On Sunday, July 16, 1961, Trinity Baptist Church took an important step toward its first permanent educational wing.
That day, the membership gave $5,319.50 to secure the loan for construction. Work began on August 7.
Less than a year later, on Sunday, May 20, 1962, Trinity dedicated the first unit of its permanent church facility. Rev. John Stone, pastor, conducted the dedication service at 11:00 a.m. The building cost $69,000, and the cornerstone was laid at noon.
The Biblical Recorder later noted the significance of the day, reporting that Trinity would dedicate its first unit of a long-range building program. The article described the new educational building and named Rev. John Stone as pastor and Robert L. Newton of Campbell College as the dedication speaker.
For a church that had begun in a building once used as Oak Grove School, this moment was significant. Trinity’s earliest spaces had been adapted, restored, and stretched to meet the needs of a growing congregation. Now the church had completed its first permanent unit.
It was a place for learning, but it was also a statement of commitment.
Sunday School and Christian formation had been part of Trinity’s life from the beginning. The first Sunday in 1956 included both Sunday School and Worship Service. The first Sunday School officers and teachers were elected in February of that same year. Additional classroom space had been needed almost immediately.
By 1962, the congregation had moved from temporary solutions toward a more permanent place for ministry.
The educational wing gave Trinity room to teach, gather, and grow. It was one part of a larger vision, but it marked an important step in the church’s life. The congregation was no longer simply beginning. It was building for the future.
Like many moments in Trinity’s history, the dedication of the educational wing reminds us that ministry often requires both faith and practical work. People gave. Construction began. A cornerstone was laid. A building was dedicated.
And in that space, the work of teaching and forming generations in faith continued.
Read More in 70 Years at Trinity
This story was drawn from 70 Years at Trinity: February 5, 1956 – May 3, 2026, prepared in celebration of the seventieth anniversary of Trinity Baptist Church.
For more about Trinity’s first permanent educational wing and its dedication, see pages 19–21 of the anniversary book.
