TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN
HOUSE CHURCH HISTORY

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Trinity Founded in 1963.

From the beginning, Trinity followed an exploratory path of development, choosing to examine such questions as, "What is a Church ?"  "What kind of building does a church need ?"  "How can we serve God in the world ?"  The option of following a more traditional path of development was available when the small group of potential members began their journey together, but they chose to closely examine their beliefs and follow the form that grew out of that study together.
    In the fall of 1962 the First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg had voted not to move to their newly acquired property, but had donated its four and a half acres on the corner of South High and Maryland Avenue to the Presbytery. The property also contained a beautiful antebellum home built in 1825.  Instead of grading the old house, a committee of Presbytery suggested remodeling it to serve as a temporary sanctuary until a larger, permanent church could be built.  The house had been deserted for three years and the lawn had grown high with weeds.  The Rev. Donald R. Allen was called by Presbytery as the organizing minister and a group of about "twenty white, middle-class, 'older' young adults," Don Allen recounts in his book, Barefoot in the Church (John Knox Press, 1972) "responded to the challenge of seeing what it might like to begin a church from the ground up."  The new group began meeting regularly on Wednesday evenings to "scrub, paint and repair, as well as to discuss, sing and share."
    "I suppose it was then through prayer with hammer in hand that we first glimpsed the possibilities of finding a new dimension of community" Don noted.  In the next six months the developing congregation traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit the Church of the Savior and studied books on the  nurture and mission of the church.  "By the first spring," Don reported, "the session had seen the need for a mission-oriented congregation as well as for one which made 'belonging' worthwhile through small group life. The result was on May 5, 1963 at a worship service under the trees at Massanetta Springs.....the congregation began their response to the challenge of the session: to say 'no' to all traditional committees and functions of the church and say 'yes' to seeking through house churches their reason for being.  The initial groups were arbitrary assignment so that our approximately eighty-five members comprised four house churches."
      Don Allen noted that he discovered at Union Theological Seminary a Presbyterian pamphlet, "Behold a New Thing," which spoke of house churches. It "excited the session greatly and was instrumental in the formation of  'What is God Saying to His Church?' , a statement of purpose developed by the session that still serves the congregation. (click on the title to see the revised version we use today).
        One reason the house church concept seemed to find a home in the Trinity congregation may be that in the '60's many people were caught up in counter-culture, anti-establishment ways of looking at their culture.  Many of us were drawn to Trinity not just because it was non-traditional in many ways but because we sensed a group of people challenged to be on mission, searching for authentic, meaningful paths of service. In house churches we could explore in depth what it meant to be the church to each other, to experience each others hurts and joys, to worship and work together, to disagree, to be disappointed, to seek reconcilliation  and be fulfilled.
        The first year of their existence house churches shared, studied, and worshiped together.  There were four house churches and they were named for the elder assigned by the session.  It was in the second year that these groups began searching for a communal mission.  The underlying theology behind all of Trinity's house churches is that nurture, fellowship, worship, and mission (termed the "four marks of the church") must proceed together for the health of the whole.  One cannot spend oneself in mission, even a group mission, without taking time for the refreshment and renewal to be found in nurture, fellowship, and worship.
        The first house church called by its mission, The Coffee House House Church, proposed to the session and the congregation (in the fall of 1964) the opening of a coffee house in Harrisonburg.  It required the consent of both because it would need more interest, help, and financial support than the members of the house church alone could manage.  This one house church later became two groups to keep the coffee house open on both Friday and Saturday nights.
        In the Daily News Record article written in 1966 the Marketplace is in full swing:

The Marketplace closed its doors in 1973 because it lacked enough Trinity members to keep it in operation and more places in Harrisonburg were opening and staying open late. The space was renovated and used as an apartment for paroled prisoners to help them get a start back into the community. This mission only lasted a short time, as it ran into immense difficulties and it in turn closed its doors.

The second mission requested was by the Clothes Closet House Church which asked permission from the session to open a used clothing outlet in the upstairs back room of the church house.  This house church is still in operation today but has moved several times as space became crowded. It is now in operation back at the Church House on High Street.

The third was from the Religious Drama House Church which wanted to "enter into a season of summer drama with members of the Lakeview Playhouse and to be funded sufficiently to carry their share of the financial burden."

The fourth request came from "the Community Service House Church to begin the operation of a summer day camp for retarded children."  From his work with this house church a member became a member of the state board of the Association for Retarded Citizens and the ARC recognized Trinity for its work.

Over the years from these first house churches several other have been called:

• 1975 - Dunamis House Church - to minister to the poor and oppressed
• For several years Dunamis picked up operation of the clothes closet and moved it to Simms School.
• 1971 - International House Church - to minister to the international persons in Harrisonburg
• 1971 - A group was called to help elderly women on a limited budget - did not succeed as too few people responded.
• 1972 - Senior Social Group - arts and crafts and social activities This group was the fore runner for Senior Citizens Center
• 1974 - Dag Hammerskjold House Church - responsible for bringing the Luong family to Harrisonburg
• 1974 - Desmios House Church - ministered to the staff, prisoners and families at the local state road camp in Linville.
• Formed the Big Brother/ Big Sister program in Harrisonburg.
• 1981 - Jairus House Church - ministered to troubled youth and eventually established a home to provide foster care to delinquent youth
• 1982 - Rainbow House Church - a transitional living facility for head-injured persons it did not find success and was finally given up.
• 1981 - Helping Hands House Church - provided a soup kitchen at the clothes closet and help people with various chores they were unable to do.
• 1981 - Peacemakers House Church - to work toward global peace in a variety of ways.
• 1986 - Emergency Support House Church - work with persons stuck in Harrisonburg away from family and friends
• 1986 - Prayer Support House Church - offer prayer to other house churches and individuals while being supportive to each other in the areas of nurture, worship and fellowship.
• 1986 - 2006 Over the last two decades many, many active house churches have been called.