Summer Office Hours: Tuesday – Thursdays 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Appointments by Request)
Office hours: Mon-Thu 7:45 AM-4:00 PM | Fri 7:45 AM-2:00 PM
(916) 481-2300
Summer Office Hours: Tuesday – Thursdays 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Appointments by Request)
Office hours: Mon-Thu 7:45 AM-4:00 PM | Fri 7:45 AM-2:00 PM
(916) 481-2300
By the last day of Student Week of Prayer, the room knows what to expect. Students walking to the front of chapel are not trying to impress anyone. They are telling the truth. Barna research found that more than half of U.S. Christian adults say their spiritual life is entirely private, and those who do are significantly less likely to report a strong sense of spiritual progress. This week at SAA, students pushed back against that pattern every single day, out loud, in front of the whole school.
| Theme | Be Real: honest with yourself, with others, and with God |
|---|---|
| Day 5 speakers | Shanaya and Bettina (8th grade), Holly (Junior), William (5th grade) |
| What connected all three | God wants the real you, not the polished version |
| Daily practice | Students pause to pray with a partner every day this week |
| Series | Day 5 of 5 days of student-led chapel |
| School year | 2025–2026 |
William opened by asking the room to look at the person next to them and say hey. Then say it deeper. Then deeper again. Chapel was warmer before he even started.
His Bible story was David and Jonathan. Saul had invited David to a party with plans to kill him. David stayed away. Jonathan went, covered for David when Saul demanded to know where he was, and left when Saul aimed a spear at his own son. Jonathan was not going to let David down even when it cost him.
Then William talked about basketball. He described a recent half-court game on the lower playground and named every player, what each one brought to the court. Anderson made a one-armed shot that left everyone speechless. Lowell drilled two threes. Jordy stole the ball twice. Phoenix had handles clean enough to leave defenders standing still. Each player was different. Each one had something the others did not.
“God took his time when he created you. He thought about how he wanted your ears, how he wanted your hair. There is no one on this earth like you.”
Showing up as the actual person God made is not just acceptable. It is the point.
Shanaya and Bettina opened with a cast of hand-made characters: Toast, Blob, Mushy, and Cookie. The situation was easy to recognize. Toast and Blob were best friends until Blob started spending time with other people. Toast and Mushy came up with a plan: treat Blob exactly the way she had been treating Toast. Everyone ended up sad. They talked it out, made up, and then Blob did the exact same thing again.
When asked who was at fault, the room’s answer and theirs matched: all of them. None of the friends were being real with each other. Toast followed her instincts instead of going to God. Blob broke her promise. Talking it out was not enough without actually changing.
They paired that story with Rahab, who hid two Israelite spies from the king’s soldiers, hung a scarlet cord from her window as a mark of protection, and acted against everything her city expected of her. Their anchor verse was Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Rahab lived that verse. Toast did not. The question they left with the room: what would you have done differently?
Holly came with two stories from fourth grade and a journal to prove it.
She was a self-described SLO chaser, hunting every week for the student learning outcome award her school gave out. She read from her actual journal entries, including a detailed argument for why she qualified under “keeps my body and mind healthy.” The evidence included reading books, asking God for help, and showering at least four times a week.
The second story was band. Holly played clarinet. One day a fifth grader in her section played a passage correctly while everyone else fumbled, and the teacher called her out with praise. Holly wanted that. Next time they ran the passage, she went all out, every note she knew, wrong tempo, wrong dynamics. The teacher stopped the band again: that was better, except one clarinet going off on their own.
She connected both to Joseph, who spent his early years telling his brothers they would bow to him until they sold him into slavery. He was falsely accused, spent years in prison, and eventually became second in command over all of Egypt. His dreams came true, but not until he stopped performing for them. God waited until he could be trusted with what he wanted.
The application was direct. Putting a Bible verse in your bio does not make you a good person. Attending SAA does not make you a good Christian. Those things can be good, but they are not the point.
“God isn’t looking for perfect people who know how to look the part. God is looking for real people.”
Real faith shows up in the small moments, when no one is watching and there is no credit. “Don’t worry about looking like a good Christian. Just be one.”
Each day of Student Week of Prayer ends the same way. Chapel goes quiet. Students step away from homework, from recess, from whatever is filling their heads, and turn to the person next to them. The entire school closes the day in prayer together.
The habit is not about getting it perfect on day one. It is about practicing it until it becomes natural.
Weeks like this give families a clear look at what this school actually values. Students are encouraged to be honest, share real stories, and look out for each other.
Visit our Student Life page to see more of what happens on campus, or browse the Articles hub for more stories from the year. Learn about our mission on the About Us page, and when you are ready to see it in person, reach out to Admissions and we will set something up.
Sacramento Adventist Academy is accredited by WASC and the Adventist Accrediting Association. Our mission is to honor God by preparing students for academic success and a lifetime of service.
