By 7:30 a.m. — and often earlier — the building we’re sitting in right now is already awake. Classroom lights flick on one by one. Coffee cups (or in my case, Sonic cups) are set beside open lesson plans. Teachers straighten desks, write objectives on whiteboards, and glance over the day ahead. Some pause quietly at their doorway before students arrive, praying over the room and over the names that will soon fill it. The hallways are still calm, but preparation is already in motion.

By 8:00, the rhythm shifts. Backpacks line the walls. Morning greetings echo through the building. A teacher kneels to zip a coat. A paraprofessional redirects a wandering mind with patience. An administrator steps into a classroom to check in. The office fields early phone calls and follows up on absent students. Lunchroom staff prepare for the busiest part of the day. It may look like an ordinary school morning — but it is anything but ordinary.

It is formation.

Every Monday through Friday, the men and women who serve at FBA and LLA walk into this building carrying more than lesson plans. They carry responsibility for hearts, habits, and character.

In LLA, teachers are doing far more than teaching letters and numbers. They are teaching structure, self-control, kindness, and obedience — shaping tiny hearts in ways that will echo for years.

In elementary, teachers are teaching math, reading, writing, and science while modeling perseverance, humility, and responsibility. They coach students through frustration and help them try again when something feels hard.

In secondary, teachers guide students through literature and history while reinforcing discernment, conviction, and courage. They challenge them to think biblically and stand confidently in their faith, preparing them not just for graduation, but for adulthood.

And they are not doing it alone.

Paraprofessionals step into gaps with steadiness and patience. Administrators carry weight most people never see — protecting culture, making difficult decisions, and supporting teachers and families. Office staff keep everything moving behind the scenes. Substitutes provide stability. Lunchroom staff create order and warmth. Coaches invest long hours shaping discipline, teamwork, and resilience long after the final bell rings.

In the middle of all of this, our teachers carry another weight as well. They pour into students all day and then go home to pour into their own families. They help with homework, attend practices, parent their own children, and carry the needs of their households — often while still praying for the students they left behind. The calling does not end at 3:00.

For many, this calling also includes financial sacrifice. Most of our teachers and staff could earn more elsewhere. They remain because they believe in the mission of Christian education and in the eternal value of shaping young hearts in truth. They have chosen calling over comfort — and that decision should not go unnoticed.

From the outside, this may look like ordinary work. But it is deeply meaningful and generational. Psalm 78 reminds us to “tell the coming generation the works of the Lord so that they may set their hope in Him.”  That is what is happening here. Hope is reinforced. Truth is practiced. Character is built.

And it is happening because faithful people keep saying yes — even when the work is heavy.

But this is not just their mission. It is ours. The same gospel proclaimed on Sunday is lived out in classrooms on Tuesday.

If you call this church home, you are part of this story. Pray intentionally for our staff. Encourage a teacher or paraprofessional this week. Thank an administrator, office staff member, coach, or lunchroom worker for what they carry. Ask how you can support when needs arise.

The next generation will not be shaped by accident. Years from now, the men and women leading this church, raising families, and serving their communities will trace part of their spiritual foundation back to classrooms in this building. What is happening here today will ripple into marriages, ministries, workplaces, and communities we have not yet seen.

Let us be a church that not only values Christian education but actively strengthens the people carrying it. The calling is sacred. The impact is eternal. And what we are building together will outlive us.