Each year someone asks a simple question: Why Truth & Liberty?

So, why do we gather together for this event each year?

At its heart, Truth & Liberty is an opportunity for our community to come together and be encouraged by those who have lived courageously, thought deeply, and served faithfully. Each year we invite a speaker whose life reflects the kind of faith we seek to cultivate in our students. These men and women have lived out their commitment to Christ in the public square, in leadership, in service, the arts, and in devotion to the Lord.

Their stories remind us of something important: the truths we teach our children are not simply ideas to be learned. They are truths meant to be lived.

For centuries Christians have understood that what we believe about the Lord shapes how we live in the world. When we trust God and submit our lives to His Word, it changes how we think, how we serve, and how we pursue what is good, true, and beautiful. That way of life produces something remarkable—true liberty, the freedom that comes from living faithfully before God or as we say Coram Deo.

That vision is at the heart of a classical Christian education. At Covenant, we are committed to forming students who love truth, pursue goodness, and delight in beauty because they first love the Lord. Truth & Liberty provides a moment each year when we pause together to celebrate that vision and to be encouraged in it.

The evening also allows us to connect with the broader Columbia community. Many people attend because they admire or know our guest speaker. Yet in coming to hear them, they also encounter something else, they encounter a community committed to shaping the hearts and minds of children in Christ.

Often guests discover that a school like Covenant even exists for the first time that evening. They see our students, hear their music, experience their learning, and witness the fruit of a Christ-centered classical education. Time and again we see people leave encouraged and hopeful, sometimes even realizing that this is the kind of education they desire for their own children or grandchildren.

The evening unfolds in a way that reflects the life of a Christian community. We gather around tables. We share a meal. We pray, we converse, and we celebrate the good work God is doing among us.

What is important to culture is expressed and reflected in its art and music. This is why the evening includes our Rhetoric and Logic students blessing us with song and then there is one of evening’s highlights art auction, where each class contributes a piece of artwork created together. These pieces of both art and music are beautiful expressions of the imagination and craftsmanship that flourish when students are formed to love what is good and beautiful.

The art auction also provides one of the ways our community participates in supporting the mission of the school.

Truth & Liberty is not only a celebration. It is also an opportunity to strengthen the work happening at Covenant.

For more than a decade, the ticket price for this event has remained almost the same price. That consistency means the ticket price has not kept up with the rising costs of hosting the event itself. In reality, the ticket you purchase simply helps cover the cost of the evening so that the school is able to host the event without diverting funds from other needs. In other words, when you purchase a ticket, you are helping ensure that the event pays for itself.

The opportunity to support the school comes primarily through the art auction and the donations given that evening. Those contributions help us move toward our goal for the night.

This year our goal is $25,000.

That support matters for very practical reasons. Covenant is blessed to meet on a beautiful campus generously hosted by North Trenholm Baptist Church, yet the costs associated with operating and leasing that space continue to increase. In fact, the projected facility expenses for the coming year will rise significantly almost doubling in price.

At the same time, Scripture reminds us that the laborer deserves a fair wage. Covenant is deeply blessed with teachers who love the Lord and faithfully devote themselves to the work of shaping young hearts and minds. Their commitment is evident every day in the classroom.

It is a testament to their calling that they serve so faithfully.

But we also have a responsibility as a community. We must ensure that we do not take advantage of that devotion. Covenant is committed to caring well for our teachers, and we must continue working toward paying them more fairly for the faithful work they do.

Covenant does not charge families the full cost of educating a child. Instead, we rely on the generosity and partnership of God’s people to stand in the gap between tuition and the true cost of providing a Christ-centered classical education.

Truth & Liberty is one of the ways our community helps do that.

This year we look forward to hearing from retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, whose life of service and leadership reflects the very qualities we seek to cultivate in our students. We trust his words will both encourage and challenge us as we continue the work God has given us.

At the moment, only two tickets remain for this year’s event. If you are able to join us, we would be delighted to welcome you.

Come enjoy a delicious meal. Share in exceptional fellowship. Be encouraged and challenged by Colonel West. And join us in supporting the work of Covenant Classical Christian School as we seek to raise up a generation who live courageously, think deeply, and serve faithfully.

Even if you are unable to attend, you may still contribute to the mission of the school through a donation.

We pray the Lord will use this evening to strengthen our community, to encourage our work, and to continue forming students who love Christ and serve Him faithfully in the world.

Patsy Hinton
Headmaster

Line upon line, for the glory of God