It’s always easy to know when Trey Novak, Worship Pastor for Bethany Christian
Church’s Princeton campus is in the building – the candy bowl is empty and the air is filled with the quiet humming of a popular worship song. And if you want to talk about travel, disc golf, or even nothing in general, Trey is your guy.
A native of Leopold, Indiana, Trey came to Gibson County as a student at Oakland City University, graduating with a degree in worship arts in 2020. His degree path is right in line with his upbringing: he grew up traveling with his grandparents and parents as part of a southern gospel group. While Trey’s mom worked through the week as a preschool teacher and his dad worked as a machinery operator, weekends were spent traveling to churches to sing. The lifestyle didn’t lend itself to being part of a home church, but at a revival when he was just 16, Trey knew that he was called to a life in ministry whether he wanted it or not.
Trey’s training through OCU included an internship at large church in Nashville, TN with ”high energy performance worship,” and somewhat counter to the more authentic worship style that Trey brings to Bethany. After graduation in 2020, he started working with a church in Oakland City helping with their online presence during COVID and leading worship and youth.
It was at the encouragement of Josh Brown, fellow OCU grad and Bethany’s Princeton campus pastor, that Trey interviewed, was hired, and began the process of planting Bethany’s Princeton campus alongside Josh. Eventually Trey and wife Mekayla moved to Ft Branch so they could fully immerse in the Bethany community in Gibson County.
Bethany is just one flavor of ice cream in the huge bowl. We just want to love on people. Nobody is unlovable. I don’t care where you go, I just want you to go – that’s our heart.
As for their new location on Princeton’s downtown square, Trey admits “We didn’t realize when we first started planning in Princeton how important the square is. It was never intentional but God was orchestrating it.” He has been amazed how the building renovation impacted not only the church community but the Princeton community in general as people stop by on any given day to see the improvements.
Like the other members of the Bethany team, Trey recognizes that coworking membership at the HUB 127 is about more than a workplace. For Trey, it’s about, “having relationships with people who genuinely care about you and want you to succeed.” Although we don’t get to see Trey and the team as often as we’d like with the opening of their downtown location, they’re always good for a weekly drop-in to visit, share their lives, and hear our stories as well.
If you’d like to learn more about Trey or Bethany Christian Church, visit their website and Facebook page, or check out a service Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. (CST).