The origin of St. Stephen Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ (DoC) began in 1900 in an old school near the Trent River by Reverend Abrams Hargett. Services started with only two members, Ms. Sallie Roberson and Ms. Lennie Burney. They were baptized on June 10, 1900. With prayers and faith, the church grew and was full by 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Cox and many others joined at that time. On August 11, 1903, Trustees Jessie Cox, Fannie Green and Martha Brown purchased land in the Hayti Community which has been our home ever since.

St. Stephen was charted on March 29, 1969 into the Goldsboro-Raleigh District Assembly (GRDA) of Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ Incorporated by Bishop E. L. Uzzell. We are still an active member in the GRDA.

St. Stephen has is a church with a strong family heritage. The members preserve the rich family history of the church and can be seen as you notice the stained-glass windows around the church. St. Stephen celebrate our history in April of each year, also October hosts our Homecoming and November recognizes Family and Friends Day.

Over the past 122 years, we have had 15 pastors. Four out of the last five pastors became Bishops. During the tenure of Elder (now Bishop) Ronnie Hood, Hurricane Floyd, also called the Flood of the Century, hit and our church was flooded, as was most of the town of Trenton. The members pulled together to clean and repair damages caused by the flood.

Bishop Hood shared a vision that he had of a new edifice with the members. In April 2002, the vision became a reality and here we are across the street in our new location. Bishop Hood's time here ended in May 2009. In November 2009, we met for the first time, Elder Rodney Duran Parker and First Lady Minister Darlene Williams Parker. Elder Parker was elected as our pastor in May 2010.

This young man came with a head full of ideas for the growth of St. Stephen but he also had to learn the hard lesson of what it's like to pastor folks, mostly his seniors. Being the "new kid on the block" wasn't easy but he was and is resilient. A true man of God, his patience, fortitude and love of God's people, got him through. He needed all of those characteristics and more because in September 2017, Hurricane Florence devastated our church, community, town and county. 

God sent this young man to St. Stephen because his energy, leadership and vision were needed to help us rebuild. We never stopped having church. He was one of the only pastors who made his way to Trenton to check on not only his members but other citizens in Trenton. His concern took him to the new age of social media and for the first time, some of his members used the internet. Whether a robocall setup by our Secretary, Beverly Hines or going on Facebook to send a short message and words of encouragement during our storm, Elder Parker showed us how much he cared about us.

While rebuilding, we took up residence at New Deliverance Missionary Baptist Church located in the Masonic Building on Highway 41. We couldn't allow the flood to stop us from worshiping and serving God or His people. God made a way just like He did with the two fish and five loaves of bread. Elder Parker was elevated to the office of Bishop and consecrated in February 2019. He serves as Bishop's Vice of Goldsboro-Raleigh District Assembly. Minister Darlene became Elder Darlene. God was restoring what we had lost and blessing us with more.

We moved back into our sanctuary in January 2020.

In March 2020, the world was hit by a plague called COVID-19 and everything was shut down. That didn't stop us either, during that time, our ministries expanded. A new non-profit was born called Jones County Community Hope. It is headquartered across the street in the same location that our old sanctuary was located. The Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina and the Salvation Army of Onslow and Jones Counties, reached out for our assistance to open the Food Bank in Trenton. St. Stephen is the location for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree distribution in December.

Bishop Parker and the members of St. Stephen continue to work and expand God's kingdom just as our ancestors or prior members envisioned. We thank God for people like you to catch our vision. Our history was about God's kingdom. Our present is about God's kingdom and our future is about God's Kingdom.