Spiritual Formation is at the core of all we do here at Faith Christian School (FCS). Our mission is to lovingly train our students as disciples of Jesus Christ for a life of influence. That happens in the classroom, on the sports field/court, through chapels, and it happens when a student doesn’t make the right decision and needs to be held accountable, then experiences restoration with those he/she has offended.
In Psalm 86:11a, the psalmist writes a prayer: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.” As we endeavor to partner with our parents to train students as Jesus’ disciples, we’re seeking to help them walk in the ways of our Lord God.
WEEKLY CHAPEL SERVICES
Some of the ways we help our students in their walk with the Lord are integrated into each part of their week with us at FCS. Weekly age-appropriate Chapel services include engaging teaching and participatory worship along with a timely message from God’s Word. Elementary students (PreK-5th) take turns leading worship from the stage as an older student guides them in words and motions. Secondary students (6th-12th) have a student-led worship team that selects songs, rehearses, coordinates tech and slides, and lead all of our secondary students weekly.
In elementary chapels, our PreK-5th grade students will begin a 3-year track to go through 100 bible stories, half in the Old and half in the New Testaments. We’ll start in the beginning with Genesis, and in three years, go through to Revelation. Students who are with us during the entirety of their elementary schooling, will go through God’s word twice! We are using a curriculum called The Biggest Story, which incorporates video teaching, Bible lessons, weekly memory verses, and more. Aside from being well written and biblically based, one of the other things we love about their curriculum is that it can be reinforced at home as well as in the classroom. Their website includes parent and family resources like Memory Cards and they even have a weekly Podcast for you to follow along with.
For our secondary chapels, our 6th-12th grade students are going to spend the year learning and experiencing why Jesus is so worthy of our worship. In addition to our guest pastors and speakers, for nearly a dozen chapels, I will look at several different characteristics of Jesus that all portray his kingship and authority. You can see Jesus’ authority throughout all of scripture, but specifically, the Gospel of Mark starts by talking about how people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching because he taught as one who had authority” (Mark 1:21-22). The late pastor and author, Timothy Keller writes about this in his book, Jesus the King: “Mark uses the term authority for the first time; the word literally means “out of the original stuff.” It comes from the same root as the word author. Mark means that Jesus taught about life with original rather than derived authority. He didn’t just clarify something that he already knew, or simply interpret the Scriptures in the way the teachers of the law did. His listeners sensed somehow that he was explaining the story of their lives as the author, and it left them dumbfounded.”
As disciples of Jesus, we’re not only called to acknowledge the authority that Jesus has, but to also step into the authority he gives us. We’re so excited to see how that will play out over this school year as we continue to see how good our God is.
LEADERSHIP TRIPS
All of our students take trips designed to help them grow spiritually, and also relationally, as they get stretched a bit out of their comfort zones.
We’ve partnered with local Christian camps for a day with our younger students to better understand God in His creation, and to worship Him in response. As our students get older, those trips turn into overnight stays with more focus and challenge.
Our secondary students take trips designed to help them grow spiritually and relationally. We partner with Christian camps for day trips to help our students understand God in His creation better and how to worship Him in response. During our day trips, students have the opportunity to hear from a guest speaker, and get out of their comfort zone with outdoor activities that push their physical and mental abilities, as well as small group and personal reflection times.
As our students get older, those trips become overnight stays with more focus and challenge. Our 8th graders go on a 3-day overnight trip to celebrate what God has done in this season of their lives and to acknowledge and prepare for what’s to come as they prepare for high school.
Our freshmen leadership trips focuses on team building and gaining a deeper understanding of each other and through their individual gifts and callings.
Sophomores and juniors take a 3-day retreat to a local christian camp. They are challenged to consider the influence and legacy that they have and will have in their communities.
Seniors spend about a week exploring, experiencing, and celebrating God’s creation in northern Arizona. We partner with Christian ministries in the area to see evidence of ancient people groups, extinct volcanoes, and the Grand Canyon. While touring these sites we spend time getting hands-on experience with
God’s creation as well as the redemption of it.
Each trip builds upon the next equipping our students to step into leadership with a servant’s heart. Through these growth opportunities, our goal is to prepare students to LEAD; to be leaders among their peers, in their homes, communities, and eventually in their workplaces as God calls them.
EAGLE TIME & HOUSE GROUPS
A short amount of time is set apart each day for Eagle Time. Secondary students are divided by house groups with student leaders and staff mentors. These groups are paired with our three guiding values of Love, Learn, and Lead, and are named after our character awards: Barnabas, Peter, and Nehemiah.
Eagle Time is different each day but consistent from week to week. Every Monday students spend time in their House Groups going through character building study. Tuesdays students spend time doing academic touchpoints, Wednesdays students take turns leading devotionals for their fellow students, Thursdays we have Chapel for an extended period of time, and Fridays our Middle School and High School students take time to continue in their student led chapel small groups to further unpack what was discussed in Chapel the day before.
House Groups also are responsible for planning for one Chapel a school year, and they determine who we’ll serve during our FCS Cares Days in the Fall and Spring Semesters. In all, it’s our hope that these House Groups at FCS will foster a deeper FAITH in Jesus, create opportunities for DISCIPLESHIP, and cultivate LEADERSHIP in our secondary students.