Nearly a year ago, I spent my birthday in a boardroom.

I walked into an office with Major Amos Shiels to present a multi-million-dollar naming opportunity for The Salvation Army of Springfield’s Harbor House. While we were strategizing for the meeting, I suggested a bold ask amount grounded in data and giving history, as fundraising professionals do.

Amos had something bigger in mind.

He swings for the fences, trusting God to deliver the outcome, or not, if it is not His will.

As we wrapped up that birthday meeting, I joked that the only gift I wanted was for them to consider our proposal. They did. And later, they said no.

Amos did not lose faith.

When he was first transferred to Springfield, Amos inherited a previously approved capital campaign with an aggressive goal and a great deal of work to do. The project had been discussed for years, and moving it forward required persistence, adaptability and steady leadership. The campaign has faced challenges of every kind. Shifting plans, timelines tightened, invitations declined and expectations tested. Through it all, Amos kept the faith.

“God’s got this.”

Months later, we received a call from that same prospect. He shared that a real estate sale was coming together, and he felt led to give the full amount we had originally asked for to the Harbor House project!

Since then, my colleague and I have adopted using a new phrase anytime we need to believe for something big: faith like Amos.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Harbor House groundbreaking. Standing there, listening to donors and civic leaders talk about the impact of The Salvation Army, I was reminded that moments like this carry a weight that is hard to put into words.

Harbor House will give men a safe place to get their lives back on track. The Food Pantry will help ensure fewer families in Springfield need to wonder where their next meal will come from. Long after the equipment is gone and the ribbon is cut, those doors will keep opening and those shelves will stayed filled, year after year.

This is a project The Salvation Army has been talking about for fifteen years. What once felt distant is now becoming real, not because the path was easy, but because people stayed faithful to the vision and committed to seeing it through.

That kind of faith, faith like Amos, is a clear example of the power of philanthropy. It turns generosity into real impact and long-held hope into lasting change for a community.