OUR STORY
Seeing the closure of a number of established city centre churches prompted a group of us to consider how we could fill the gap left behind and effectively serve those living and working in Belfast city centre. We were drawn from a range of denominational backgrounds but all believed that the message Jesus taught is still relevant and life-changing in 21st Century Belfast.
Since 2012 we met in various locations before arriving at our current home on Somerton Road in North Belfast. During that time, we became affiliated with Redeemer City to City (CTC) a global church planting movement started by Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York.
We launched as Trinity Church in late 2019 and meet at 11am every Sunday at the Somerton Hub, 44 Somerton Road.
Leadership
The Trinity Church team is led by Lee Eagleson. Lee was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) and he served in ministry in suburban East and North Belfast.
In 2012, he was trained by Redeemer City to City in New York, attending their ‘International Intensive’ for global church planters. Lee also finished a PhD in 2014 on Church Planting. He is currently a member of the City to City Europe training team and is also a gospel coach for the movement.
Lee left the ministry of PCI in 2022 to pursue a new model of church that was smaller, more intimate and reproducible by lay leadership (as he is now!). He is passionate about church planting and is working with some others to try to catalyse planting throughout the North of Ireland.
He loves spending time with his wife and daughter, reading history books, lingering in art galleries and visiting foreign cities. He is also a learner gardener. He is a supporter of Liverpool FC and appreciates a well-brewed cup of coffee.
Our Connections
We are Members of:
Urban Mission Initiatives
www.umibelfast.co.uk
Urban Mission Initiatives is the charity formed to oversee the church plant in Belfast that became Trinity Church. It exists to provide good stewardship of finance, allow activities to be scrutinised by trusted and wise Christian advisers alongside public bodies, and provide a means to plant, revitalise or aid future churches in Belfast.
Redeemer City to City
www.redeemercitytocity.com
www.citytocityeurope.com
Redeemer City to City is a leadership development organisation founded by Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York. Their mission is to help leaders build gospel movements in cities and they have a vision for a world-changing, city-renewing, gospel-centred global church. Trinity Church is a member church of this network.
We Partner in Ministry with:
Crown Jesus Ministries
Crown Jesus Ministries is organisation committed to evangelism in Ireland, communicating the message of Jesus in a real and relevant way. Trinity Church’s lead planter, Lee Eagleson, works with Mitch in CJM to facilitate a Prayer Room (alongside conversations and prayer on the streets) on Thursday afternoons in Chapel Lane. For more info visit : www.crownjesus.org
Friends International
Friends International are a Christian charity that supports international students in the UK. They do this through equipping churches and volunteers to serve, minister, and engage with international students. We also organise a range of social events and activities for international students to be a part of. They operate in almost 40 university towns and cities across the UK, and have over 60 full and part-time workers befriending and supporting international students.
Over 500,000 international students study at UK universities and some 400,000 come to study English in language schools. They want to give as many as we can a great time in the UK, chances to experience real British culture, and opportunities to hear about the Christian faith
What we do
We meet regularly to worship, learn, pray, have fun and do life together. We meet at Somerton Hub on Sunday mornings, with tea and coffee from 10.45am and our service at 11am.
We believe that church is a central part of following Jesus but that it is more than a building or somewhere just for Sunday. People make the church so we meet regularly during the week to spend time together and encourage each other to live life following Jesus’ example.
We are open to church community life being something that you can belong to even if you don’t yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We welcome people to come and investigate Christianity with us without any obligation but ultimately our desire is that everyone would come to follow Jesus. If you want to find out more about becoming a Christian, click here.
We follow a simple approach to living out the Christian faith, with an emphasis on the good news Jesus taught, community and worship. To learn more about our values click here
WHY WE DO IT
We love God; We love People.
Our longing is to make God evident to people by the witness of the church. We dream of people knowing God's love by our church community loving others as radically as Jesus did. We want to build a church which welcomes all those wanting to know more about Christ and is open to answering the big questions that people have.
While we have various activities and gatherings, for the Christians among us, we want Jesus to be the centre of all we do. We believe God is not just for us, but for everyone in the city of Belfast and beyond.
We love Belfast.
We describe Trinity Church as a “city-oriented” and our vision is deeply committed to the idea of serving the city. We love Belfast and think it is an amazing city to live and work in. It is small in population terms but that small size means you meet people who know people you know. A small size means you can rapidly travel to beautiful scenery outside the city limits. This city seems to repeatedly top polls of the happiest place to live in the UK and we believe it!
While Belfast’s past has all sorts of strife, its population is hopeful! Political agreements, new investment, jobs, tourists in the city and leading world events have brought a sense of expectancy. The city is a cultural and arts hub; it’s a developing centre for film and television with major series filmed in the city. Belfast also boasts many famous sons and daughters in sport, music, TV and film. This optimism is only increased by Belfast’s youthfulness; 42% of Belfast are under the age of thirty.
In Trinity Church we to feel this spirit and yet we recognise that ultimately such hope must be built around loving God and loving people. We want to model that to our city.
If you want to understand some of why cities are such an important part of our thinking please click here.
If you want to understand the importance of a church in Belfast click here.
