Biblical Formations

Biblical Formations

At HLA, we are committed to providing our students with a strong Biblical background. We understand that to fulfill our mission of building leaders who can impact the world for Christ, our students need a fortified working knowledge of the Word of God. There is power in His words!

On the lower elementary campus, our Keys to the Kingdom program is the vehicle we use for weaving Scripture memorization, Biblical application and Biblical literacy into all our subject areas.

Kindergarten uses the ABC Bible Verses Curriculum by Susan Hunt to begin our youngest learners down the path of memorization. By the end of kindergarten they will have learned 26 verses!

In Grades 1 - 6, students learn 8 verses that follow a grade level theme. For example, in first grade students will learn 8 verses to answer the question, “How did we get here?” God created the whole world and everything in it. In 2nd grade, they learn how to answer, “Who am I?” I’m a sinner in need of a Savior. As they learn their verses, they earn Keys to the Kingdom tags to showcase their desire to hide God’s word in their hearts.

Grades 1 - 6 also have a grade level memorization challenge. These challenges include memorizing : The 10 Commandments, the Beatitudes, Psalm 23, etc. The 6th grade challenge culminates with the students quoting the 5 Romans Road verses to their classroom teacher as a means of practicing how to share the gospel with someone. The final 6th grade challenge is a response to our mission to educate leaders to impact the world for Jesus.

Each grade level also has a Biblical literacy component as well. To see the entire scope of the program and its Biblical literacy components, click here.

Application is also an important part of the Keys to the Kingdom program. We use a daily devotional on campus and satellite days called Keys to Kids. These simple devotionals are great for classroom conversations during our morning devotional time. You can read about Keys for Kids on their website: keysforkids.org.

The Keys for Kids devotionals are written by children. To that end, the 5th grade students are participating in a yearly writing opportunity where they have the ability to author their own devotional and submit it to Keys for Kids! Partnering with a NC Christian author, our 5th graders receive writing guidance and support as they use their Biblical understanding to lead others to Jesus. In the spring of 2022, 5th grade students produced the first ever HLA summer devotional! We were also proud that one of our students last year was chosen to be published in an upcoming Keys for Kids production.

 

Diving into scripture to understand the amazing truths of who God is, the character and nature of God, and how different he is from us.

Equipping students with the skills they need to read, understand, and interpret the Bible on their own by exploring the Bible to discover it is one unified story that leads to Jesus. Our purpose is to help students build a uniquely Biblical worldview as they study the Bible’s metanarrative. 

Biblical worldview vs competing worldviews while answering these questions: What is truth? What should I worship? Who am I? How did we get here? How can I tell right from wrong? Our purpose is to help shape and mold students who look at every area of life through and from the lens of Scripture. Students will use the Biblical worldview they studied in 4th grade as a springboard with which to compare other competing worldviews. 

Equipping students with the skills to discern Biblical truth through critical thinking in all areas of life. 

 

Jesus is at the center point of Christianity, and the entire Bible is about Him. If Jesus is who He claimed to be, then it changes everything about our life. Through the “Jesus and the Gospels” class, students will read, analyze, and discuss each of the four gospels throughout the school year to wrestle with who Jesus is. 

One of the most fascinating things about the Bible is that it is one big story written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in three different languages, and spread over three different continents. And this one big story is about Jesus! All throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, we see Jesus. Students will survey the OT to get a better picture of God’s big story, and discover how even the OT points us to Jesus.   

Overview: 9th grade is a pivotal year in the life of a student. They are in high school now where taking their future seriously begins to unfold, not only academically, but spiritually as well. After working their way through the gospels and the Old Testament, students will now tackle the history of the early church (Acts), the letters written to those early churches and individuals, as well as the book of Revelation, to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. 

 

Students will evaluate the claims of Christianity: that God exists, that Jesus rose from the dead, that we can trust and rely on the Bible. Rooted in 1 Peter 3:15-16, the chief aim of this class is to challenge students to own their faith, to know why they believe what they believe. To this end, students will investigate the Christian faith to discover a variety of evidence of its truth claims, explore cultural topics in order to view all of life through a gospel-centric, Biblically based worldview, and discover salvation belongs to God alone no matter how good of an apologist you become! 

Overview: WHAT: Understand what God’s mission is (For every tribe, nation and tongue to know and worship God), how we “keep score” and what it looks like to “win” 2) HOW: Understand the various strategies (ie methodology) and healthy ways they can engage (ie missiology) in God’s mission now and in the future 3) WHO: Understand how God has uniquely wired, gifted, and equipped them and how they can steward opportunities to advance God’s mission. 4) WHERE: Understand where there are opportunities to participate in God’s mission around the corner and around the world. 5) WHY: Understand the motivation behind God’s mission found in God’s Word

Overview: In 12th Grade, within the Living for God class, students spend time seeking to answer the question, "How do I apply the truth of the Gospel to every area and every question in life."  This idea of living for God through lifelong discipleship is the culmination of HLA’s Formation Path that all students are required to take in order to graduate from HLA. Living for God is heavily conversational and dependent upon the engagement and contribution of each student.  It is the hope of HLA that all graduates stand firm in the truth that they are fully known and fully loved by God, and they get to live from God's love for them, not for God's love, because of Jesus' death and resurrection. Living for God provides the opportunity for students to take genuine ownership of their faith, and apply their faith in all aspects of life. It is HLA’s prayer that when students walk across the stage on graduation day they will have better relationships with one another and a better understanding of how to apply their faith in Jesus to all of life because of their participation in this course.