At 1675 Grand Avenue in San Rafael, Trinity Community Church is a growing, progressive Pentecostal congregation marked by three words: Believe, Belong, Become. Founded in 1931, it welcomes people who are new to Christ with a “Belong before you believe” spirit and connects them with a church family. Its mission, grounded in the Great Commandment and Great Commission, is to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, love one another in His name, and tell others about Him.
From Edith Erickson’s Fourth Street Flat to Grand Avenue
Trinity began in 1931 as a home Bible study led by Edith A. Erickson, a recent Glad Tidings Bible Institute graduate in San Francisco. Her upstairs flat stood just west of the railroad tracks on the north side of Fourth Street. In 1937, the group organized as First Pentecostal Church under Rev. Hanke and moved into a storefront on A Street near Third Street.
Over the following fifteen years, the congregation joined the General Council of the Assemblies of God in 1942 and incorporated as San Rafael Assembly of God in 1947. It met in Oddfellows Hall on Fourth Street and the Carpenter’s Union Hall. In 1952, it bought the building at 517 D Street for $18,000 and remained there for twenty years under a succession of pastors, including William and Ernestine Vickery, Louis and Ethel Weston, Harold Rhodes, Lester Sheets, Robert Phillips, J.L. Jeffrey, and Reuben and Carmen Sequeira.
In 1970, under Rev. Sequeira, the church bought a four-acre parcel at 1675 Grand Avenue for $280,000. After two years of remodeling, the congregation relocated and became Trinity Community Church.
The property had been part of the Marist Fathers’ St. Peter Chanel Seminary. A former classroom building became the sanctuary and fellowship hall, with downstairs classrooms that once served Sunday school and Daystar Christian Preschool. The former rectory became offices and residences. The grounds also included a barrel-roofed gymnasium with a full basketball court, locker rooms and bleachers, a junior Olympic-sized pool, a tennis court, and a large recreation hall. These facilities supported a brief effort to establish a Christian high school for Marin students. A later project created upgraded, multi-use, accessible facilities, designed in 2012 and completed in 2020 with substantial volunteer help.
A 9:00 Study, Then 10:30 Worship
Sunday morning begins at 9:00 AM with Bible study that explores books of the Bible and questions about faith. The main worship gathering follows at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary at 1675 Grand Avenue. Vocalists and instrumentalists from the worship and praise team rehearse during the week and early Sunday, then invite the congregation into God’s presence before the pastor brings a message. The service is also available through the Sunday morning livestream.
First-time guests are met by caring, knowledgeable greeters at the front doors. They answer questions, explain the floor plan, and help people find the right room. Pastors make time to speak with visitors after the service. For someone new to faith, Trinity also offers conversations at the church, a home, or a coffee shop about who Jesus is, how to understand the Bible, how to pray, and what the church is.
Children Gather Downstairs
After all-family worship, children and students regularly meet downstairs in the children’s wing. A playground is available to both the church and the community. Holiday events have included Easter egg hunts and Christmas tree lighting, while children’s ministry volunteers also organize summer camps and offer opportunities for children to participate in adult services at times.
Nursery care is available for babies and toddlers age two and under. Nursery attendants and volunteers undergo formal background checks and training to teach children with consistent respect and love. These provisions sit within a children’s ministry designed for babies, children, students, and their families.
Tuesday BibleTalk and Friday Capernaum
Tuesday Night BibleTalk begins at 7:00 PM and takes an in-depth look at specific portions of Scripture, such as the book of Daniel. The gathering combines teaching, fellowship, and light refreshments. It is held at 1675 Grand Avenue and can also be joined through BibleTalk online.
YoungLife Capernaum meets at Trinity on Fridays for club nights and special events. This ministry shares Jesus’ love with young adults with special needs through games, friendship, and Bible lessons designed for participants. Snacks, including pizza, are enjoyed before meetings, and activities can move outdoors on sunny days or indoors when it rains. The group also plans outings such as mini golf and summer camping. Capernaum participants and their families are invited to the 10:30 AM Sunday worship or the Handmade program downstairs.
A Sanctuary of Light, Sound, and the Gospels
The sanctuary’s simplicity is central to its sense of grace and glory. Clear glass windows welcome daylight, while the four walls carry handwritten texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in their entirety. Sculpted ceiling troughs capture and reflect the sound of worship, giving the room a living resonance from corner to corner.
Above the congregation, ceiling panels carry the Lord’s Prayer in multiple languages. These inscriptions join the visible Word, the gathered people, and the sanctuary’s central purpose: to gather nations in worship and to make Christ known through his word and life.
Prayer, New Heart, GriefShare, and Dinner
Trinity’s intercessory prayer team seeks God’s presence and power by lifting up individuals, the community, and the world. Pastor Linda Pierce leads this ministry, emphasizing confidence that God hears prayer and brings lives closer to him. Its concerns extend from individual needs to the wider community and the world.
New Heart is a one-to-one ministry devoted to transforming the heart into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to address the hurt, pain, and sin occupying a person’s heart and to fill that heart with God’s love. The ministry is led by Marisol Avash.
GriefShare offers a compassionate setting for people mourning the loss of a spouse, parent, child, infant, adolescent, or one or both parents. Its teaching focuses on finding peace during the holidays, managing anxiety, understanding a child’s grief, and learning to live again after loss. The class combines hope, understanding, and practical tools with community and care.
Dominican University students also have a welcoming Bible study that begins with worship and fellowship, followed by teaching from Scripture intended to encourage faith and community. Dinner and snacks are provided as students gather to connect and learn together.
Penguin’s Pantry on Wednesdays
Penguin’s Pantry partners with a local food bank to distribute food at Dominican University every Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The pantry operates across from Bertrand Hall, where canopies and tables are set up for distribution. Volunteers join this weekly effort to serve families and individuals in the community.
Trinity also holds Community Serve Days each month. Volunteer roles include office support, gardening, cleaning, and preparing meals for special events. These practical opportunities extend the church’s emphasis on love and service beyond the congregation’s regular meetings.
Mission Across Marin and Beyond
The mission that developed throughout Trinity’s history includes a broad range of needs:
- feeding programs and water-well drilling
- health education, medical clinics, and schools
- orphan care, micro-business opportunities, addiction recovery, and human trafficking intervention
- disaster relief, Bible publishing, ministerial training, and church planting
- institutional and law enforcement chaplaincy, along with public and personal evangelism
Local and global relationships include Todd Churchill in DR Congo, Tanya Aderman in Cambodia, Jerad McCauley in Eq Guinea, Mark Brown and Solomon Wang in the Philippines, and William and Judy Kirsch in Africa. Additional mission partners include Convoy of Hope, which serves people through feeding, disaster relief, community development, and outreach; Gideons International; and Good News India, which works through children’s homes, homes for people affected by leprosy, youth conventions, and leadership conferences in Eastern India. Trinity also supports Rancho de Sus Ninos in North Baja California, where programs include orphan care, family services, schools, a youth activity center, local churches, a Bible college, and street ministries.
Trinity Community Church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible. Financial giving supports the church’s ministries, local and global communities, and tangible assistance to people in need through its secure giving page.
Redemption at the Center of a Pentecostal Faith
Trinity is Evangelical, Trinitarian, and Pentecostal. Its four major tenets are salvation through Jesus Christ and his supreme sacrifice for sin, baptism in the Holy Spirit to empower Christ’s followers for life and service, divine healing for the sick through Christ’s death, and Christ’s second coming.
Redemption remains the central message. Through personal, practical faith in Jesus Christ, who suffered and died in humanity’s place, people can receive forgiveness, salvation, and an eternal relationship with God. Trinity understands God’s mercy as a conduit of blessing that flows outward into acts of love and service, so that Christ is made known through both the church’s life and its proclamation.
Scott Martin, Linda Pierce, and a Long Line of Leadership
Lead Pastor Scott Martin, M.Div., joined Trinity as executive pastor in 2023 and became lead pastor in 2024. He and his wife, Dr. Andrea Martin, have shared ministry locally and abroad since they were teenagers. Pastor Linda Pierce, a lifelong member who previously served as a deacon and office manager, serves as Pastor of Spiritual Care and Minister of Prayer.
Rev. Will Nelken served as lead pastor from 1984 through 2024 and is now Pastor Emeritus. Ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1978, he also served the Northern California-Nevada District as a district and executive presbyter. Oulay Hedlund leads children’s ministry, while Faye Thompson, Timothy Maharjan, Tim Hedlund, and Jerry Werzinski serve as deacons. Together, they continue Trinity’s work of Scripture teaching, worship, prayer, family care, practical service, and mission.
Trinity Community Church’s life moves from the 9:00 AM Bible study and 10:30 AM sanctuary service to the nursery, Capernaum club, prayer team, pantry tables, and mission partnerships. At its Grand Avenue home, the church continues to unite the wording of its motto with the practice of welcome: Believe, Belong, Become.