Our Philosophy of Ministry

Our Mission

Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco as seen from the Marin Headlands. Photo by David Ball.In the Great Commission, the Great King and Head of the church, Jesus Christ, has commissioned his church to proclaim the gospel of salvation throughout the world, making disciples of all the nations, and teaching them to follow Jesus and his commandments. At Trinity Presbyterian Church, we are seeking to fulfill that Great Commission here in Petaluma, in Sonoma County, and throughout the surrounding regions. Globally, we participate in worldwide missions through the work of our denomination’s Committee on Foreign Missions. We are a community of God’s people who seek to worship him and grow together in living out the life-changing message of the gospel.

Our Goals of Ministry

We believe the primary work of the church can be summarized as follows:

  • Worship
  • Evangelism
  • Discipleship

We also believe that the church is called to Diaconal service, where we are “called to show forth the compassion of Christ in a manifold ministry of mercy toward the saints and strangers on behalf of the church” (BCO FG XI).

Our Methods of Ministry

We seek to accomplish the work of the church according to the ordinances given in Scripture. In other words, we believe a healthy church is one that is seeking to grow through the ways in which the Bible tells us we should be growing. In Scripture, we see several of these ordinances, called the “means of grace”, which especially include:

  • Word
  • Sacraments
  • Prayer

We strive to perform ministry using these ordinary means of grace. As we look to be ministering biblically, this means that our work will include “the confession of the name of Christ before men; the exercise of fellowship in encouraging one another; the reading, teaching, and preaching of the Word of God; praying; singing; fasting; administering baptism and the Lord’s Supper; collecting and distributing offerings; showing mercy; exercising discipline; and blessing the people” (BCO FG II).

Our Philosophy of Ministry in Action

We strive to put our philosophy of ministry into action through the various specific ministries of our church. Click here to learn more about the specific things we are doing at Trinity and in Novato.

Further Information

The Book of Church Order (BCO) contains detailed information on the government, discipline, and worship of our church, and is a helpful source of further information on our philosophy of ministry. To download the BCO as an Adobe PDF, click here. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.