Academies Begin New School Year with Spiritual Focus

High school students at Highland View Academy and Spencerville Adventist Academy began the new school year by focusing on strengthening their relationships with God. Both academies held major spiritually-focused events to usher in the new academic year.

Spencerville Academy students participated in their annual spiritual retreat at Mt. Aetna Retreat Center from Aug. 25-27. The theme for the weekend retreat was Philippians 4:13 and included messages from Kenia Reyes, Youth and Young Adult Ministries director for Chesapeake Conference. Students met in “Table Talk” groups after each of Reyes’s messages to share takeaways.

During the weekend, Spencerville students also enjoyed games and activities designed to serve as ice-breakers for making new friends and reinforce the spiritual lessons from each message. One major highlight was an hour students were encouraged to spend alone in nature, reading their Bibles and praying. As part of an altar call on Sabbath evening, the student body came together to commit themselves to Jesus as a group.

Highland View Academy held a week of prayer with guest speaker Gem Castor, prayer coordinator for ASAP Ministries, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. The week of prayer’s theme was “Absolute Reliance.” Throughout the week, HVA students were encouraged to surrender to Jesus daily and to enjoy the practical aspects of coming together in united prayer. Nine students made decisions indicating they wanted to be baptized, and dozens more said they wanted to serve God as missionaries.

Chaplains from both schools emphasized the importance of starting the new school year on a solid spiritual note by drawing students’ attention to the importance of walking closely with Jesus daily.