It’s 6:45 A.M. on Friday at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School (KML), Jackson, Wis. A handful of students are setting up for a worship gathering before school begins. Out come a keyboard, guitars, percussion instruments, a cello. As 7:15 nears, students start trickling in, settling into chairs or on blankets on the floor. The music starts, and they begin to sing.

This worship gathering, called Morning Praise, was introduced by senior Erika Schmandt, who brought the concept back from Camp Phillip, Wautoma, Wis. During last summer’s KML student council retreat, she and others wondered: What if KML students could experience something like that right at school?

The answer began to unfold one or two Fridays each month on “late start” days, as students voluntarily gathered for worship music, a brief devotion, and an activity before the first bell of the day.

So why, at a school that features daily chapel, would these students willingly give up extra sleep to worship?

“It’s just . . . different,” Schmandt explains. “It’s just students coming together early in the morning. We aren’t forced [to be] there. We’re able to be together and have that time with God in a different way.”

That difference drew students in. What began with about 20 participants grew to a regular attendance of 60, with gatherings topping 90. Much of that growth came through word of mouth, as students invited friends to join them.

Senior Ellis Zuleger, who helps lead the music, saw the impact of Morning Praise firsthand. “A few of the seniors said, ‘This has been the best worship experience in my four years. It’s my favorite time with God.’ Just to hear that—that’s the reason we do it.”

Schmandt adds, “I think [Morning Praise] is a time to take a step back and refocus and look at what’s been constant and so good in my life. And that’s God and his Word and worshiping him.”

Dan Marggraf, campus pastor and instructor at KML, reviews the worship folder and guides the student who delivers the devotion. Otherwise, leadership—from planning themes and music to organizing each gathering—rests solely in students’ hands.

As the senior leaders approached graduation, they worked to transition leadership for this worship gathering to the juniors. Their hope is simple: that Morning Praise continues to grow—not just in numbers but in impact—offering KML students a quiet, meaningful way to begin their day grounded in God’s Word.