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Christ Classical Academy is committed to providing a high-quality education using methods and curriculum that challenge our students by teaching them how to think, how to communicate, and how to persuade.
Not only is academic success a high priority to us, but also the spiritual formation of our students is a huge responsibility and a higher calling upon our employees and families.
Board member, Laura Boals, and I attended a three-day conference in Nashville with the Herzog Foundation, where the focus was on Spiritual Formation. “Spiritual formation is the process of grace instructing us to know God accurately(head), love rightly(heart), and live biblically(habits).” This conference was a great opportunity to reflect upon the evidence we have on our campus that demonstrates that spiritual formation is a priority. As I mention some of the things that come to mind, my focus will be evidence in the upper school this first few months of school.
Fuel Retreat
As a part of the spiritual life of the school, upper school students are encouraged to participate in our annual Fuel Retreat. This takes place at the end of the first week of school. Students are engaged in fun activities and teambuilding activities, but there is also a focus on worship and diving into God’s Word. The purpose of Fuel Retreat is fourfold:
- To encourage students to deepen their walk with Christ
- To foster a sense of community among students, as well as between students and faculty
- To introduce students to a spiritual theme for the year which is “cultivating virtues” with the emphasis on humility and teachability.
Focus Band
All of CCA participates in our morning focus time, but on Fridays our Focus Band leads us in praise and worship. Their first song for the year was “Give Us Clean Hands” and their debut just happened to be one of the hardest weeks for our country. Our social media post reached over 5 thousand people! Our world needs more of these positive posts and the spread of His love and word!
Cultivating Great Habits
This is a new incentive upstairs to encourage some great habits. Students can write their names on tickets each day when they have prayed individually and if they have read in their Bible that day. They can also put their name on a ticket if they have practiced whatever the virtue is for the quarter. At the end of the week, I draw a name and that student receives a treat on Monday. At the end of each quarter, all of the tickets from each week are poured into a bigger container and 4 names are drawn for out-of-uniform passes.
Devotions
Each week students find a short devotion hanging in their locker that focuses on struggles, temptations, or issues that they may be facing.
Spiritual Formation Groups
Each Friday our students are divided into groups and are being led by adults who care about their spiritual growth. Below you will se e what Spiritual Formation looked like for the first quarter:
- Middle school girls' Spiritual Formation was led by Laura Boals. They focused on their identity in Christ, what that means and how that affects their daily lives in Website Articles-November 2025.docx their thoughts, choices, and actions. They used the book Defined by Priscilla Shirer as a guide.
- High school girls have Spiritual Formation with Emily Nicks and Michelle Orr the entire year. For the first quarter, they did a study based on the book The Love Everybody Wants by Madis on Prewett Troutt. The study expires our desire to be loved, seen, known, and accepted. It argues that much of our trouble in relationships comes from looking for love in the wrong places and believing lies about what love is. It suggests the starting p oint for real, healthy love is a relationship with God, which shapes how we see ourselves and others.
- Middle school and high school boys were led by Clint Kirby in the first quarter. This time together was titled “Cultivating Men”. They enjoyed taking top ics like cars, animal care, and home maintenance and relating them to similarities in their spiritual life. Clint’s purpose was to get these young men to see that being a Christian man with a healthy spirit is just as important as taking control of the things that they can repair and/or improve in their physical lives.
Student-led Prayer Group
Each Wednesday, high school students Morgan Booker and Cole Gillon, head up an optional devotion and prayer group time for any upper school student who would like to participate.
Salt & Light
All students at CCA have the opportunity to serve organizations and be the hands and feet of Christ. Lower school students serve locally in our community, middle school students serve regionally, and high school students serve nationally and Website Articles-November 2025.docx internationally. Our middle school students have had the opportunity twice this semester to serve in Jackson at RIFA. All of our high school students were given the opportunity to buy Christmas presents for the residents of Marklund, which is the organization that we serve nationally. Lastly, our seniors have been diligently preparing for their opportunity to serve internationally in Italy in March, by making all necessary reservations and raising funds to help with the expense.
In closing, this conference was a great time to reflect on all the great things that we are doing at Christ Classical Academy to invest in the eternal lives of our students and how it will impact our school, our churches, our community, and our world. However, it also encouraged us and gave us ideas on how we can do more in order to reach these precious hearts for Christ. I want to end with this last quote from the training and then a reminder for us all, “We aim for the heart, leaving the results up to God! However, we also form the conscience, inform the mind, and train the habits as an ongoing witness and appeal to their heart throughout their life.”
What is important for us to remember is that we may not see the fruit of this labor when the students graduate from CCA; think about your life at 18 years old and the mistakes you made as a young adult. “Graduation is not the end(period), it’s a comma in the journey.” Our prayer is that as CCA graduates spread their wings and find their way in the world, the Truth that has been planted in their hearts over many years will take root, and they will flourish as world-changers for His kingdom! Amen. Website Articles-November 2025.docx In His service, Mrs. Kim Mullins Upper School Dean of Students
