Our Founder and History
The late Bishop Wellington Bernard Henderson was born February 1, 1942, to Mr. James and Sittie Mary Henderson in Dumas Arkansas. He attended the public schools in southeastern Arkansas and later graduated from Reed High School. Shortly thereafter, with only twenty-five dollars, a suitcase, and a Bible, given to him by his mother, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri He later
sent for his fiancé, Mary Lee, and they were married in May of 1964. Together they raised four children, and were proud grandparents and great-grandparents. He attended the Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ under the leadership of the late Bishop C. At the age of 23, he received the Holy Ghost while in Sunday School. There he served as Chairman of the Deacon Board and President of the Young People Willing Workers. He later accepted his call to the ministry and served as the Assistant to the Pastor. In 1976, at the age of 34, Elder Henderson said "Yes" to the Lord, to a greater calling to Pastor God's people. On August 1st, 1976, along with his wife Mary Lee, and their four children, he founded Trinity Temple Church of God in Christ. The first church location was at Linwood and Woodland in Kansas City, Missouri. This ministry began with his family of six and one other member. In 1978, the Trinity Temple church moved to 4510 Prospect Avenue. This building had a capacity of 75 people. After four years, the church grew to the maximum capacity of this location. He faithfully picked the children up each Sunday morning as he drove nearly 20 miles from the church to gather them. Four years later, in 1982, Elder Henderson stepped out on faith again and purchased another edifice for Trinity Temple. This property was located at 7230 Prospect Avenue. It was at this location that the Lord blessed the membership to grow in excess of 300 members. As the ministry continued to grow, Elder Henderson led the church into fellowship with the Missouri Western Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church Of God In Christ under the leadership of the late Bishop E. Pastor Henderson faithfully served the jurisdiction as an Administrative Assistant to the Bishop as well as leading the department of Sunday School as the State Superintendent. In 1990, at the age of 48, the Lord blessed Trinity Temple to purchase 33 acres of land in Grandview, Missouri. The church broke ground in 1992 on that land, which would later become the first "temple". The first service at this location was held on July 4th, 1993. As the Lord continued to expand the membership of the church, Pastor Henderson, now 58 years old, was led by the Lord to lead the church in a massive building expansion project in January of 2000. This temple is the present sanctuary that the saints worship in today. On February 20th, 2002, Pastor Henderson was officially consecrated to the office of Bishop and was duly installed as the Prelate of the Missouri Western Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ. Bishop Henderson had a vision and plan to satisfy the debt of the new church construction as well as to build senior citizen housing. In the summer of 2008, the mortgage of Trinity Temple had been paid in full and construction of the senior citizen housing was near completion. Praise the Lord for the vision and the visionary. Bishop Wellington Bernard Henderson passed from labor to reward on January 26, 2009.
