The Community
Our Community Ministries Program works tirelessly to build connections between the church and the community to help serve its members and strengthen its neighborhoods. We build relationships and partnerships with our local Congress Elementary School, neighborhood and business associations, local non-profit organizations and citizen community groups. We are in ministry WITH our community- not TO our community.
Congress Elementary School
Trinity has been in partnership with Congress Elementary School for many years. We continue to work closely with school leadership, teachers and families in multiple ways to help foster and support a culture of vibrant education, such as supply drives, collecting winter hats and coats, supporting the school health center, volunteering as reading tutors, etc. A few recent ways we’ve partnered include bringing in volunteers (pre-COVID) to Pre-K classrooms twice a week to play with children so teachers can work one-on-one with students who are behind. For the past six years we have brought in the John Ball Zoo education team to come into 11-13 classrooms giving students hands-on, up-close learning opportunities that support classroom studies. When COVID-19 created stay at home orders, we worked closely with school leadership to help support basic family needs in our community and worked together to help families in emergency situations.
Special Needs Advocacy
The Community Ministries Program works to find new
ways to advocate for the special needs community. Through our “seen” Project we help promote accessible literacy that positively represents children with special needs in elementary school libraries across the state of Michigan. We partner with local Grand Rapids organizations that also serve the Special Needs community. In addition, we work to bring together churches to offer first time volunteer opportunities for individuals interested in assisting with special needs serving programs.
Access of West Michigan Walk For Good Food
The Community Ministries Program is a recipient organization of Walk For Good Food as we provide homestyle cooked meals for families on a regular basis through our Kid’s Club and Transitions Programs. We’re also piloting a new breakfast program for students in our tutoring program as regular access to good, quality food is essential!
Local Neighborhood and Business Associations
The Community Ministries Program works closely with both the East Hills Council of Neighbors and East Hills Business Association. We feel these are great ways to know and serve WITH our local community. We also work with the Eastown Community Association and Uptown Organization.
Just. Love. Project
The Just. Love. Project, started by Pauline Fuller of Greenville, MI, ensures children from all backgrounds have access to good quality books, which are then paired with cute stuffed animals to match the theme. This project was started as a way to show love to communities affected by inequality, especially by the events surrounding the death of George Floyd. Our program works to connect the Just. Love. Project with underserved and under resourced populations in our community.