About Us
In the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred eighty four, the Holy Spirit
instilled a dream in the hearts of two
lowly servants, John and Martha McCarroll.
With acceptance and faith, this young couple
cherished and nourished the dream of founding a
church. They depended solely on the Word
of God and the promises it holds. Though
faced with the principalities of hell, they
overcame every obstacle through the power of the
Holy Spirit and held on in faithful obedience to
the dream God had given them.
At God's appointed time,
life came to the seed and it began to grow as
the Lord sent wisdom, workers, and worshipers.
Individuals and families, though sparse at
first, united in purpose and formed a small
congregation. They painstakingly cleaned
and painted a dilapidated old storefront
building in the west end of Coeburn, Virginia.
Although the conditions were far less than
ideal, they rejoiced and thanked the Lord as
they held the first official worship service as
"Trinity Life Center Church" on November 18,
1984.
Under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit and through trust in an Omnipotent
God who can do everything, this little church
grew in leaps and bounds. They were true
to God's purpose. With giving hearts they
began to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus
Christ, "Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark
16:17)
Soon they purchased an 18
acre tract of land in Tacoma which housed a
massive garbage dump. They were reminded
of the prophet Nehemiah when God placed the seed
of a dream within his heart. Nehemiah
looked at the garbage and rubble of the walls of
Jerusalem and boldly declared, "Ye see the
distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth
waste, and the gates thereof are burned with
fire: come let us build up the wall of
Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach."
(Nehemiah 2:17)
Like the people of
Nehemiah, Pastor John and Pastor Martha's
congregation heard the call but faced the
reality that redeeming this land for the Lord
was more than human hands could do. Yet
never doubting that God would lend the hands of
Deity, they responded as had their Bible
counterparts, "Let us rise up and build.
So they strengthened their hands for this good
work." (Nehemiah 2:18)
So many people came to
give of themselves that there is not enough
space here to mention all the names. They
came with one desire - to give, asking for
nothing in return. They brought their time
and talents, knowledge and skills, and resources
and encouragement, in order to redeem the land
for the Lord. And redeemed it was!
In October of 1987,
construction began, and by Good Friday, April 1,
1988, the church family moved in and settled
down in the far-from-finished facility.
Among shouts of celebration and tears of
gratitude, they washed one another's feet,
remembering a bowed figure with towel in hand
and hearing the echoes from centuries past,
"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed
your feet: ye also ought to wash one another's
feet." (John 13:14)
Growth and outreach
steadily progressed. The building had to
grow with the church it housed. An
"Olympic Wing" was added and faithful to His
word, God filled it.
Today Pastors John and
Martha McCarroll, along with those "sparse few",
are joined by over 200 others who travel
regularly from every town in Wise County, the
region, and even out of state for the
opportunity to worship in an atmosphere of
"spirit and truth". As one evangelist
stated, "Brother John, you have a beautiful
church...and the building isn't bad either."
How aptly put, for this warm and welcoming
congregation is, in reality, a simple fellowship
of believers, interdenominational, who hold that
the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
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