What is Trinitas?
Trinitas
A two-year journey for men and women who long to host the Presence of God, and to guide others to do the same.
Trinitas brings together the best of the three great streams of historic Christianity, evangelical, catholic, and charismatic, for a full-bodied, joyful experience of the Triune God. Together, we train practitioners who are:
Rooted in Scripture
Committed to the authority of Scripture, approaching the Bible for transformation.
Ancient in Practice
Drawing on the church’s Great Tradition and time-tested practices for any season of life.
Immersed in the Presence
Expectant for the Holy Spirit to lead into the truth that sets us free.
Why Trinitas?
Well, first off, what is spiritual direction, anyway? The idea of having a friend of your soul, whose job it is to listen both to you and to God with you, stretches back into some of the earliest years of Christian practice. Men and women, longing to hear and encounter Jesus, left the noisy and often opulent cities of the Roman Empire seeking places of prayer and solitude in the desert. They lived simply, prayed fervently, and contended for the freedom of their own souls from selfishness, rage, and fear. Pretty soon, word got out about those men and women, and other individuals longing to hear from God in the midst of their own chaos traveled from miles around to receive counsel and prayer. Some went on with their lives, enriched for having been near someone who took the time to listen and pray, and some stayed on in the desert, forming places of community and prayer.
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since those early days in the desert, but the heart cry in humans—especially humans in the midst of suffering, anxiety, and troubling times—to hear from and experience God is just as urgent and real now as it was in the ancient Roman Empire. In an age of unprecedented noise, loneliness, and distraction, God is forming individuals who have set their hearts, minds, and bodies to hear from him, and to help others to do the same. To have a spiritual director is to have a friend and wise guide on your journey towards and with God. A spiritual director has received a call to be a companion to men and women who thirst for greater freedom, healing, and deeper connection with the living God—not just on one day of the week, or in specific times of prayer, but throughout the fullness of life: in singleness or marriage, raising small children or enduring seasons of barrenness, growing, learning, delighting, suffering, and dying.
Our need for being seen by someone else in our places of greatest shame, sin, and desire for God is part of what makes us human, made in God's image. Even before the Fall, there was one thing that God said was not good: a human being, alone. Not alone from God—our first parents experienced fellowship with God unmarred by sin—but alone from other humans. This is part of what it means to be made in the image of God, who is a Trinity: a communion of persons.
And this is what it is to be a spiritual director: to intentionally and regularly come alongside other humans, facilitating intimacy with God through being seen, heard, and guided by another human.
Trinitas is unique in that each of the three “streams” of Christianity is present in our approach to hearing God. We are committed to the entire canon of Scripture as the inspired word of God, we embrace and practice the gifts of the Holy Spirit for discernment, healing, and freedom, and we learn from the ancient wisdom and practices of Christian men and women who have come before us in our practice of spiritual disciplines and sacramental life.
We would love to hear where you are on your own journey with God, and help discern with you whether you might be called to take up the practice of spiritual direction, either for yourself as a recipient, or on behalf of others as a spiritual director. It is a joy to be a part of your story, and to hear together what God is speaking in this season of your life. May God bless you as you seek him, and learn what it is to know and be known.
Co-founder & director, Trinitas
Formed to listen. Equipped to guide.
Learn to hear and respond to the voice of Jesus, minister the Gospel of the Kingdom through healing and deliverance, and join heaven and earth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
- Formation and apprenticeship to Jesus
- Restoring the imago Dei
- Knowing your story
- Growing self-awareness and awareness of others
Holy Listening & Discernment
- Awareness of God and enjoying the Trinity
- Engaging the holy imagination
- Going beneath the surface
- Befriending the Holy Spirit and his gifts
Seasons of the Soul
- Ignatian spirituality
- The dark night of the soul
- Christian saints, monastics, and mystics
- The Song of Songs
Rhythms & Practices
- Praying the hours and the daily examen
- Silence, solitude, and contemplative prayer
- Lectio and Visio Divina
- Fasting and sabbath delight
Encounter Through the Seasons of Life
- Singleness, marriage, and parenting
- Death and dying well
- Journey vs. destination
- Suffering and faith
Whole Person & Wholistic Encounter
- The body, mental health, and emotional maturity
- Exorcism, deliverance, and memory healing
- Biblical anthropology
- Pastoral theology and hosting the Presence
Two years. One cohort.
Your cohort journeys together from the first residency to commissioning.
- June 10–13, 2026Year 1 · Residency one
- January 13–16, 2027Year 1 · Residency two
- June 9–12, 2027Year 2 · Residency three
- January 2028Year 2 · Residency four
- June 2028Commissioning worship service
Before you begin
Trinitas builds on the Encounter Culture pathway:
- EncounterGod Weekend
- EncounterLife Cohort
- EncounterEquip prayer ministry training
- EncounterGod Weekend apprenticeship as a prayer minister
Haven’t finished them all? Complete any remaining steps within your first six months.
Invest in a lifetime of holy listening
All fees are non-refundable. Books and travel are not included. Pay in full one month before the first residency, or monthly by ACH or credit card (a small processing fee applies).
Sponsorship & scholarships
Churches can sponsor lay applicants.
Download an example church sponsorship letterPastors and ministry leaders can request support from their governing board or budget Trinitas as continuing education.
Download an example pastor’s request letterColleges & seminaries
Interested in an institutional partnership? Contact andrea@encounterculturene.com.
Your directors
Amy Howard, MDiv
Paula Schrad, MA, LCPC