Fresno Christian will celebrate its purpose with a week dedicated to focus on faith and God, Nov. 2-6. “Spiritual Emphasis Week” will feature three chapels, several prayer times and speakers encouraging students to question and embrace their faith.

First up on the list of speakers is senior Nacoya Villegas, who will share her life story while answering the question “why trust God?” on Nov. 2.

“My parents have died and I have lived in many different situations and environments,” Villegas said. “I feel like have been put in a place not because God enjoys me in pain or enjoys seeing me hurt but because God wants to use me for his great plan. The beauty of it is God has a plan that is greater than anything I could imagine.”

Villegas is looking forward to sharing her story during the week, which she says is paramount to the campus community.

“Spiritual emphasis week is a week where we can come together as a school and spend time concentrating on God,” Villegas said. “It’s a time where we can focus on him and take a break from our studies to talk to God. Hopefully all the students will really get to know who God is this week.”

There will be chapel on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with each session focusing on a different aspect of the theme “why?” The subjects include: “why trust God?” “why obey God?” and “Why go all out for him?”

In addition, speakers will provide insight on overcoming a broken heart, dealing with emotional pain and suffering, handling adversity and pulling the good out of a seemingly bad situation.

The theme verse for the week is Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives: he who seeks finds: and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

“The them of the week is ‘why?’ because this is a question the verse talks about: when you ask these questions of God you will find the answer,” chapel coordinator Robert Foshee said. “We should be continually asking of God.”

Superintendent Debbie Siebert says Spiritual Emphasis week helps fulfill FC’s mission statement.

“Because we are focusing on our mission statement and trying to enhance our ability to fulfill this mission of equipping young people for life and service for Jesus Christ, this week came about,” Siebert said. “If you don’t ask yourself questions about your faith you can’t own your own religion. We will ask question this week such as ‘why do you believe what you believe,’ ‘why should you,’ and ‘what are the benefits.’ It’s important to ask these question of yourself because hard times will come and you need to have those answers.”

Principal Todd Bennett says the annual event adds to the uniqueness present on campus.

“One of the things that is really important about our school is that we are a private Christian school,” Bennett said. “It is important that students, teachers, parents and alumni all understand what our purpose and focus is. That is to be a great academic institution for kids, but also to prepare them for a life of service and worship through Jesus Christ.”

Each day at lunch, a classroom will be opened up solely for students to come and pray.

According to Bennett, Training students to become lights in their community is one of the main objective of Spiritual Emphasis Week.

“It is important for kids to understand why their parents send them here,” Bennett said. “Also, they need to get a better understanding of their personal relationship with the Lord, and also what their responsibility is when their accept the gift of eternal salvation. The goal is that they be light in the community, and Spiritual Emphasis Week is just another way that we can drive that point home and hopefully bring people closer to the Lord.”

For more information, e-mail Foshee.