Trinity's History

The history of Trinity Episcopal church parallels the growth of The Woodlands township. George Mitchell, an Episcopalian from Houston and developer of The Woodlands, encouraged Bishop Milton Richardson to charter a church in Grogan’s Mill, the oldest village of The Woodlands. The diocese selected Fr. Robert Gibson, then Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, to lead the formation and growth of the mission. The diocese purchased a vicarage in 1976, and Fr. Gibson oversaw Trinity’s early growth with support from local Episcopalians and Woodlands residents.

 

Trinity held its first service on Thanksgiving 1976 and was accepted as a Mission of the Diocese of Texas in January 1977. As Trinity grew, finding new space was critical - and with parishioner donations, support from the diocese, and fervent prayer, we purchased our first building at 3333 S. Panther Creek Drive in 1978. This was our facility until 2000, when Trinity moved to its current location at 3901 S. Panther Creek. Our current building was purchased from The Woodlands Methodist Church. Shortly after purchasing the campus, Trinity was affected by the split of Episcopal churches ongoing in Texas and nationwide. Some parishioners, and the church’s rector, chose to join the Anglican Mission in America. This was a challenging period in our history, but Trinity emerged from that period stronger than ever.

 

Today, Trinity Episcopal Church has grown to become one of the larger churches in the diocese, with 1,363 families and average Sunday attendance of 294 in person and 140 online. Trinity’s annual budget for 2025 is 1.8 million.