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The theme of this year’s event was “God’s Fellow Workers”, a reference to I Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God brought the growth.” It was with indescribable joy I watched 420 Fellow Workers file into the new Warrior Event Center for our Fall Giving Gala. What a blessing it was to assemble together on the Warrior Way campus with the fellow workers who have planted and watered mightily in order to grow this educational ministry! Based on comments received after the event, it was an evening of encouragement and hope - Praise God!
The program began with a wonderful meal served by our very own Trinity students. They did a fantastic job of service while decked out in logo shirts and sport uniforms identifying the various teams and groups to which they belong. Bravo to all of our student volunteers!
The Gala program featured our students demonstrating the wisdom, character and musical talents they are developing through their parents and partnership with Trinity. The evening began with two poems and two songs from Mrs. Shelabarger’s Kindergarten class. Suffice it to say the cuteness meter was off the chart as they demonstrated their joyful and unique God-given ability for memorization.
We were thrilled to welcome Mrs. Cannon’s 7th grade string group - “Arioso” to the stage. They beautifully performed two musical pieces to an appreciative audience.
Continuing the journey through the students' classical Christian experience, we heard from two of our seniors. Sadira Newell and Abigail Gorden shared what God has placed on their hearts for their senior thesis - a capstone project at Trinity.
Having nearly completed their classical training in literature, Latin, Bible, history and rhetoric our seniors eloquently exhibited wisdom, virtue and Christ-centered hearts. Make a note, you will want to join us next spring to hear their completed thesis presentations and those of our other 26 seniors. Thank you Sadira and Abigail for sharing your hearts with us!
This year’s special guest speaker was David Goodwin, classical Christian headmaster, board member, and co-author of the book, “The Battle for the American Mind.” Mr. Goodwin shared insights from his book about the heritage of our “Christian Paideia” (Christian culture); the impact of removing this Paideia from education and how classical Christian education is vital to fully equipping our children in order to stop losing them to secular culture. Mr. Goodwin wrapped up by reporting that classical Christian schools are growing exponentially across the nation and encouraged the audience that by giving their time, talents and treasures they can be part of this movement.
Gala attendees previewed a new video of students and alumni sharing their testimonies about what God is showing them through Trinity service projects. What a blessing to hear these stories and the reminder that Trinity students are not only developing wisdom and virtue, but hearts that desire to show Christ’s love in a practical way through service. Look for this video on our website soon!
Mr. Kyle Maestri, Headmaster, wrapped up the evening providing an update on Trinity’s "Great Expectations Campaign." Mr. Maestri praised God and His fellow workers who walked faithfully with us during Phase I of the campaign. An update regarding Phase II included a reminder of the key goals: Invest in our Faculty, Grow our Programs and Build our New Campus.
Mr. Maestri highlighted the next construction step. Our new Children’s Building will enable us to unite our two campuses and allow us to admit up to 300 more students. Showing a picture of some current Trinity students, Mr. Maestri ended with the question, “who will they become?”
Before inviting attendees to prayer about what God might have them do, Mr. Maestri announced that just prior to the Gala, an anonymous couple provided a $500,000 matching gift to challenge attendees. How incredible! God’s fellow workers showed up and gave over $408,000 in one-time gifts, monthly commitments and pledges! The total of the evening's gifts equal $816,000! Our God is SO good!
Your generosity has moved the needle significantly toward our goal of $5 million dollars. At that amount, we will break ground on the Children’s Building. Giving to-date is now $2,116,000 - nearly half-way there!
If you were unable to attend and would like to help us raise the additional $84,000 to secure the total matching challenge gift, you can do so at: https://www.trinitychristianaz.com/donate.
Thank you for investing in our faculty, our growth and the lives of our students. We pray for God's continued blessing on all of His “Fellow Workers”!
Mark Timm
Advancement Director