Hearing the Call, Answering the Call

Story by Angela Peach

When Nico Chaij (’15) was a high school student at Spring Valley Academy, he was drawn to God, but not necessarily to ministry. To him, ministry was something only truly holy people could do. And yet, his love of learning led him to study the Bible deeply. He also found joy in his roles as junior class pastor and, later, Student Council’s religious vice president (student chaplain). He helped lead a Bible study on the book of Ruth and enjoyed the thrill of helping people find deeper meaning in familiar stories. But a career in ministry? Surely not.

It was during his senior year at a SALT (Student Association Leadership Training) conference, led by the Columbia Union Conference, that God’s voice cut through more explicitly. “I was walking back to my cabin after lunch, and I heard a clear voice say, ‘You’re going to do this,’” says Chaij. “Shocking as it was, I felt no doubt about what I experienced. It was only after saying, ‘Okay, Lord!’ that I felt able to keep walking to my cabin … and I haven’t looked back since.”

Chaij studied theology and Spanish at Andrews University (Mich.). Between his sophomore and junior years, he went to Argentina as a student missionary, where he served as a student chaplain at Instituto Superior Adventista de Misiones. He delved deeply into the Bible with the students at the academy and learned to listen instead of simply answering questions with texts and platitudes.

His professors at Andrews noticed this gift, and by his senior year, one of them suggested he pursue chaplaincy. The more he understood the profession, the more he liked the idea. “Chaplaincy is about listening,” says Chaij. “It’s a conversation. You’re with people in some of their most complicated moments, and your role is to be a steady presence. To pray, to support, but mostly to listen.”

After graduating from Andrews, he pursued his master’s degree and, at the same time, completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training at Kettering Health in Ohio.

the end of his CPE training, Chaij received a call from the then SVA Principal Darren Wilkins about a position as the junior high Bible teacher. Chaij’s first response was to say no. “But God wouldn’t leave me alone about it,” laughs Chaij. “Looking back, I can see how everything that happened was leading me to this place.”

Now in his third year as SVA’s junior high Bible teacher and assistant chaplain, Chaij feels like he’s exactly where God wants him to be. “Seeing the students’ growth, being a part of the ‘a ha’ moments … I love it,” he says. “Junior high [students] are ready to have deeper conversations about God and strengthen their own prayer life and walk.”

When asked what his journey has taught him, Chaij smiles, “To trust that God knows me better than I know myself. To trust that God is guiding the lives of each of these students just as He is guiding mine.”