Raider graduates celebrate faith during baccalaureate ceremony

Families, friends, school leadership, and a community celebrated 23 Richmond Senior High School graduates with praise and worship during a baccalaureate ceremony at the Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

The Raider Voices and Richmond Raider Football Head Coach Bryan Till highlighted the evening with powerful performances and words of encouragement to the students who will walk the stage on Friday night and turn the page to a new chapter in their lives.

Freedom Baptist Church is located less than a mile from the high school. Erin McNair, the church’s minister of worship and ministry teams leader, said the church was excited to host the annual event and bring together a community to honor all Richmond County students.

Richmond Senior Wade Stevens (center) walks down with fellow graduates during the processional during the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023. (Photo by Mark Bell)

“We consider ourselves a multi-generational church, and that really begins with the young generation,” she said. “We’re right here in great proximity to the high school, and we just feel like it’s important for them to have the option to do a baccalaureate ceremony.”

McNair said the church is about spiritually connecting people in the community and bringing them together to worship. She said the congregation was excited to host the year’s event with a small army of church members on hand to celebrate the graduation and provide treats afterward to bring families together after the ceremony.

“I think it’s just about reaching out and loving on people and providing an opportunity for people to come together and worship God and praise Him and thank Him for what he’s done in the lives of these graduates,” she said. “I just felt like it was our job as the church to step up and say, ‘Okay, let’s provide this opportunity so the students and celebrate their faith with other students.’”

Before the ceremony, James, who is the church’s youth pastor and the automotive technology teacher at the high school, spent a few minutes with the graduates as they played corn hole and billiards to unwind before walking downstairs to begin the ceremony.

“To me, it makes me proud, as a youth pastor and a teacher, to see students actually wanting to be involved in church,” he said, watching the students from other churches across the county come together. “I hope they walk away knowing Jesus loves them. Second, the church and the community really care about their accomplishments.”

The ceremony began with a processional led by Richmond Senior teachers James and Till, followed by Richmond County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell and school board members Chairman Wiley Mabe, Vice Chairman Bobbie Sue Ormsby, and Jerry Ethridge.

Seniors Naaman Perakis, DeMario Hamilton, Matthew Burns, and Abby Williams had special moments during the ceremony with scripture reading, testimonials, and singing.

Richmond Senior Abby Williams gives her testimonial during the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023. (Photo by Mark Bell)

Williams shared her emotional experience with her faith with the attentive audience as she opened up about the tribulations in her walk with God.

“I grew up in church, and I was involved,” she said. “I really didn’t think that I needed to question my faith at all. I just thought, Okay, you get up in the morning on Sundays, and you go to church. That’s just what you do.”

During the pandemic, Williams said she questioned why God would put people through difficult times, especially as a young teenager, and take away a normal life with friends and family.

Williams said she needed to figure out her faith. At the time, she said she was not attending church and said she needed to follow her calling.

“I was in such a lonely mental state,” she said. “I didn’t understand any of that. I thought I could embrace it.”

Williams said she returned back to the one place where she felt her questions could be answered – the church.

“I felt the furthest away from God than I’ve ever felt before,” she said. “So, I decided to pray, and when I tell y’all like God listened to my prayer, he really did.

Richmond Senior teacher Lauren Lutz, the Richmond Senior choral music educator, reacts to her Raider Voices performing “Revelations 19:1” during the processional during the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023. (Photo by Mark Bell)

After Williams’ testimony, the high school vocal ensemble took center stage for worship.

The performance of “Revelations 19:1” by the Raider Voices filled the entire church and had attendees on the edge of their seats as Richmond Senior teacher Lauren Lutz, the Richmond Senior choral music educator, brought the emotion and passion from her students’ voices during the song. Families and friends erupted in applause as the group of graduates and non-graduates finished their performance.

With the atmosphere charged with excitement, Coach Till had big shoes to fill, and he did not disappoint as his mission to encourage and praise the graduates was meaningful and emotional with a speech entitled, “Oh, how have you grown.”

Richmond Senior High School football coach Bryan Till talks with graduates about growing up a Christian and being unconformable during the processional during the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023. (Photo by Mark Bell)

Till talked about how the graduates have grown both physically and spiritually since the first day of kindergarten and through the years in elementary and grade school, ninth-grade academy, and finally at Richmond Senior.

“Think about the growth, the physical changes, what you look like, how different you are now from the ninth grade,” he said. “What’s not obvious from the pictures is how much you have grown inside your heart and mind over the last four years. Even much more so since kindergarten is profound growth.”

Till told the graduates that internal growth comes from being uncomfortable.

“You are the person you are now because of uncomfortable circumstances you’ve encountered,” he said. “You mentioned that you guys had to go through COVID during the time you were in high school or close to high school. That uncomfortableness is what allows you to grow.”

He said the graduates were going to be responsible for making themselves uncomfortable and finding others who would help them grow as they move forward in their lives.

Till admitted that early in life, he didn’t have the right people to give him good advice, and his own selfishness created barriers to his faith.

“I was chasing a lot of things selfishly, and then I came to a realization later on that I needed those folks, that I needed people,” he said. “They do provide you friction that allows you to be useful and allows you to use the tools and abilities you’ve been given. You will need other people to help you to continue to grow. You will need no matter how self-reliant you are.”

Till said their faith would lead them in the right direction to be a good person trying to pursue the right things.

“All kinds of beautiful plants can die if they’re not in the right soil and if things are not treated correctly,” he said. “When we die and go to him, Jesus will look at me and you, and I hope he can tell the difference. He’ll say, ‘Oh, look how you grew. Don’t stay the same; let’s all continue to grow.’”

Richmond Senior Christopher Cline watches the Raider Voices perform “Revelations 19:1” during the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023. (Photo by Mark Bell)

Sitting in the second row were soon-to-be graduates Caroline and Christopher Cline, 18-year-old twins. Christopher was born with cerebral palsy, and Caroline cared for her brother down to the tiniest detail, like making sure his tassel was on the right side of the cap, and his gown was centered and perfect in his wheelchair.

“He may not seem like he’s watching and listening, but he is,” she said about her brother. “He is just full of love and joy. You just got to get to know him. He’s such a really sweet guy, and I feel so lucky to have him as my twin. I would never trade it for anything.”

As they listened to the worship music and testimonials, Caroline connected with the messages because faith in God has a strong presence in both of their lives.

“We both grew up in church,” she said. “We’re church babies. My mom and dad are the ones I’d like to thank for having me in the church because I have so many friendships, and I’m really involved in our church, Sweet Haven Church. They are good Christian leaders in our lives.”

Christopher, Caroline, Abby, Naaman, DeMario, Matthew, and other graduates left the church laughing with friends and taking photos to remember the occasion when they celebrated their graduation and their Christian faith. They shared stories to write the next chapters in their lives.

The Richmond Senior High School graduates pose for a photo after the 2023 Richmond Senior High School Baccalaureate Ceremony hosted by Freedom Baptist Church on Sunday, May 4, 2023.(Photo by Mark Bell)