School Spotlight: Chapel
Part of Pathway Christian Prep Academy’s vision is “to be an educational community that develops, grows, and empowers the next generation to have a godly impact on the world around them.” As a Christian school that seeks to engage students in meaningful spiritual development across all grade levels, one of the highlights of this program is chapel.
Students have live chapel and Bible classes regularly where they get to engage in God’s word, with each other and their teachers. PCPA teacher staff facilitate meaningful discussions and allow for foundational growth of a Biblical worldview starting from Kindergarten. Chapel has easily become one of our student body’s favorites because students get face-to-face time together in a fun, safe environment.
This week I’m going behind-the-scenes into our school’s chapel program for grades K-12! I invite you to join me in a day-in-the-life as a PCPA student. Questions that will be answered are: what do the students do in chapel meetings? How often does chapel happen? What kind of chapel activities can students participate in when everything is online over zoom?...and more!
ELEMENTARY CHAPEL
PCPA elementary students have live Bible class and chapel every week. The Awana curriculum used allows students to get an overview of the entire Bible within a school year. Topics included are: the beginning (creation), the patriarchs (this year’s focus on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Esau, Joseph), book of Exodus, the promised land, book of Kings, the gospel, arrival of Jesus, and Jesus’ ministry.
Each week, students are taught a specific Bible story in class and tie it in with a big idea, memory verse, and a game, while making time to discuss and pray over that week’s topic.
Following weekly Bible class, elementary students gather together over zoom with other grades and their teachers for a fun-filled time of review, games, and worship songs! Students talk about the big idea of the week and review the Bible lesson taught in class and they end with 3 questions of the week. Questions promoting personal spiritual development always include:
1. A question about God (He)
2. A question about people (We)
3. A question about ourselves (Me)
Chapel meetings have been a fun weekly event for elementary students since the beginning of the school year. It’s an interactive time for movement in worship songs, participation in socialization through games and questions, and meaningful character and spiritual development from biblical instruction.
MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL CHAPEL
Middle school students at PCPA also utilize Awana curriculum in their weekly Bible classes and Middle School teacher, Mrs. Krause facilitates weekly chapel meetings. Students will focus on real world topics that are relevant to their life stage and engage in live worship songs and icebreakers. Mrs. Krause integrates personal testimonies and allows for students to freely speak up over their zoom sessions or type out responses based on student comfort levels.
One middle school student, Brody J., describes that at the end of each chapel meeting, Mrs. Krause will always point up and ask, “who loves you?” and students respond with “God does”. She then point to herself and the students will say together, “and so do I”, meaning they know Mrs. Krause and their teacher also care about them.
High school chapel is held once a month for grades 9-12 and subsequent weeks focus on the Faith Foundations class led mainly by Mr. Johnson. The Faith Foundations class focuses on helping students think critically about their worldview and the basis of the Christian faith.
High school teachers and students gather over zoom for live chapel sessions where Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Krause lead students over announcements, icebreaker games, a verse of the month, reflection time, and breakout sessions in smaller groups for more intimate discussion and prayer.
Across all grade levels, teachers are integrating Bible class lessons with chapel meetings and creating an intentional space for students to engage in spiritual discussion and growth. Middle and high school students dive deeper into topics and real world scenarios and teachers provide mentorship and support through prayer and small group discussion.
Learn more about how PCPA supports students in developing a Biblical worldview through our online school program.
