Missions
-
Community Outreach
-
Mission Trips
-
Zoe Empowers
Community Outreach
-
![]()
Food4Kids Delivery
Food4Kids is a non-profit in Gainesville, FL whose mission is to identify…
-
![]()
Monthly Mobile Food Pantries
We host three monthly mobile food pantries per month…
-
![]()
Bags of Grace
Bags of Grace is our tangible ministry of love to make a small difference to homeless folks in our community….
-
![]()
Family Promise
Family Promise is a nonprofit organization created to provide shelter and comprehensive support to homeless families with children….
Community Outreach
-
We host three monthly mobile food pantries per month: one on the first Thursday at Celebration United Methodist Church(drive up), the second Thursday of every month in the Majestic Oaks Apartment complex (walk up), and the third Wednesday at our NW campus(drive up; use west entrance closest to 43rd Ave). All are at 10:30 AM, although we recommend arriving early since it’s first come, first served. This ongoing mission provides fresh meat, produce, and bakery items to families in need. Please contact Kelly if you’d like to volunteer.
-
Family Promise is a nonprofit organization created to provide shelter and comprehensive support to homeless families with children. Four times a year for one week, we provide dinners to the families receiving shelter services from Family Promise.
-
Want to help families in our community? Trinity is working with Partnership for Strong Families with a site called CarePortal to help notify community members who may be able to assist those in need (for example: a washing machine or bike for transportation). When you sign up, you are simply opting in to get email notifications of a true need that has been determined by an agency case manager. There is no obligation. Here is a short video explaining how CarePortal works. If you'd like to sign up to receive CarePortal notifications about needs in our community, please sign up here.
-
The food drive has begun! Help us feed 1200+ families. Please place donations in a blue bin in the Ed. Bldg. or narthex by Nov 16. We need: corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, stuffing, instant potatoes, gravy, brownie mix, and $15 grocery gift cards.
Tote-A-Turkey: In addition to non-perishable food, we also need frozen turkeys. We will accept turkeys from Nov 14-19 and they can be placed in the coolers next to the refrigerated trailer by the kitchen loop.Important Note: Every family that receives a Thanksgiving basket is referred by a different local community agency in Gainesville, Florida. While Trinity collects the food donations, we do not participate in the referral process and do not decide who receives a basket. If you are in need of a Thanksgiving basket and are receiving services from a local agency, please contact that agency to see if they are a part of the Thanksgiving Basket program.
-
Every month we are collecting supplies and items needed by an organization in our community to help others.
You can find this month's information in the Tuesday Word and on the bins themselves.
We respectfully ask that you only donate the items that we are specifically collecting.
-
Food4Kids is a non-profit in Gainesville, FL whose mission is to identify chronically hungry children throughout the community and provide them with food and vital resources on a regular basis.
We support this organization by delivering food to area Elementary schools and food sorting events and opportunities.
-
Bags of Grace is our tangible ministry of love to make a small difference to homeless folks in our community. Specifically, it is a bag of toiletries and other basic necessities to keep in your car and hand out as you see fit. These bags are available in the Education Building lobby.
-
Throughout the year we support four schools in Alachua County (PACE Center for Girls, Stepping Stones Preschool, Talbot Elementary, and Rawlings Elementary) with expressions of gratitude for teachers and staff in the form of school supplies, gift cards, notes of encouragement, and more.
We’re always looking for folks to be our school liaison, to help coordinate back-to-school notecards, or drop goodies off to teachers and staff.
Upcoming Mission Trips
-
Join us for a mission trip to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, working with the Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya (ODIM). Activities include installing safe stoves, supporting community initiatives, and participating in health and education projects. Medical/dental clinic volunteers need experience; stove installers will receive on-site training. Contact Kelly for more details or to sign up.
-
October 17-24, 2026
-
The trip costs $1,800, with 7 spots left.
Join Us for an Inspiring Trip to Tanzania
Please join us June 10 - 21, 2027 to visit our Zoe Empowerment groups in Tanzania. The Tanzania trip includes visits with Zoe groups in various years of the program, local cultural experiences and shopping, and a safari in the Ngorongoro Crater. Come witness firsthand how fellow mission team members provide an extended family within their communities and how group projects and businesses are helping them to thrive in the midst of adversity. The trip is $1,700 plus flights, but we are working on ways to try to reduce that for those who are interested but might be unable to finance the whole trip. The fee covers all in-country transportation, meals, accommodations, travel insurance, and included excursions where possible. For more information, see the attached travel packet and contact Kelly Ping if interested.
Disaster Response
Our Early Response Team (ERT) is a team of trained Servant Volunteers by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
ERT's help with specific needs after a disaster: cleaning out flood-damaged homes, removing debris, placing tarps on homes, and other tasks, while providing a caring Christian presence. Participants learn the basics of disaster response, including how to stabilize and secure homes safely, and how to work effectively with survivors and others on the response team. For more information on how to get involved, contact Kelly Ping.
Zoe Empowers
For vulnerable youth (where children are the head of household), life revolves around survival. They quit school to find work. When $1/day doesn’t feed their family, they beg, steal, or starve. Exploited, abused, and sick, they lose hope, battling a cycle that is unfixable by relief-based aid or foster care systems that lack resources. Through a three-year, locally-led program, vulnerable youth are organized into groups of 60-100 and receive micro-grants, life skills, and vocational training to become secure, healthy, and connected community members.
We have seen first-hand the wonderful work that Zoe Empowers is doing to help empower vulnerable youth to overcome extreme poverty for good. Here is information on the incredible kids that we are supporting.
-
Urumuri "Light" Bweramana
Location: Rwanda
Time frame: July 2023 - June 2026
Families: 26
Total Children: 94
-
Ikerekezo "Vision" Musha
Location: Rwanda
Time Frame: May 2024 - April 2027
Families: 25
Total Children: 91
-
Baraka “Blessing” Nakitun
Location: Juba County, South Sudan
Time Frame: January 2025 - December 2027
Families: 25
Total Children: 88
-
Grace
Location: Arusha, Tanzania
Time Frame: January 2025 - December 2027
Families: 23
Total Children: 85
We know that as disciples we are called to do justice and care for the vulnerable, locally and globally. So when we encounter injustice, we are moved to both compassion and action.
We invite you to join us by volunteering to serve in any of our programs below.
The Facts
-
In 2022 natural disasters displaced 3 million Americans, including 1 million in Florida alone.
-
In 2021, Alachua County had a 11.1% food insecurity rate, higher than Florida’s 10.6% state average.
-
Economically disadvantaged students are 14.2% less likely to graduate from high school in Alachua County.
