On Sunday afternoon, September 11, 1955, twenty people gathered in the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. Reid Hill on Bellevue Road.
There was no Trinity Baptist Church building yet. There was no sanctuary, no church sign and no official congregation bearing the name Trinity. There was simply a group of people meeting together to consider the organization of a new Baptist church on Six Forks Road.
The need had already been recognized by the Missions Committee of the Raleigh Baptist Association. The area north of Raleigh was growing as new residential developments brought more families into the community. Under the leadership of Rev. Lee Pridgen, the committee had voted to take the necessary steps to secure a site and assist local residents in establishing a church.
That September gathering was the first planning meeting.
Similar meetings continued each Sunday afternoon through November 13, 1955. Rev. Pridgen answered questions and helped guide the plans. The group elected C. H. Pritchard as chair and Reid Hill as secretary until the church could be formally organized.
The meetings were accompanied by practical work as well. A survey was taken to determine the number of prospects in the surrounding community. The group and the Association were not only discussing the possibility of a new church; they were preparing carefully for one.
The first proposed property did not work out. Arrangements had been considered for a site on the Josiah W. Bailey property, approximately one mile north of Anderson Drive on the south side of Six Forks Road. When difficulties arose in securing that site, another property was purchased farther north on Six Forks Road.
What might have seemed like a setback became part of the place Trinity would call home.
The story of a church often includes visible milestones: buildings, worship services, baptisms, dedications and anniversaries. But before any of those came to Trinity, there were people willing to meet in a home and begin the work.
Twenty people gathered in September 1955. Through prayer, planning and cooperation, a vision began to take shape. The congregation that would become Trinity Baptist Church was beginning its story.
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 planning meetings and the search for a church site, see pages 8–9 and page 13 of the anniversary book.
