During the latter years of World War II, cottage prayer meetings began to erupt throughout local communities. Many people attending (and hosting) these meetings had husbands, sons, uncles, nephews, cousins and friends somewhere in a military service. Several were over seas in hostile areas. The people would get together and pray for their safety and return. When the war ended, many of these simple meetings carried on. From them, many new churches came forth. Such is the story of the church now known as Trinity Holiness Church.

        In February of 1947, S.W. McDonough, having just recently returned to the states after serving in the US Air Force during the war, along with his wife, Mary, was asked to attend a cottage prayer meeting one evening. It was held in a home made of concrete blocks on Rosalie Ave in Gadsden, Alabama. That night, the convicting power of God visited both S.W. and his wife. Kneeling behind the door, using an old cane-bottom chairs as altars, they were both wonderfully, gloriously saved. Revival 'broke out'. A desire to worship the Lord in a permanent place began to grow. The people wanted a place to call "God's House".

       The meetings continued to take place in various homes throughout the winter and into the summer.  S.W. McDonough was able to purchase a plot of property and donated it for the purpose of erecting a church. It was built of concrete blocks. It had pine hardwood floors and rough-cut lumber for the trusses. It was approximately thirty feet wide and forty feet long. It had wood-framed windows that opened for the summer's "air conditioning system" and a pot-bellied stove that supplied the heat during the winter months. The pews were made of slatted wood that would pinch you when you sat. Sorry, no indoor plumbing available!

       As were most church-goers of that day, the denomination was Baptist. The church, newly established in September of 1947, joined the Freewill Baptist Association. The name of the church was Trinity Freewill Baptist Church. It had a number of pastors, one of which was S.W. McDonough, who had accepted the call of God to preach. The church remained an active part of the Freewill Baptist Association until the late 1950's or early 1960's. At that time, the church would send a delegate to the quarterly conferences of the association. At one of these meetings, a decision was made and approved to continue to support a home for children even though the home was bringing 'the world' in by installing televisions. Because of the staunch belief and doctrine that God's people should refrain from worldliness, and because the Freewill Baptist Association, as a whole, was not willing to live by these standards, the body of Trinity Freewill Baptist Church voted to withdraw from the association. It did not change it's name, however, and became an independent church.

       Sunday School rooms and indoor restrooms were added to the church in the mid 1960's. This more than doubled the size of the church. Structural and cosmetic changes continued to take place through the years until 1971, when the first total update took place. New restrooms were added to the front of the church, new lights and ceiling tile installed, new carpet, windows, pews and a pulpit was purchased. Central heat and air was installed, the interior walls were studded and covered with paneling. Not to be forgotten, the exterior also received a new look. The front entrance was floored with marble and walled with stone. Masonite siding was put in the gables and the entire church was bricked. It was a new building altogether!

       In June 1986, the church underwent it's second remodeling. Again, new carpet was put in, fresh paint, new stained glass for the interior windows and padding on the pews. In 1991, half-lots of neighboring properties were purchased in order to expand. Spring of 1993 saw the ground breaking ( the first in almost thirty years) for a new construction, a fellowship hall. 

       In mid-summer 2002, a developer from Chattanooga TN approached the church with a proposal to purchase the church and realty, as well as 105 other parcels in the neighborhood, for the development of a large shopping plaza. Having already considered relocation options, and the steadily declining property value of the area, the church saw this offer as a blessing. Before negotiations started, it was the consensus of the body to re-charter the church with a new name. Even though the church had taken the "Freewill Baptist" portion of it's name off several years earlier, it still had not officially changed it's name. The church was re-established, holding onto it's core values and beliefs, with a new name - Trinity Holiness Church. In November 2003, the church was closed and all the furniture and equipment either sold or put into storage. 

      While attending neighboring churches for services, new properties were sought.  In January 2004, 9.6 acres were purchased, and in February, the ground breaking ceremony was held at the present location. Construction began in April and on October 30th, the dedication service was performed by Rev. Neil Bridges. In July 2005, construction  began on a new fellowship hall. In October, at the Homecoming meeting, it was dedicated. The church continues to grow as the Lord blesses.

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