March 2026
Kia ora e hoa, hello friend! Ngā mihi o te tau hou — Happy New Year and warm greetings! It’s hard to believe March has arrived already. I hope you and your whānau (family) have had a safe and wonderful start to 2026.
This year marks fifty years since Elevate’s first meeting! Time passes quickly, doesn’t it? Our calendar is full of new initiatives and much-loved favourites — a very fitting way to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.
One of the events I’m most looking forward to this year is National Camp, from 23–26 October. I’m excited for three days of connection, joy, and learning together. My prayer is that it will be a time of deep encouragement for all who attend. I encourage you to save the date for National Camp. Registration information will be sent mid-year via email, our website, Facebook, and promoted in the annual Encourager magazine. Other exciting news is that our Elevate website has recently been upgraded — and it looks amazing!
Our regional groups and branches are well underway planning events for 2026, with many having already held meetings. I am so grateful to our volunteer Ministry Leaders for the time and care they give coordinating their groups. One of my colleagues or I hope to visit each branch this year to connect in person.
You may have heard that our Elevate staff are piloting a new initiative called the Elevate Youth Collective, based at our centre in Onehunga, Auckland. I am excited to see young people belonging and growing together, as well as exploring opportunities to contribute to the local community.
The centre itself has also received some tender loving care in the form of a new front fence!
In January, Elevate partnered with Festival One (a Christian music festival) for a third consecutive year to organise ‘The Soul Lounge’. Thanks to twenty-three generous volunteers, Elevate was able to support forty-six festival-goers with access or mobility needs to attend Festival One.
Image(s) credit @calebjmoody.
Branch events, Festival One, the website upgrade, and improvements to the centre are just a glimpse of what our fiftieth year together as Elevate Christian Disability Trust will hold. While I’ve described many exciting activities, I’m reminded that these events are simply tools — ways of reaching people for Christ and creating opportunities for people with disabilities to lead, belong, grow, and contribute.
One mother of a family who has been involved in Elevate camps for several years, Marilyn, shared this encouraging feedback with our staff in December 2025:
"As things become harder in many different ways and forms, I was thinking today about who I am thankful for (trying to keep positive and not feel down) … and Elevate came into my mind. The work you guys do, the support, and the friendship. Everything you guys do. Even a huge hug without question. So, I want to say thank you.”
I extend Marilyn’s message of thanks to you. Thank you, for your part in creating this impact. I remind each of us that we are not defined by our activities, annual numbers, or programmes (while these can be good things), but by God’s presence in us.
As we mark half a century of Elevate Christian Disability Trust, I am deeply aware of the privilege of helping ensure the Trust continues to outwork our vision for the next fifty years:
“…to see people with disabilities and their whānau (families) leading, belonging, growing, and contributing in Christian community and wider society.”
Thank you for the part you have played in our fifty-year journey to date. We are able to commemorate fifty years of Elevate because of each person's contributions (past and present). Thank you for trusting that God would use your contributions for His good. I encourage you to consider how you might continue contributing your gifts and talents to this work.
If you're able to give financially to Elevate Christian Disability Trust, I ask that you prayerfully consider supporting the following areas of need:
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Regular giving toward the operational costs of the Trust. We fund these largely through the generosity of private donors, as most grants cannot be used for operational expenses.
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Elevate camps, including Family Camp in June 2026 and National Camp in October 2026. Your support helps cover event costs and enables us to provide subsidized fees for individuals and families.
I also welcome your prayer for the Trust, including provision for operational expenses and Elevate camps. Prayer has always been — and continues to be — the backbone of Elevate. I know God continues to guide us, and I trust in His plan.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Elevate Christian Disability Trust through your prayer, skills, time, and generosity. I am deeply grateful.
Nāku noa, nā
(Yours sincerely)
Kirsty Armitage, National Director
Elevate Christian Disability Trust
