>>> TRINITY BRISTOL CHURCH
>>> TRINITY BRISTOL CHURCH
THE ELMGROVE CENTRE, ELMGROVE RD.,
BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM >>>
>>> TRINITY BRISTOL CHURCH
THE ELMGROVE CENTRE, ELMGROVE RD., BRISTOL, UNITED KINGDOM >>>
LEARN ABOUT TRINITY CHURCH
We are an evangelical church in central Bristol that pursues sequential expository preaching with meaningful application. This drives all of our many kinds of ministry.
We’re passionate about seeing the Lord Jesus glorified as his Word the Bible does its work in people. So we make proclaiming God’s Word central to our meetings, depend on Him in prayer, and we model everything we do on what He says. We’re convinced it’s the Word of God that has the power of God to do the work of God in the people of God.
For our ministry as Trinity Church we have…
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Below is a working statement of faith, often used by churches with similar convictions:
There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.
All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.
Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.
The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.
The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.
Trinity Church Bristol began as a small group of Christians who were all struck by the huge number of people in Bristol who aren’t part of a church and haven’t heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bristol needs dozens more Biblical churches, reformed and conservative evangelical in theology, if we want to reach the many thousands who are heading into judgement without Christ.
As our Lord says: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38, ESV).
In July 2017, senior Anglican ministers reviewed our plans and encouraged us to gather a core team to plant a church in 2018. We started as just 4 people meeting in a sitting room, praying with an open Bible. Over time we have grown in number and seen people growing in their faith or putting their trust in Jesus for the first time. It’s a gospel adventure we are still enjoying – do come and join in!
Our church meets at 4pm on Sundays at the Elmgrove Centre, Elmgrove Road, Bristol BS6 6AH to hear from God’s Word, pray, sing His praises, enjoy fellowship with each other and to plan how to reach the city together.
MEET OUR LEADERSHIP
Carl Bicknell
Main Pastor
The church is led by an ordained Anglican minister, Carl Bicknell. Carl started to follow the Lord Jesus while he was a student in Oxford, including a formative time at a student church there. Seeing the power of God’s Word at work in people gave him a heart for long-term pastoral ministry.
He’s since worked at Emmanuel Wimbledon (Cornhill), trained at Wycliffe Hall, and completed a Church of England curacy at St Peter’s, Stapenhill in the Midlands. He’s married to Alex, they have no children but do have a toddler-like cat! Carl is a keen chess and tennis player, but above all he and Alex love opening up the Bible, their home and their lives to people.
Tom Pentland
Assistant Pastor
Tom has had the joy of serving local churches since he gratuated from UoB in 2019. He helps out with Trinity’s regular activites, but he’s happiest when enjoying a good bible study at Housegroup or FOCUS.
He and his wife Charlotte have fond memories the Christan Union, love to host dinners for church family and will never say no to a board game!
Bokman Lee
Elder & Evangelist
Bokman is a Korean missionary who joined Trinity Church in 2018. He serves as an elder and spearheads the evangelistic training for the church family.
Bokman is married to June, and when he’s not playing football with their three boys, you’ll find him striking up a gospel conversation with members of the public.
Rui Shum
Ministry Volunteer
Rui grew up in Malaysia, moved to England to study, and became a Christian soon after. He joined Trinity Church as a UoB student in 2019 and has stuck around since then!
A medical doctor by training, he loves sharing the gospel and digging into God’s Word. This year, he’s paused his medical training to serve full-time.
These are churches and organisations that are supporting us through this period of seeking to gather a core team: