hey, I'm
Elijah.
Future math teacher. A heart for kids ministry. Still writing the story.
scroll for the story ↓
01
Camp
24 kids. Five days. One big realization.
I volunteered as a kids camp counselor and spent five straight days looking after 24 kids. Watching them learn, laugh, and grow showed me what I want to spend my life doing. That's when I was called into teaching and where god gave me a heart for kids ministry.
where it all started
02
The teacher I want to be
The teacher a kid feels safe talking to.
Building real relationships with students, and supporting them through academic and personal challenges, is the part of teaching that matters most to me. I want to be that safe person for a student no matter how they're doing, including on a rough day.
I saw this most at kids camp. Some kids didn't feel safe enough to talk about what was going on at home. Once they opened up, you could see the change.
Someone did this for me, too. In 8th grade I got scary news during the school day, and my counselor sat with me, talked me through it, and stayed until I was picked up. I pray that a future student would feel safe enough to come to me the same way.
Fairness matters to me, and I think it means holding the student who made the choice accountable, not punishing a whole class for one person's decision.
the relationship comes first
03
The plan
Graduate early. Teach math. Serve kids.
I'm graduating high school early and heading into an education degree, with the goal of teaching high school math. Alongside that, I have a heart for kids ministry, and I'm excited to see how the two come together down the road.
math teacher with a ministry heart
04
Church
Church is where I show up every week.
At Faith Community Church I serve on the tech team almost every week, and I help in kids ministry for one service on Sundays. When I'm not serving, I'm in the seats.
pursuing Jesus, one Sunday at a time
05
Behind the camera
Three years in live production.
I spent a year job shadowing Ray Hallbrook at Live Stream STL, unpaid, just to learn the craft. Now I work with him as a freelance producer.
learning by showing up
06
Builder
I build websites, too.
Raised Design is my small web design company. Right now I'm building for Dementia Life, a nonprofit dementia care organization.
07
Around school
Learning outside the classroom.
Some of my favorite lessons came from clubs and competitions.
Mock trial witness
FBLA Sales Presentation, top 5 in district
FBLA Graphic Design, top 5 in district
Bible study club events coordinator
08
What's next
The next chapter is still being written.
I'm pursuing Jesus and a career in education, with kids ministry on the horizon. If you lead a school, a church, or a kids program, I'd love to hear from you.