While the final days of October fill streets with costumes and families carrying bags of candy collected from neighbors homes, students at Hillcrest sat at long tables surrounded by friends, with plates filled with snacks to explore a deeper reason for the season.
Hillcrest's Reformation Day celebration brought students, faculty, and local families together for an evening of worship and teaching of powerful truths that transformed the Church more than 500 years ago and continue to shape the Christian faith today. Guest speaker Rev. Mike Natale guided students through important teachings that led Martin Luther to take a stand to reform the chruch. Natale taught about the five solas of the Reformation: Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and glory to God alone. His message connected these foundational truths to the doctrines of justification and sanctification, reminding students that salvation is God's gracious gift through Christ and that a life of faith grows from what He has already accomplished.
The evening offered more than a history lesson. Students were invited to consider the same questions that stirred Martin Luther and the Reformers: Where do we find truth? How can we stand righteous before God? What does it mean to live as people transformed by His grace? These questions hung in the air as hymns from the Reformation, played by Mr. Clark and Mrs. Tonneson, served as a theological reflection in expressions of praise. The celebration concluded with the students singing Luther's renowned hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, joining their voices in a confession of faith that has strengthened generations of Christians.
For Hillcrest President Luke Fiskness, perhaps the most remarkable part of the evening was its simplicity. "In a world that often tells us teenagers are lazy and only interested in video games and entertainment, Hillcrest students spent their evening gathered around God's Word," Fiskness reflected. There were no flashy attractions or elaborate productions. There was simply Scripture and music guiding a gathering of young people to draw near to God through men who took daring stands on Scripture. As Fiskness concluded, "What a wonderful reminder of what makes Hillcrest such a special place!"