At The River Academy, our Christian faith is not merely one of many cultural distinctives for our school profile, rather, it is the very heartbeat of who we are and all we do. This is why our students and staff take time to gather together once a week for chapel. For secondary students, this means a thirty-minute midweek meetup each Wednesday morning at 8am to seek the Lord together through singing and Scripture.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of schoolwork and sports and social life, gathering for chapel once a week is an oasis for quieting our hearts and finding refreshment and re-anchoring in the One who gives us truth and life and purpose in all we do. At the River, we don't view chapel as a religious requirement but as a happy huddle in the name and love of Jesus.
In the beautiful gym where we meet, there hang four big, bold banners reminding us of the main distinctives of our school: Christian, Classical, Joyful, Relational. But the truth is that the following three virtues must flow from the first. A passion for sharp-minded lifelong learning, glad-hearted gusto for life, and strong bonds of committed camaraderie—one with another, ultimately flow from the Spirit of God, who made us for such good things, and flow through the saving grace we get in Christ. It is only as fully-alive Christians that we can fully enjoy education classically, joyfully, and relationally.
In distinction from our individual Bible classes, though, chapel time helps us draw near the Fountain of our faith all together, as a body of believers. After all, even in the rhythms of school life, our faith is not walked out in isolation, but together in community. So, each Wednesday morning it is a joy to stand side-by-side and sing together of our hope in Jesus, led by a student worship team. Then we sit together for a brief message from the Bible, given by a staff member, student, or guest speaker. Parents are always welcome and encouraged to attend this special time together.
Practically, it helps our secondary students to see and appreciate one another in this chapel context: all together, side-by-side, singing and praying—not sentence-writing and problem-solving—so that when we are doing those academic activities throughout our classroom hours, it's not just as fellow students but hopefully in the spirit of brothers and sisters in Christ. Gathering corporately to hear reminders from the Bible about things like grace-based forgiveness helps us then walk it out in mutual accountability in the hallways and on the playfield.
The truths we’re reminded of in chapel also come up regularly during our instructional time, either organically in discussion or through intentional integration by the teacher. The overall yearly chapel theme gives a unifying flavor and framework for our fellowship and focus as we follow Jesus through another school year together. The past two years our chapel themes have been “Abide in Christ” and “All Things New.” This year, we’re exploring the relationship between what we believe and how we behave through the theme: BELIEVE - with the L-I-V-E letters lit up to focus on this relationship between what we really believe and how we really live.
Would you join us in praying for our secondary chapel times this year? May they be saturated by the Spirit of God, marked by humble reverence, caring camaraderie and sincere celebration, and may we then walk out well the commands of our king, side by side and bell to bell.
