Who We Are
Trinity Covenant Church: A Brief History

Significant Events in the Life of Trinity Covenant Church

In the Beginning: The formation of Trinity Covenant Church in 1964

The first significant event was the formation of the church in 1964. A small group of brothers and sisters came together to create a dream in this church. The dream was to be a church open to all believers, committed to Christ and to one another. The Salem Covenant Fellowship (as it was called then) committed itself to a 15-month study of the scriptures, Covenant formations, and two books, Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Call to Commitment by Elizabeth O’Connor. Bonhoeffer’s book deals with the concept of a Christian community and the essential ingredients necessary to make it a viable, visible example of the body of Christ drawn together in fellowship. O’Connor’s book deals with the unique ministry of the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C. and its experience with small groups as a means of sustaining community life and effecting mission. Bill Solie, the developer pastor, spent several weeks in Washington studying the ministry model of this unique church. After a 15-month period of study, reflection, sharing and prayer, a decision was made to charter Trinity Covenant Church.

Both books were to have a lasting and significant imprint on the culture and belief system of the Church. From O’Conner’s book, Covenant Groups emerged as did the expectation that membership should require a commitment of one’s full self. It was, and still remains, a strong conviction of this fellowship that the Christian life is expressed and experienced in community.

Worship was to be a key time for the congregation. The tone for worship was set from the outset. John 4 became an underlying theme: “Yet a time is coming and is now come when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” The expectation of preaching was that it remain faithful to the word of God. Music was valued as an important expression of worship and community. Over the years, congregational singing and an outstanding choir became an integral part of worship. Whether singing a Bach cantata, the great hymns of the church, or choruses, music has been much appreciated. The sacraments have always been valued as ordained by Christ, and as tangible evidence of His commitment to us.

Worship has taken many forms. Vehicles such as drama, music, dance, creative readings, sharing, and liturgies have been used in a variety of ways. Throughout the worship experience, the centrality of the word of God, preaching the word, and prayer have remained as constants. As with Covenanters a century earlier there is comforting reliance upon “Where is it written?”

The body was not to be bound by church programs. Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services were not offered because people were expected to be involved in Covenant Groups or to be with their families. In fact, Sunday evenings were called Friendship Evangelism evenings. Individuals were encouraged to participate in individual ministries and outreach.

The value of family was reflected in activities such as family camp, potlucks and other family and youth outings. Also of primary importance was growth in Christ. Retreats, the School of Christian Living, Bible studies, and fellowship time were seen as essential to growth. Some families moved to Salem for the express purpose of participating in the ministry of this church.

An essential element that Trinity founders had in common with Covenant founders was their insistence on “Freedom in Christ.” Those who desired a more dogmatic interpretation on Biblical or political issues as well as those who felt a need to impose their interpretations on others generally had difficulty remaining part of the Trinity fellowship.

From the outset, the priesthood of all believers was experienced. The current church bulletin says, “Ministers: All the members of the congregation.” Laity has had an important role in the life, ministry and governance of the church. Shared leadership has been an important concept. Laity, men and women from the church, has been encouraged to fill the pulpit and has done so throughout the years.

Over the next years, the church experienced steady growth. A sanctuary was built in 1967. Twelve giving units committed themselves to creating a Covenant Church on the corner of Liberty and Boone. The church was given a most unique design so that it would meet the worship needs of the congregation. There also was the pragmatic reason of making known the Covenant in Salem. By designing the building as an “inverse ark” or a “Viking ship,” one had only to describe the church to have anyone recognize it.

During the pastorate of Alton Peterson in the 70’s, the church grew steadily. In 1975, the church committed to expand its ministry, and called Jim Anderson to be its associate pastor. In 1979, Jim became the senior pastor. In 1980, a major building project doubled the size of the sanctuary in order to seat 275 and added significant office and classroom space as well. The library was designed for adult Sunday school and church gatherings. The stained glass window adorning the north end of the library was designed and created by members of the church. To begin the funding drive for the expansion, a member donated $2,000 with the idea that this should be used as seed money. On a Sunday morning, with the sermon on the parable of the seed and the sower, a reverse offering was presented. The $2,000 in $20 bills was distributed to the congregation. They were asked to take as much as they felt they needed in order to turn that into seed money to generate more money for the project. Over the next months, the $2,000 generated countless thousands in very creative and thoughtful efforts.

The Journey Outward, beginning in 1984  

A second major influence upon Trinity Covenant began in 1984 during the pastorate of David Smith. The church had been experiencing a fair degree of restlessness because of a lack of common vision and mission. Also there was tension over “no longer being a friendly little church where everyone knew everyone intimately.” The President of the Covenant, while touring the West coast churches, exhorted the church to not become too comfortable and too focused inward. In calling David, the church took an important step in recognizing that in order to stay alive and vital, it had to grow spiritually as well as physically. To grow, corporate ministry had to be an integral part of the focus.

A task force was created to develop a common vision and match staffing needs in order to meet the vision. It should be noted that Trinity Covenant is process oriented. From its inception, the church has, at key times, become involved in participatory processes that led to key decisions. The critical word in all the processes has been “listening:” listening to the Spirit and listening to one another. Very capable laity has led Church members through these processes.

The mission of the task force was to “identify and affirm the highly valued qualities and ministries of Trinity, past and present…identify and affirm the calling of God’s Spirit through our people into specific new ministries and mission…and to recommend the staff, volunteer, financial and organizational resources needed to fill that call.” The task force facilitated a church wide self-assessment, which led to identification of a variety of ministry needs. By grouping together the needs, four goals for ministry were established. From each goal a new part-time staff position was created. These were: senior high youth director, parish visitor, mission enabler, and family ministries. Individuals from within the church were called to fill these positions.

During the next several years, the model was modified as needs arose The four positions became integrated into two: parish minister and youth pastor. Diane Ruebel, intern pastor, had the first role, and Eric Scofield the second. Both are licensed pastors in the Covenant. From the roots of the four mission positions, corporate mission has become a clearer focus at Trinity, and at least four distinct ministries emerged.

• The teaching ministry as an essential aspect in the spiritual development of the congregation through Sunday school, Bible studies, and fellowship groups.

• Women’s Recovery Ministry providing a supportive Christian environment for healing dysfunctions caused by a variety of abuses. Trinity women were trained and provided leadership roles in several recovery groups.
• Development of corporate mission. This was manifested in outreach endeavors such as the joint project with Queen of Peace Catholic Church to assist in building a medical clinic and providing for medical needs for the poverty-stricken people of Oaxaca, Mexico, the 1995 small group that spent a week in Seattle at Emerald City Covenant assisting with their summer children’s outreach, and the collaboration with other local churches in building a Habitat for Humanity home in 1995-6.
• The expanded development of the children’s and youth ministries. With Mike and Renee Upchurch Elementary and Middle school programs expanded to include Wednesday Nite Live and mid-hi activities, including confirmation classes. High school pastor Eric Scofield, and later Jim Kuhlman, moved beyond just the nurture and care of Trinity kids to the vibrant outreach ministry afforded by a partnership with Young Life. The core of the youth ministries consists of close relationships, whether within our own walls or within the community.

Unity and Diversity: The Journey leading to two worship services

An alive, vibrant church aspires to growth, and with growth comes joy and pain. As we made the decision in 1988 to begin a process that would lead to two worship services, we experienced pain. As the church grew, it became more diverse. The traditional style of worship, while meaningful to many, was not meeting the needs of others. The decision to have two services was not made lightly. It was decided that while the content of both services would be essentially the same, with the pastor giving the same sermon, the method of presentation would differ. The second service would have more contemporary music and would be less formal, with an appeal to youth and the unchurched as well as those preferring less formality.

In the spring of 1989, the congregation gathered to assess this bold experiment. The two differing services were seen by some as an affirmation of Trinity’s identity and tradition of openness and caring. Others, however, saw it as an unacceptable departure from the worship tradition and identity of Trinity. Still others felt it violated Trinity’s emphasis upon the concept of a ‘family’ coming together to worship. Through much prayer, listening and sharing of feelings, the reasons for two services were once again affirmed and carried forward. Effective ways to maintain dialogue and to reduce the isolation caused by separate services were explored. The two services have enhanced growth and have allowed Trinity to be open to the movement of the Spirit within the body. The success of having two diverse services also has affirmed the need for Trinity to concentrate on “kingdom” ministries in addition to providing nurturing for those within this body.

In 1990, David Smith, who had been Trinity’s pastor since 1983, resigned to become pastor of Glen Ellyn Covenant in Chicago. The call committee, working with the North Pacific Conference Superintendent, spent the next 30 months searching for a new pastor. During that time, the laity of the church filled the pulpit and the church continued to experience growth and challenges.

In 1993, Dick Lucco accepted the call as senior pastor. When he arrived, some of the ministries, such as youth programs, the dual worship services, the Women’s ministries, and educational ministries, were going strong, and continued to create a sense of enthusiasm and excitement within the church. Once again the challenges of growth presented themselves. We needed to maintain focus upon God, nurture the community, provide outreach, and address conflicts in a caring, supportive environment.  

The Continuing Journey: Growing and Evolving

While Trinity had, on at least two previous occasions, defined and written mission statements, Dick helped to refine the mission statement that would bring to life a vision of who we are as a body and where we are being led by God. Keeping the essential elements treasured throughout the years, the vision was stated as “Seekers become servants.” The goals of the body are: Bringing (evangelism), Building (nurture and growth), and Equipping (for ministry). After the Church Council form of government was adopted, new ministry teams were established, allowing for expanded participation of the congregation. Each team was to write its yearly goals in terms of how that team would “bring, build, and equip.” The key words that represent our mission are continually in front of us, in both the printed and spoken word.

Dick Lucco ’s vision for Trinity was, and continues to be, spiritual growth of the body and service to the community. One way he has built up the body has been to increase the emphasis upon individual and corporate prayer. There have been sermon series on prayer as well as numerous opportunities to pray together. Tuesday night prayer and study is open to all. First Friday prayer invites people to sign up for specific times during the day to pray in the sanctuary. Also there has been increased emphasis upon Bringing My World to Christ and the Lighthouse program, both of which invite us to commit to pray for others. Dick initiated the SHAPE class in 1997 as another way of building the body; that class has continued to be taught. Dick provided the leadership and direction to the Worship Arts Team that was needed to develop and refine the contemporary worship service into the wonderful experience it is today.

Perhaps more than at any previous time, Trinity began to serve the community and the world due to Dick’s vision and leadership. As previously mentioned, we cooperated with other churches to build a Habitat house and serve in Seattle. We began to serve Liberty School students with a summer reading program, and more recently with the HEART reading program. We became more aware of the needs of the poor, and had a strong involvement with the Salem School Homeless Program, particularly when housed at Capitol Inn. We continue to serve regularly at the Jason Lee soup kitchen. Trinity was one of the initial churches to join and serve in Interfaith Hospitality Network that takes turns housing homeless families. In reaching beyond Salem, the congregation has helped to supply the needed funds, prayer, encouragement, supplies and man power for short term mission trips. These include a group to Guatemala with Habitat for Humanity, a team to Kosovo, individuals and teams to Mexico, a family to Colombia for one year, an individual to Colombia for 2 years, and a family to New Zealand for 3 years.

As with previous growing pains, decisions needed to be made in the areas of increasing staff and either building or remodeling the existing church. In 1999, Steve Eng was called as Associate Pastor to share his gifts in worship arts, evangelism, and community building. Under Steve’s leadership young adults formed, for the first time, a group of their own named MUTTS (married, unmarried, twenty and thirty something) The MUTTS group has become an important, actively involved part of Trinity’s life. Steve also began the ALPHA ministry for those seeking more information about Christianity Steve and his wife, Judy, have extended their gifts of hospitality to include regularly inviting “new to Trinity” people over to their home.

Also in 1999, C.V. Hartline was called as Youth Pastor. While continuing to nurture the Young Life partnership, youth ministry has been deeply enriched through the vision and heart of C.V. His initiation of The Cutting Edge on Sunday evenings provides a discipleship worship service for youth that allows them to process scripture and our culture while challenging them to a closer walk with Christ. C.V. has also begun Friday evening Common Ground that provides a safe place for anyone wanting to be able to be authentic. Other key ministries for students include a Covenant group that meets Wednesday evening for Bible study and prayer, Sunday morning Quest, discipleship retreats called The Realm, Waterworks weekend adventures, and biannual mission trips to Mexico. The Student Ministry Team has a clear vision statement that is providing focus: Christ is leading the student ministry at Trinity Covenant Church to become an authentic fellowship that invites all to walk together to be more like Christ.

The decision to build a new church, while long in coming, was necessary due to structural damage to the old building. Once again the body entered the decision-making process over many months to discuss, debate, listen, and finally decide upon a new building on the existing property. The capital campaign demonstrated the enthusiasm and sense of congregational readiness as over half of the needed funds were pledged before ground was broken. As we near the completion of the building project, the congregation is excited in anticipation of the many possible ways Trinity will be used by God, not only for building up the body but also for reaching the community.