Who We Are

Trinity Presbyterian Church is a Gospel-centered church in Tampa, Florida with a great weekly gathering, teaching from the Bible, and ordinary people trusting Jesus.

About Trinity 

Trinity Presbyterian Church is a family of believers in Jesus Christ who WORSHIP the Lord, TEACH biblical truth, FELLOWSHIP together and REACH OUT to others.

Together we are a community of believers. To us, community means that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another.  The bible speaks about iron sharpening iron and we believe that together we grow stronger as we love and encourage each other. At Trinity, we highly value our relationships with one another. 

We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to find and reach the lost and the broken. Many churches find it comfortable to stay within their boundaries, but we try to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our city changed. 

We value the word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  We aspire to extend grace to the lost and broken and to lead those with no hope to the hope of life in Jesus Christ. 

Meet our Pastor 

Pastor Charlie became the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in July of 2022.  At that time Pastor Charlie and his family moved to this area from Ruskin, FL where he was the pastor of Christ Community Church for 15 years.   His wife Coco is a teacher at Cambridge Christian School.  The Lewises have five children and two grandchildren.   In this picture are his sons Chas, Trent and Jed and his daughter Emma.   

Our Vision

“Trinity Presbyterian Church, A.R.P., is a family of believers in Jesus Christ who WORSHIP the Lord, TEACH Biblical truth, FELLOWSHIP together, and REACH OUT to others.”

 

What "Type" of Presbyterians Are We at Trinity?

We at Trinity Presbyterian Church are not a part of the “mainline” Presbyterian church in America (the P.C.U.S.A.) that has often been in the news in recent years for its stances on the issues of the day. We are a separate, conservative, Bible-believing, denomination, established in America in 1782. 

We have “fraternal relationships” with other like-minded Presbyterian denominations in America, including the P.C.A., the O.P.C., and the E.P.C. We do not have a fraternal relationship with the P.C.U.S.A.

 

 

What is the history of Presbyterians in America and North Creek's denomination, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (A.R.P.C.)?

There are a number of different Presbyterian denominations in America. all of whom essentially trace their heritage to the Protestant Reformation in Europe 500 years ago, and in particular the Reformation in the British Isles, especially Scotland.

In colonial America in the 1700s many of those of Scottish heritage got together to form one Presbyterian denomination, but some, like the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (the A.R.P.C.), our denomination, kept their separate heritage and history. At the Civil War, in the mid-19th century, the mainline denomination split north (calling itself the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.) and south (calling itself the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.).

In the early 20th century, due to “liberalizing” in the northern church, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (O.P.C.) came into being. In the early 1970s, due to “liberalizing” in the southern church, the Presbyterian Church in America (P.C.A.) came into being. And in 1983, the old northern and southern denominations reunited to become the present day “mainline” P.C.U.S.A. 

The A.R.P.C., Trinity’s denomination, has not been involved in that history of splitting and reuniting, but has existed continuously in America since 1782.

Our History

  1. Founded in 1908 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church, which is one of the oldest denominations in America.
  2. Originally named the Tampa ARP Church (referred to as First Tampa) and located downtown on Tampa Street.
  3. 1n 1967 the Church moved to our current location in northeast Tampa and took the name Trinity Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
  4. Throughout our over 100 year history, Trinity Presbyterian Church has faithfully preached the diety of Jesus Christ, the authority of God's Holy Word, the Bible and the saving power of believing in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.
  5. Trinity Presbyterian Church is excited about the opportunities surrounding us, and in faith we believe our greatest days of ministry are still ahead.
  6. We share our facility with the Tampa Chinese Presbyterian Church (TCPC) whose orgins go back to a Mandarin-speaking Sunday School class that began in 1981.