Distinguished Alumnus Award

Award stories by Teresa (Bilyeu ’84) DeVries

As founder and executive director of the most respected relief agency in the country of El Salvador, Missionary Don Triplett ’74, is the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Don and his wife, Terri, were appointed as Assemblies of God World Missionaries in 1987. Soon after, they founded King’s Castle Compassion Ministries, an evangelistic outreach program combined with humanitarian efforts.

From its beginning in San Salvador, the nation’s capital, King’s Castle now has ministries in 29 countries in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia and in the U.S. and Canada. Through combined efforts of U.S. short-term missionaries and national lay ministers, more than 100,000 nationals in El Salvador and over 80,000 nationals in Nicaragua are being ministered to each month.

King’s Castle Ministries focuses on four core values: evangelism, discipleship, missions and compassion. Don says, “I am thankful to Evangel for helping prepare me for the broad ministry God has called me to lead.”

King’s Castle Ministries include feeding programs, medical and dental clinics, K-12 schools, Kids’Castle Clubs, Last Harvest armadas for youth, coffee groups for adults, and disaster relief.

The son of longtime missionaries Loren and Millie Triplett, Don grew up in Nicaragua. In the late ’60s, he served in the Vietnam War as a sergeant and paratrooper, earning the Bronz Star.

“Straight from combat I moved into the residence hall to make my adjustment back into society,” he said. “ I loved my classes and my professors who helped me get my focus on life back in perspective. They taught me the greatest lesson of all—integrity.”

Don earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Evangel in 1974 and a master’s in guidance and counseling from Missouri State University in 1976.

The Tripletts have three daughters, Michelle Wellborn ’99, Kim Sobey ’06 and Lizzy Triplett, who also attended Evangel.