A Morning in 4th Grade That Shows the Heart of Hillcrest
When President Luke Fiskness stepped into Mrs. Miriam Knutson’s 4th grade classroom this morning, he expected to see a Bible lesson. What he didn’t expect was a glimpse of Hillcrest’s mission unfolding with such beauty and clarity that he later said, “I wish every Hillcrest supporter could have seen what I saw.”
Inside that room, something remarkable and wonderfully ordinary for Hillcrest was happening.
Picture it: Ten-year-olds sitting with their Bibles open, flipping back and forth between Ephesians 2 and Romans 5. Their fingers tracing the text. Their eyes searching the page. Their minds turning over questions that many adults still wrestle with:
“What does God’s grace mean for us?”
“What does this part of the verse mean?”
Hands shot up. No one was passive. The Word of God wasn’t being read to fill time—it was being explored, questioned, and loved.
This is what President Fiskness witnessed: students who are not simply memorizing verses but learning how to study Scripture, how to seek truth, and how to think deeply and biblically.
Then came a moment that captured the heart of classical Christian learning.
Mrs. Knutson looked at her students and said,
“Use the skills we’ve learned in diagramming sentences and look for the important words in this verse.”
And they did.
Fourth graders began analyzing Paul’s words, not skimming, but paying attention to structure, emphasis, and meaning. They were using grammar to uncover theology. They were applying the tools of the classroom to the living Word of God.
This is classical education at its best: training students to read carefully, think clearly, and love truth deeply.
What President Fiskness witnessed was more than a great lesson. It was formation.
It was ten-year-olds learning that the Bible is not confusing or distant, it’s personal and accessible. It was students discovering that God’s Word invites questions, welcomes curiosity, and rewards those who seek.
It was a reminder that at Hillcrest:
Learning is worship.
Scripture is foundational.
Thinking deeply is celebrated.
Kids are taught to love the Word because it reveals the God who loves them.
President Fiskness walked away from that classroom grateful and inspired. And he wanted you to see what he saw: young hearts and minds awakening to the beauty of Scripture.