ALL IN

Are you ALL IN for God's plan for your life? Thursday, January 5, was an impactful day for SBS middle and upper school as special guest Gian Paul Gonzalez posed that question to more than 700 students, faculty and staff to consider. 

God has used Gian Paul Gonzalez and his mantra of ALL IN to impact professional athletes, Fortune 500 executives and students at hundreds of high schools. Gonzalez is currently the chaplain for the New York Giants, the executive director for Hope & Future Foundation, an adjunct professor at Grand Canyon University and a highly sought-after motivational speaker. He holds all of these roles while still maintaining his original calling as a faculty member at Union City High School in Union City, New Jersey. Gonzalez has presented on a variety of leadership, culture and character topics to the likes of Verizon, PNC Bank, Arsenal Futbol Club, the FBI, the United States Army and PNC Bank. 

In a special Community Chapel with seventh through twelfth graders, Gian Paul Gonzalez shared his testimony to inspire students to go ALL IN for Christ. “Gonzalez challenged our students from God's word to commit to giving everything in all our endeavors. God gave us everything, and our response to that gift is to give back everything we have in worship to Him. This was a timely challenge for our students and faculty as we start a new calendar year together,” said Head of School Jon Konzelman. 

Gonzalez closed by inviting each student to consider what going ALL IN for Christ might mean and to affirm that desire by signing their names on individual tokens as reminders to stay ALL IN.

Hear from our students on the impact this presentation made.

Gian Paul conveyed that in order to be successful in any aspect of our life, we must be ALL IN, whether it be in our spiritual life, relationships, academics, or any part of life where we have set goals for ourselves. By the end of his visit, I learned that God has a plan for all of us, and we should be completely willing to accept His calling. We must be ALL IN to glorify Him. 

- Brant Decker ‘23

ALL IN means doing your best in every situation, even if you don't see the effects right away. To be the best you can be at something, you have to go ALL IN during the easy practices that seem trivial and the hard practices that seem endless. To succeed at something, one must put his or her effort ALL IN and encourage others to do the same.

- Olivia Shoemaker ‘25

Gian Paul Gonzalez's testimony touched me. He shared how God can use anyone to accomplish His mission. Gonzalez's message of humility astounded me. He shared how he never cared for the profit or fame of his success. My favorite words were, "Fame is what you do for yourself. Greatness is what you do for others." Gonzalez truly lived this out in his personal life. To me, ALL IN means fully accepting God's plan for my life. From his talk, I learned the power of saying "yes" each morning and being willing to accept His plan, no matter what lies ahead. Being willing allows you to accept challenges and overtake mountains. Gonzalez was willing, and he used the opportunities he gained to help others. My biggest takeaway was the power of humility.

- Ellie Veeningen ‘24