Student week of prayer is typically a spiritual highlight for an academy campus, and the same is true for Washington's Auburn Adventist Academy (AAA).
“We see the spiritual significance of week of prayer in a very specific way that reminds us of the greater spiritual battles we are in,” says John Soulé, AAA principal. “Any week of prayer is a call for us to continually pray for a spiritual hedge of protection for our students, staff, campus and school families.”
Auburn’s student week of prayer was scheduled during the week of Valentine’s Day and provided the right opportunity for students to talk with their peers about servant leadership.
“The opportunity to be able to share the love of Christ I have with my peers is something that is truly incredible and ultimately helped make my walk with God stronger,” says Tristan Johnson, a senior from California.
Each student who spoke was chosen by their classmates at the beginning of the year, and each conveyed a different of aspect of what it takes to be a servant leader for Christ. Concepts encompassed love, forgiveness, identity in God, joy and resilience.
The whole week is focused on learning more about the students and what their personal walks with Christ are like. Listening to their peers makes the message much more relatable.
Jennifer Woody, Bible teacher and student week of prayer coordinator, met with all the student speakers beforehand to give them coaching and witnessed their behind-the-scenes preparation journey.
“It gives the students a chance to grow in their spiritual walk because they are practicing one of the main things that cause spiritual growth — sharing,” Woody says. “For those listening, it helps them see that others are battling with the same issues, and it gives them hope.”
Each day, the song service, special music, sermons, and atmosphere increased in reverence. To close out the week, seniors spoke on both Friday night for vespers, and Sabbath for church. This week focused on servant leadership gave Auburn students a time to pray, laugh and embrace the students who courageously shared.
Juniors Andrew Armstrong and Kenneth Cho pray before Cho speaks. Each student speaker is introduced and prayed for by a close friend.
McKenna Butler
Lauren Richert
