The Power of Community in a Sisterhood of Faith
by Olivia Hofsink, Valedictorian, Class of 2025
A lot of the things I learned that really changed me in my four years lie in a single passage in the Bible, 1 Peter 2:9-10.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Notice how it says: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” This is the indicative—the unshakable truth of who we are in Christ. We are chosen, not by accident but by His divine purpose. We are a royal priesthood, set apart to dwell in His presence and extend His presence to the world. We are God’s special possession, deeply loved, held, and known by Him. And because of this, we now live in the reality of His mercy—once far from Him, now brought near.
But here’s the crucial point: this identity is not just something we know—it is something we live.
When I reflect on the four years I spent at CBC, my mind goes straight to my time with my volleyball team. It wasn’t just a team—it was a sisterhood. Together, we celebrated weddings and birthdays, took unforgettable team trips, and welcomed new life into the world with the birth of our coach’s child. We also walked through loss, standing with each other in life’s hardest moments. Through it all, this team became more than just a group of athletes; it became a family–one that I will cherish forever.
I feel incredibly blessed to have been part of this close-knit community that is CBC, where we truly do life together.