Senior Chapels: Student-Led Chapel Messages Celebrate God’s Faithfulness

By Taylor Mills, Shield Editor   

Every spring, students from the senior class are asked to lead a message for the middle and high school chapels. This special series captures student voices and reflections on their faith journey. The speakers for the Class of 2025 were Alysa Reyes, Evan Dean, Janeiry Monegro, John Matson, Josh Brown, Mary Grace McCurdy, and Mercer Gill.   

Hearing current seniors speak can help students stay more engaged and encouraged. Mary Grace McCurdy said, “I think it is important for seniors to speak in chapel because it shows students that they have the ability to share the gospel as high schoolers. It also gives someone closer in age a chance to be able to share about their story because it can be more relatable to high schoolers, because we are going through similar life experiences.”   

The chapel also serves as a way for seniors to reflect on their own testimonies and what God is calling them to do. “I think, for me, the biggest impact it had was trusting God with my fears and seeing that God can actually use me,” Evan Dean said. "I’m a quiet guy, and words can’t even describe how nervous I was about presenting. So just trusting God that He has a good plan and a reason for why I’m speaking was something that was hard for me to believe in.”  

The experience of sharing in chapel not only blessed the students in the audience but also shaped the speakers themselves. "I think it’s going to help me out so much in the future when life is crazy and I need to depend on God and trust his plan because I can remember His faithfulness during this season. This whole experience has really helped me break out of my comfort zone and see that God doesn’t have to only use the people who love to speak in front of crowds, but he can also use the quiet me, and this has really opened my eyes on how God can continue to use me in the future,” Dean said.  

Reflecting on her own experience of speaking during the senior chapel service, Alysa Reyes encouraged her peers to trust God with their testimonies, no matter how unqualified or nervous they may feel.   

“I hope that they are moved by the students taking this opportunity to share what they have taken from the Word and even a little bit of their testimonies. I know many have come up to me saying, 'I could have never gotten up on a stage like that,’ and to that I say I didn't think I could have either, but once again it just comes with obedience,” Reyes said. “As soon as I got up there, God gave me a peace that surpassed all my nerves. And this is what I wish the students would take from the senior chapel services: It’s the same with them sharing their faith. Don’t think that your story isn't good enough, or you are not knowledgeable enough, or that your social anxiety is stronger than God, because it's not. When you simply obey by sharing and planting the seed, God will do the rest in that person’s life.”   

Through their messages, these senior speakers showed how Christ has moved them and what obeying Him means.