Filled With Hope
Last month, Principal Josh Peel stood before the student body with an awful lot of coins.
The curious students looked on as their new principal showed them the first quarter, nodding along as he pointed out that it was worth just 25 cents. But the quarters kept coming, stacks and stacks of them.
Before their very eyes, Josh’s stash of quarters grew to be worth one hundred dollars. He explained that when you are saving up for a big purchase, you are hopeful that you will save enough. Even starting out with just a small amount, hope is what makes you keep saving and growing your piggy bank.
And so began this year’s chapel theme: “Filled with Hope,” inspired by 1 Peter 1:3: “Praise be to God … He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Each month will see a focus on a different aspect of hope. September covered Jesus as the giver of hope. October’s focus is on hopeful endurance, as in Romans 5:3-5. Josh says this scripture reminds us that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces hope.
“It’s never easy to say trials give us encouragement,” said Josh. “But amidst our trials, we can have hope, which gives us the ability to endure.”
Josh says he always tries to gauge how effective the chapel messages were in the days following chapel. Mrs. Julie Ball has already reported great engagement with her first grade class on the topic of hope. She said the youngsters all had thoughts and questions to share after chapel, and she is more than happy to discuss these with them.
Josh has a variety of guest chapel speakers and activities lined up for the students, and he looks forward to seeing the students develop “grit” as the year progresses.
“I think we’ll see in the classroom more and more that they’re motivated by hope,” said Josh.
“We’re in a season of change, and it’s easy to get discouraged. I hope students will grow their sense of grit and grow their sense of who Christ is.”
The curious students looked on as their new principal showed them the first quarter, nodding along as he pointed out that it was worth just 25 cents. But the quarters kept coming, stacks and stacks of them.
Before their very eyes, Josh’s stash of quarters grew to be worth one hundred dollars. He explained that when you are saving up for a big purchase, you are hopeful that you will save enough. Even starting out with just a small amount, hope is what makes you keep saving and growing your piggy bank.
And so began this year’s chapel theme: “Filled with Hope,” inspired by 1 Peter 1:3: “Praise be to God … He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Each month will see a focus on a different aspect of hope. September covered Jesus as the giver of hope. October’s focus is on hopeful endurance, as in Romans 5:3-5. Josh says this scripture reminds us that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces hope.
“It’s never easy to say trials give us encouragement,” said Josh. “But amidst our trials, we can have hope, which gives us the ability to endure.”
Josh says he always tries to gauge how effective the chapel messages were in the days following chapel. Mrs. Julie Ball has already reported great engagement with her first grade class on the topic of hope. She said the youngsters all had thoughts and questions to share after chapel, and she is more than happy to discuss these with them.
Josh has a variety of guest chapel speakers and activities lined up for the students, and he looks forward to seeing the students develop “grit” as the year progresses.
“I think we’ll see in the classroom more and more that they’re motivated by hope,” said Josh.
“We’re in a season of change, and it’s easy to get discouraged. I hope students will grow their sense of grit and grow their sense of who Christ is.”
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