Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois, is a private, four-year liberal arts college founded in the Reformed tradition.

In the late 1940s, synods of the Christian Reformed Church investigated the desirability of creating junior colleges to complement Calvin College (Michigan). Richard Prince, principal of Chicago Christian High School, and Harold Dekker, of “The Back to God Hour” radio program, led the Chicago effort, and in 1959 the first trustees purchased the Navajo Hills Golf Course in Palos Heights to serve as its site. The constitution drew from those of the Free University of Amsterdam and Calvin College.

Trinity's mission evolved in the ensuing years. It became a four-year college, conferring baccalaureate degrees in 1971, while also creating professional programs in business administration, nursing, and education. Enrollment grew from 37 students in 1959 to over 600 in 1997, shifting from a predominantly Dutch Reformed orientation toward greater ethnic, racial, and sectarian diversity.

Jeffrey Webb