Calvary Lutheran High School's goal is "building Christian leaders" through a rigorous curriculum that includes regular religious study and discipline.
And, although no one told them they had to, both the salutatorian and valedictorian of the 19-student, sixth graduating class in the Jefferson City school's history included that theme Saturday as part of their addresses to classmates, family and friends.
"Not only does Calvary offer a quality education," said Salutatorian Michael Bollinger, "but they offer it in a solid, spiritual grounding.
"Kids learn what it is to be Lutheran and are taught skills about witnessing, apologetics, the basics of their beliefs - and just what it means to have faith in God."
He said it's important for the church "to be more dynamic and more outgoing in their witnessing. And that can start with us."
Bollinger is one of only four of the 19 graduates who didn't attend Calvary for all four years.
"I haven't enjoyed it the whole time," he said. "But I'm really appreciative of my time here, and it's been a really good experience."
Valedictorian Cinasee Tapee continued that religious theme.
"You have all put up with me, loved me and supported my endeavors, and I am indebted and want you to know how thankful I am that the Lord put you in my life," Tapee said. "Our theme for this year was, "Trust God, live better.'
"I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior."
Tapee, who's attended all four years at Calvary, reminded students, families and friends: "Calvary has been about coupling faith with hard work, to achieve our goals."
Launched in 2005, the school is only nine years old, and Saturday marked only the sixth time it's held a commencement exercise.
Including this year's graduates, the school now has sent 63 young adults into the post-high school world.
All students in this year's class are headed to college. More than a third are members of the National Honor Society.
As a church-based school, Calvary's graduation program also is a worship service - and the featured "speech" was a sermon presented by the Rev. Michael Boothby, pastor of Holy Cross and St. John's Lutheran churches in rural Cole Camp, a dual parish call he's served since graduating in 2009 from St. Louis' Concordia Seminary.
"Follow your hearts. Reach for the stars. Believe in yourself, and you can achieve anything," Boothby began his sermon. "This is just a sample of the things I won't be talking about today."
Still, he said, that's the kind of message many graduates hear.
"For some reason, we in our culture gravitate towards those kinds of notions," Boothby said. "We like the idea that we can look inside of ourselves and find strength.
"We can look into our own hearts and find the right path to wherever we need to go."
But graduates - and their families and friends - need to hear a more important message, he said.
"You're going to fail. Sorry, but it's true," Boothby said, adding: "I don't mean you're never going to succeed at anything, and you're all going to crash and burn.
"But, what I do mean is, you're going to face in your life, failure, brokenness and heartache. You're going to have tears and frustration."
Boothby acknowledged we all "live in a world that determines your worth and your value based on your successes (and) what your outward strengths are. (So) we sweep under the rug any kind of notion that we might possibly fail.
"But it's not your failure and it's not your successes that define you - it's where your failures and successes lead you that determines that."
Boothby said he knows that, "In your failures and in your successes, there's going to be a lot of temptation to move away from God - to go somewhere else (and) look somewhere else, because we have this notion in our heads that, if God doesn't give me exactly what I want, he's no good to me."
And for the Christian, he said, the strongest action we can take is "to cling to the one thing that never, ever changes ... the fact that Jesus Christ came to the cross and died for you, because he finds value in you - not because of what you do, or don't do."
John Engelbrecht, Calvary's executive director, honored two former board members - Danielle Rakow and Peggy Heidbreder - who helped get the school started and hired him to run it.
And he recognized three teachers - Jill Brust, Debbie Schellman and Dan Deardoff - who are leaving Calvary, to face other challenges.
"Without the faculty members, our students would not receive the education they have," Engelbrecht said, "and would not have the opportunities that they have."