Bible, Missions and the Holy Spirit the Focus at Trinity Community Church

Editor's note: This story is part of a faith series I'm working on that highlights our local places of worship. If you'd like to see your church featured in this series, contact me, editor Korrina Grom, at korrina.grom@patch.com.

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What Trinity Community Church in Libertyville is all about can be summed up in its three values: Word-driven. Spirit-led. Mission-focused.

Sermons involve opening the Bible and reading of scripture. The church is open to prophecy and emphasizes prayer as a part of life and ministry. And activities like Bible study aren't reserved only for inside the church but are instead taken out into the community, whether they're held at restaurants or members' homes.

All of this takes place in a "come-as-you-are atmosphere," where members are welcome to wear jeans and shorts, said Lead Pastor David Niblack.

Trinity Community Church started out as part of the Vineyard Association of Churches. When it was founded in Mundelein, the church met at Mundelein High School and then the old Mundelein theater. It was known as Vineyard Church of Mundelein back then.

The church eventually bought its current building at 1190 W. Winchester Road in Libertyville in 2005 and left the Vineyard Association of Churches, renaming itself Trinity Community Church.

Niblack joined the church as an intern while a seminary student at Trinity in Deerfield.

"It's been great for me," said Niblack. 

Mission Focus

The church's mission focus is one that Niblack embraces both personally. He takes a month off each year for a sabbatical to go on a mission trip overseas.

That mission focus is also embraced by the church as a whole. Members have held Bible studies at places like Gino's East and the former Bellagio Cafe in Libertyville. The church participates in a "Bag Hunger" program, which invites members to take a bag and collect food for the needy.

There are also mission trips, including the one that 10 volunteers from Trinity Community Church will take to Haiti later this month. Additionally, the church's youth group partners with several other youth groups from around the area to do a "Revolution of Love" mission project right here in Lake County. For example, the youths have done work at Winchester House in Libertyville.

Living and Sharing Faith

The church's 250 members have plenty of other ways to live their faith. Children participate in Sunday School, Boy Scouts and American Heritage Girls. The latter is a Christ-centered scouting program. There are LIFEGroups for adults that gather in members' homes.

Trinity is a also place where people are encouraged to share their faith and experiences. Last summer, people were invited to write their own Psalms for a "Living Psalms" series and then share those Psalms with the church. Niblack said one woman talked about the loss of her job, the death of her husband and the subsequent loss of her house. At the end, the woman talked about how she put her trust in God.

"We're worse than we think we are and yet we're loved more than we could ever imagine," he said. "God has been so good to us."