Online Connection
Trinity provides an extensive video library called RightNow Media to every member, described as the "Netflix of Video Bible Studies." The library includes faith-based videos for kids, youth, parents, married couples, college students, single adults, and working professionals, accessible on phones, tablets, computers, and TVs. Members can text RIGHTNOW TBCCAYCE to 41411 to sign up.
Giving can be done in person at one of the offering boxes in the Worship Center, by mail to the church office, by drop at the secure drop box at the office entrance, or online through the church's give page. Trinity frames giving as a way to honor God and trust in his provision, citing Malachi 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 9:7.
The church maintains an active presence on Facebook and Instagram, livestreams services, and publishes a weekly bulletin, recorded services, and an events calendar online. Visitors and members can connect through a simple online form on the church's connect page.
The Campus in Cayce
Trinity's campus sits at 2003 Charleston Highway in Cayce, just minutes from downtown Columbia, on the Lexington County side of the river. The building includes the Worship Center, a Welcome Center, a Preschool wing at the back of the building, an educational wing with rooms numbered in the 220s, and Solomon's Porch, the auxiliary building across the parking lot that houses Student Ministry. A church map is available for guests.
Trinity Baptist Church of Cayce has been a steady witness on Charleston Highway for half a century, and the rhythm that holds it together, two Sunday services, a Wednesday family meal and Bible study, age-graded ministries for every stage, a weekday preschool, and long-term missions in Guatemala, India, and the Midlands, continues to shape its life as it looks ahead to the next fifty years.