Senior Celebration: Lovell Bible Church honors its graduating class

The Bible Church in Lovell hosted a graduation celebration for its graduating Lovell High School seniors on Sunday, April 27, at The Point youth center.

Seventy-five people, including 11 Lovell High seniors, were in attendance as family and friends celebrated the graduating class’ life and academic achievements. Seniors displayed pictures of themselves growing up, along with items like their hobbies and athletic awards. These senior class students are members of the church youth group and have had many great memories during their time at The Point.

Students and church members had a moment of prayer before having food. The 11 seniors who were honored by the Bible Church read their favorite Bible scripture and received Super Soaker squirt guns as a gift. The graduating seniors would later have a squirt gun fight in celebration at the youth center parking lot.

“This particular group of seniors started hanging out at The Point when they were still sixth graders,” Pastor Kurt McNabb said. “A lot of them would come to the Wednesday night program, and by the time they were in high school, they were well embedded in the hearts of all our staff.”

McNabb said this group of the Lovell High senior class is special to the church because of their years of involvement in church activities. He also said everyone from the church has watched them grow up to become young adults as they prepare for life after high school.

“This is probably the first senior class that has six years of involvement with our program,” McNabb said. “They are special to all of us because our church has known them for so long, and these kids have been a wonderful group of leaders. They have brought other people to join them along with other class members, and they have been great ambassadors for our program. We are going to miss them.”

Dave and Lori Scheffler, who oversee the youth ministries at The Point, said this is one of the most incredible groups of seniors they have had in their youth group.

“I was thrilled to see all the people here supporting these kids,” said Lori, and Dave agreed. “This group of kids is top notch, and they are wonderful kiddoes.”

Dave said he was excited about how things turned out, and it was a great honor for him and Lori to host a celebration party for the kids.

“I think this celebration was awesome,” Dave said. “I like the fact that we were able to get the kids out there with their little displays and show off what they have been doing during their four years of high school. I enjoyed their leadership, and Lori and I are going to miss them.”

Carol Fink, Lori’s sister and a member of the youth ministry staff at The Point, said one of her greatest moments with this group of seniors was watching them get baptized in South Dakota four years ago.

“Some of these kids went with our group to Hills Alive in South Dakota for an outdoor Christian concert about four years ago,” Fink said. “We could not figure out what church to take the kids to that would be biblical and what we wanted them to know and be surrounded by. We ended up taking them to Hills Alive at their outdoor church, and several of our kids chose to be baptized at that time, which was amazing.”

 Fink said it was great to see the seniors show their love for Jesus and share His word with everyone.

“My biggest takeaway from these kiddos is their love for Jesus,” Fink said, “It was great to watch them from the beginning when we had a lot of these kids in sixth grade and showing their love for the Lord.”

Lovell senior Rudy Hall said it was a special night to celebrate his achievements with family and friends, and he was grateful for the support given to him and his fellow seniors.

“It was nice to have our family and church members here to celebrate the seniors who have been in school and at The Point for a long time,” Hall said. “It is great to celebrate with the seniors and see everyone together.”

Hall said his favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:38-39 because it motivates him to know that he could never be separated from Christ, his Savior, through faith.

“Romans 8:38-39 says, ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus,”’ Hall said. “This means no matter where we go, who we meet, or what we do, and the things we encounter, we cannot be separated from the One who died for us.”

Kyler Mickelson, also a Lovell High senior, said the celebration was a special time for everyone to spend together, and having the support of church members was wonderful.

“It was fun, and to have everyone come together was enjoyable,” Mickelson said. “It was a lot of fun, and I am glad we all could be here to celebrate.”

Mickelson said he picked Joshua 1:9 because it helps him to remind those who face the struggles of loneliness that they are not alone.

“Joshua 1:9 says, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you,”’ Mickelson said. “A lot of people struggle with loneliness, and this passage helps people not to feel alone and know someone has their back.”

Lovell High senior Thane Zollman said he is glad the Bible Church puts on this event for graduating seniors each year. 

“I am glad our church does this every year,” Zollman said. “What our church does for the seniors every year is great, and it’s a good way to say goodbye to each senior class who leaves every year.”

Zollman said the Bible verse he likes is Jeremiah 29:11 because it reminds him to never worry about the future but trust God’s plan.

“Jeremiah 29:11 says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,’’’ Zollman said. “What it means to me is I sometimes stress about the future or what I am going to do here or there, but it’s good to know God has a plan and he will do stuff with you.”

The Lovell High School seniors will be graduating on Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m.