St. John’s mission is to teach students to incorporate faith into daily life and manage their own spiritual well-being as they move toward adulthood. Spiritual well-being includes regular time in the Word, worship, prayer, service, and the support of community.
To do this, students participate in:
- Daily devotions with their teachers and classmates
- Daily incorporation of faith and God’s presence in their classes
- Weekly chapel services
- Eagles in Action Service Projects
- Multiage Chapel families
- Leadership in multiple church services throughout the year
- Community prayer walks
- Prayer Warriors club
Regular time in the Word and in worship: Teachers share devotions, make faith-based connections in content instruction, and pray with their students throughout the day. They also follow a religious education curriculum in daily religion classes. On Wednesdays, the school also participates in Chapel services led by a faculty member or the Pastor. Children in the Early Childhood program have their own special worship services lead by the Early Childhood faculty.
Building relationships: Chapel families connect students from different classes together and give each student a school family to sit with during worship. Each chapel family has at least one seventh and eighth grader and students from each of the other classes as possible. Chapel families eat lunch together once a month and come together for other monthly organized activities throughout the year. Older students have an opportunity to lead and younger students form positive relationships with the “big kids.” This fosters a natural sense of community and encourages an atmosphere of brotherly love.
Prayer: Fostering an active prayer life is another top priority at St. John’s. Teachers regularly accept students’ prayer requests and include students in praying for anyone in need. The school hosts two prayer walks each year within the La Grange community in which teachers and students divide into small groups and pray for their neighbors. In addition, Prayer Warriors club meets every Wednesday before school and offers students an additional time to come together in a small group to learn about prayer and to pray.
Service: Each class designs and carries out a special community service project each year, called Eagles in Action. Students research non-profit organizations and volunteer opportunities, collect the necessary donations and/or funds, and offer their volunteer hours. These special projects open students’ eyes to the needs of others and allow them to contribute to solutions. Students grow closer to each other and connect with others in meaningful ways.
Support of a community: St. John’s Church members can Adopt a Class and contribute to the school in other ways, too. Each class has a congregational sponsor. These sponsors pray for students, visit their classes, attend classroom parties and interact with them in other creative ways. We also have congregational volunteers who actively serve in the library. None of these volunteers have students in the school, but they want to share God’s love with our students through their acts of service.
