Worship at Trinity
Trinity United Reformed Church gathers at 6400 W. Walnut Avenue in Visalia, where two Sunday services frame the rhythm of the week. A morning service begins at 9:30 AM, and a second, different service follows at 6:00 PM. Members of the congregation love faithful preaching of God's Word, lively singing of psalms and hymns, and warm fellowship with members and guests. Children join the rest of the church in the sanctuary for worship itself, a covenant body of believers gathered across the generations. After the morning service, the building hums with Christian education for an hour, and an informal time of coffee and conversation takes place in the fellowship hall and outside.
Services are livestreamed on YouTube, and a long-running sermon archive is kept online, organized by book of the Bible, topic, series, and speaker. The format is reverent and Reformed: the Word is opened, the gospel is proclaimed, and the people respond in song.
What Trinity Confesses
The congregation calls itself Trinity because of its belief in the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; United because it is one in confessing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior; Reformed because it traces its roots to the scripturally based creeds of the Protestant Reformation; and Church because Christ has called it to be the family of God.
Trinity subscribes to the three ecumenical creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed) and to the Three Forms of Unity: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort. Its motto, drawn from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, reads "Stand firm in the faith ... do everything in love." Ephesians 2:8 sits alongside the motto as a guiding verse: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
Trinity is a member church of the United Reformed Church in North America (URCNA) and of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). Its stated purpose is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship God faithfully, walk together in love, and witness to neighbors near and far.
Christian Education for Every Age
Education at Trinity stretches from nursery through high school and into adulthood. Nursery is staffed during both morning and evening services for infants through 3-year-olds, with two adult volunteers and one or two helpers, and is located on the west side of the fellowship hall. A nursery volunteer will greet families and assist with the check-in kiosk.
On Sunday mornings, the educational hour that follows the morning service offers Sunday School for ages 3 through 4th grade and Catechism classes for students in grades 5 through 12. Adults are invited to Adult Sunday School in room 17, to the church choir during the academic year, or to a small-group prayer ministry that meets during the same Sunday School hour. Catechism is a hallmark of Reformed churches, and Trinity takes seriously the call to walk the next generation through the historic Christian faith.
Cadets, GEMS, and Youth Ministry
On the first three Wednesdays of the month during the academic year, the building fills with the sound of boys, girls, and youth. Cadets welcomes boys in grades 3 through 8 for Bible lessons, badge work, and various activities, beginning at 7:00 PM. GEMS, which stands for Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior, gathers girls in the same grades for Bible lessons, singing, crafts, and badge work at the same hour.
The High School Youth Group also meets on the first three Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 PM, with singing, service projects, and studies on topics related to their faith. The Middle School Youth Group, led by Tim and Helia V and by Will and Crystal V, meets on scheduled Friday afternoons during the academic year from 3:30 to 6:30 PM. Students arrive and play games, gather for group singing, then move into a Bible lesson, prayer time, dinner, and closing activities. The schedule is designed so that students who live nearby can come right after school and those who live farther away can arrive in time for the main part of the evening.
Each June, Trinity hosts Vacation Bible School for students in kindergarten through 6th grade, a week-long program of scripture memory, songs, Bible stories, and lessons. The children journey through a themed setting and learn how the week's focus points to Jesus Christ.
Women in the Word, Men in the Word
Women of all ages gather on Tuesday mornings from 9:15 to 11:00 AM during the academic year for "Women in the Word," a Bible study and time of fellowship. A Bible lesson is offered at the same time for children ages 3 through 5, and nursery is available for younger children. The format pairs serious study of Scripture with the warmth of a community that shares a stage of life.
On the first three Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 PM, both a Men's Bible Study and a Women's Bible Study meet at the church, each focused on studying God's Word together. The men's group is led by one of the pastors.
Standing With the Wider Church
Trinity's Faith Promise offering supports a wide circle of ministries, missionaries, and seminaries. Foreign-student support goes to Westminster Seminary California, Mid America Reformed Seminary, and Puritan Reformed Seminary. The church also supports MINTS International Seminary and Reformed Mission Services.
Chaplaincy and gospel outreach reach into prisons, the high seas, the Pacific, and beyond. Trinity supports Good News Jail and Prison Ministry internationally, as well as three local chaplains: David May, John Sayers, and Mandy Nevarez. The church also supports Rev. and Mrs. John Van Hemert in seafarers' ministry, Rev. Eric Schering with Pacific Island Ministries in Papua New Guinea, Mission India, the Middle East Reformed Fellowship, Talking Bibles International, and Abounding Grace Radio's Africa Project.
Closer to home, the congregation stands with Sierra Village, Love INC, Covenant URC of Fresno, and Big Springs URC. A Scholarship Fund, drawn from the General Fund, provides tuition assistance to families who cannot pay full tuition at Central Valley or Hanford Christian Schools. The General Fund itself pays for the ongoing expenses of the church, including salaries, operations, and program costs.
First-Time Visitors
Worship is on Sundays at 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM. Dress and atmosphere are modest and Reformed: members and visitors gather reverently for the preaching of the Word and sing psalms and hymns together. The congregation is made up of families, children, and singles, and the sound of a coffee maker after the morning service signals a relaxed space to meet the people of Trinity.
Parking is available along the right (east) side of the church building and behind (north) the education building, with overflow parking on the back lawn. The church also has a written Child Safeguarding Policy with required forms for volunteers and for parents of children who participate in church programs, designed to keep the youngest members of the congregation safe. Trinity's safeguarding coordinator can be reached at safeguarding@trinityurcvisalia.org.