The Blog

Seniors Prepare to Lead

On Friday, September 19, at seven o’clock in the morning, the class of 2017 loaded the bus for their first event together as seniors. The retreat was at Covenant Cedars, located just outside of Central City. The seniors started their day with prayer, Bible reading and discussions. Not only did the seniors listen to Mr. Gordon Thiessen, Mr. Gib Killion, and Superintendent Josh Cumpston give their wise words to the class, but they also listened to a video of pastor and author David Platt. The students were all greatly impacted by the passionate words of this young pastor on fire for God. After much note-taking, the class headed outside for some activities. There was crate stacking, wall climbing, zip lining, and more.

Not only did the students have a great time participating and challenging things like their balance and stamina, but they also learned valuable lessons along with the activities. With the wall climbing, strength and endurance is required to keep going, just like in our walk with Christ. When we give up half way through, we will never make it. It is not easy, but well worth the reward. In crate stacking, you must keep your balance in order to keep your footing and continue to stack the crates higher. In the Christian life, discipline and cautious movements are what we need to stay on path. Games like these along with many other team building activities gave the students a clear picture of what it takes to be a leader. As Tom Kang (12) stated, “It was a fun time, and I learned a lot about Christian leadership. I liked the outside games and activities, I thought that was fun.” The activities were certainly exciting, but the student were impacted most by what they learned concerning their relationship with Christ and godly leadership in the school.

The class also discussed what kinds of things could make our E-groups (encouragement groups that meet up after chapels and throughout the year) fun, meaningful, and Christ-centered. Sophie Guo (12) said, “I think it was helpful for students to know the word ‘leadership.’ It strengthened the seniors’ friendship and [showed them how] to be good leaders in our school.” Topics discussed here were reaching out to the younger, more shy students, getting together for different games and such outside of chapel, and expressing to your group that they can be comfortable sharing their thoughts without any judgment or criticism.

With the class of 2017 being as social as they are, reaching out to other students and underclassmen won’t be hard. However, there are still things the whole class was challenged to work on and be better at. The majority of the seniors were greatly impacted by this trip and can’t wait to become the best leaders they can be, as well as grow in their own personal walk with Christ.

Above: Senior Katie Entz participates in the crate stacking activity at Covenant Cedars.