Since 1974, our mother church, Covenant Presbyterian, has prayed for a church planter in North Lakeland. In Trinity's early days, others joined that prayer. Today, with nearly 120,000 people living in North Lakeland—and only a small fraction of churches located there—the need is clear.

Since 2020, we have explored multiple church-planting candidates and have kept this a priority in our planning and budget. Then, in late January—unsought and unrecruited—God gave us a candidate: Mike and Tiffany Thornhill.

The Thornhill's live in Pinellas County and are members of a sister church plant in St. Pete. Mike, after his conversion, sensed a call to ministry, was ordained as a ruling elder, and recently licensed to preach. Together, they have a deep desire to reach the lost and have been praying to do so within our presbytery.

In God's providence, Mike was temporarily assigned a FedEx route through North Lakeland. As he drove through those neighborhoods, he saw both the growth and the lack of churches. At the same time, their plans to plant in Pinellas fell through. The Lord was clearly redirecting them.

Personally, I see God's gracious timing. Corporately, this is an amazing answer to many prayers.

After thorough conversations and due diligence, our Session voted last week to hire Mike, with a June start date. As a church planting apprentice, he will join our staff, begin building relationships in North Lakeland, and prepare for a future plant. The Thornhills are already looking to relocate there.

Financially, the impact on Trinity is modest, but I wanted to make you aware of any spending not in the 2026 Budget. Mike's total monthly budget is about $12,000, with roughly $3,000 already covered through church planting networks. Trinity will employ him and front the difference, but Mike will be raising all of the needed support. He has already begun that work, including support from his current church.

We are aiming not at a calendar date, but at readiness: a strong core group, full funding, and long-term sustainability. That will take time, and we ask you to understand the process as we walk it together.

This is an enormous answer to prayer. Let's give thanks—and even laugh a bit—at how God works, even when we don't see it coming.

As a congregation, we long not only to sustain ministry but to expand it—to send and to see new gospel communities established. You'll be hearing more from Mike soon, and we hope you'll join us in welcoming the Thornhills and praying for this work.

We have established a designated fund to support this church plant. If you would like to give online, you can do so by clicking here.