Video from EFCA
Trinity City Church exists to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ who join in the renewal of our city and world through the power of the Holy Spirit. This means we seek to partner prayerfully and financially with those who are making disciples of Jesus Christ in our city and in the world.
One of those partners is Patrick Ray who currently serves as pastor of Northside Neighborhood Church in North Minneapolis. We sat down with Patrick to get to know more about him, the context of where he serves, and how Trinity can continue to bless him through prayer and giving.
Patrick Ray.
Trinity City Church: First of all, tell us about your current ministry context. Where are you? What are you doing? How long have you been doing it?
Patrick: I live in North Minneapolis. My wife and I moved here 6.5 years ago. We started our first Bible study 3.5 years ago. Our church is called Northside Neighborhood Church. Our initial team for this church plant were neighbors from our Bible studies and other friends who moved into the neighborhood to help us start the church. We had our first service on March 28, 2021.
One of the first all-church photos captured of Northside Neighborhood Church.
TCC: How did you connect with Trinity? What has your partnership with Trinity looked like? How has Trinity come alongside you and provided help?
Patrick: I went through Hope Community Church's Leadership Development Institute (2014-17). Pastor Bryan Lair would come around for meetings and I always thought he was cool. I don't know, maybe it's the blazers.
Over the last few years, we have gotten to know each other better. He is someone I regularly go to for pastoral advice.
Last year Trinity gave us money, which is of course helpful. Trinity has shown itself to be a wonderful "big brother" church. You even loaned out your baptismal for a baptism service in May. Five people from our church were baptized in the tank that you loaned us!
TCC: That’s awesome. In addition to those baptisms, what fruit have you seen from the Lord in the last few months?
Patrick: We have seen 8 people baptized since May.
We have also started a pastoral apprenticeship program. We currently have one man in the program and another who is moving from Detroit in May. These two men are going through school at Bethlehem College & Seminary in downtown Minneapolis. Our apprentices will also serve the church so they can apply what they are learning in school. One apprentice graduates in May, and the other will start in August and will (Lord willing) graduate in May 2025.
Augustus (holding the microphone) is one of the pastoral apprentices at Northside. “Not only is he learning the ropes of pastoral ministry, but he is also serving as our song leader.”
TCC: What are some of the challenges you have faced in the last few months whether personally or in the ministry or in the community?
Patrick: The violence in our neighborhood feels overwhelming. A sister who is in her 50's and has lived in North for her entire life told me she has never seen it this bad. In the past, shootings have felt more targeted. They have been directed toward specific individuals and have mostly taken place at night. Now, people are shooting at all times of day, with little regard for bystanders. Tragically, we even lost 3 children this summer.
Ten-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr., 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith, and 6-year-old Aniya Allen were all shot in the city. Photo courtesy of KSTP.com.
TCC: What are some of the ways the people of Trinity can help this ministry? Financially or spiritually or otherwise?
Patrick: I believe we need to bring on a pastor who is either from North, or from a context that is similar to North. Both our apprentices could potentially be great fits on our pastoral team. We are hopeful that we will be able to have the funds to bring on another pastor by January 2023. To reach this goal, we are going to need to fundraise for this position. We are going to need some individuals and churches to come alongside us financially.
If you would like to give financially to help Northside Neighborhood Church bring on another pastor, please visit https://www.northsideneighborhoodchurch.com/give.
Patrick Ray with his wife, Shelby.