“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

This line from the bible comes from section Matthew verse 5:16. It’s also the name of Hershey High School’s club for Christian students. For the past three weeks, they’ve started morning announcements reminding students of their meetings before school on Friday. This club hopes to get their name out there and attract more students to their club.

“Our goal is to bring light to the school,” Bethany Zipprick, Co-President of Matthew 5:16.

She believes the school is full of dark tension and stress. Students just go through the motions, and the club, Zipprick said, gives students an opportunity to spend some time with Jesus before school and to revive their faith.

“It’s a great way to start the day,” Zipperick said.

The members of this club meet every Friday morning at 7:00 am is Mrs. MacNicol’s room. There they go for prayer walks, have mini lessons, and play bible trivia.

This year one of their goals is to volunteer more. Matthew 5:16 was responsible for Operation Christmas Child this year. They also plan on assisting Cocoa Packs on February 22 as well as other opportunities that might arise.

Secondly, the members of Matthew 5:16 hope to be more helpful to other clubs at Hershey High School. Zipprick said they’d be willing to help in anyway. Their overarching goal is to bring light to the school, and they hope to accomplish this be reaching out and helping the clubs.

For Sarah Haverstick, the other Co-President of Matthew 5:16, the club provides a unique opportunity.

“I’m super blessed,” Haverstick said.

No other school, she knows of, has a club like Matthew 5:16. This club allows students to come together from all grades and backgrounds.

According to Cameron Maart, a member of Matthew 5:16, the club is important to him because it’s allows the students to practice their religion within a community of friends. This club, Maart believes, allows them to build a community around their religion.

This is part of the reason for starting the morning announcements reminding students of Matthew 5:16’s meetings. The club hopes to expand their community and spread their message to more students at Hershey High School. They want to revive the word of God in school. Anyone is welcome, and they usually begin the morning with some food before prayer.

Overall, the club hopes to not only volunteer more often but to revive the word of God, allow time for students to spend time we with Jesus, and meet new people.

“We grow closer together as we grow closer to Christ,” Haverstick said.