February 2016: Melissa Hult
February 15, 2016
One of the joys of Bible college ministry is training up the next generation of Christian educators—educators like Melissa Hult. Melissa (’09) is a kindergarten teacher at Ankeny Christian Academy (ACA) right here in town, where she is serving in her seventh year of teaching.
After Melissa graduated from the Elementary Education program at Faith, she began teaching kindergarten teaching at ACA that fall. In her six and a half years of teaching, Melissa’s learned some of the special joys about teaching at a Christian school.
“My favorite part of teaching is rehearsing the truth of God’s Word with my kiddos!” she explained. “It is such a blessing to teach them about God and His grace, and there is nothing quite as exciting as seeing a little one trust Christ as Savior!”
Melissa commented about how thankful she is for her training at Faith. “My professors taught me to love God’s Word and to view all of life through it, and that has forever impacted my life! I am thankful for the opportunities I had to be discipled and to disciple others. I also appreciated the hands-on teaching experiences in public and private schools in the area and in my local church.”
Through her job at ACA, God has given Melissa great opportunities to extend her ministry outside the classroom. She loves teaching chapel each week to the youngest students, as well as making great connections with parents, student teachers, and coworkers. She even started a ladies Bible study last year with some moms from ACA, an opportunity in which she loves to watch God’s grace work.
Although Melissa has graduated from Faith and her college days are behind her, her students make sure she stays on her toes. “Kindergartners are little sponges. They ask some incredibly challenging questions about the Bible, which make my oral exams at Faith seem like a piece of cake!” Melissa is thankful for her discipleship opportunities through ACA and is excited to continue ministering and encouraging the teachers and students there.