Spiritual Competence of Christian Religious Education Teachers in Building Students’ Faith Resilience: A Study of Philippians 1:6 at SDN 1 Babual Baboti
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Abstract
This study explores the spiritual competence of Christian Religious Education (CRE) teachers in fostering students’ faith resilience, grounded in the theological framework of Philippians 1:6, at SDN 1 Babual Baboti, West Kotawaringin. In contemporary educational contexts marked by rapid social change and moral challenges, faith resilience has become an essential dimension of holistic student development. Within Christian pedagogy, teachers are not only transmitters of religious knowledge but also spiritual mentors whose faith, consistency, and ethical integrity significantly influence students’ spiritual endurance. Philippians 1:6 affirms God’s ongoing work in believers, offering a theological foundation for understanding the teacher’s role as a cooperative agent in nurturing resilient faith. This study employed a qualitative approach combining a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and simple semi-structured interviews. The SLR examined peer-reviewed international literature on spiritual competence, faith formation, and Christian education, while interviews were conducted with Christian Religious Education teachers to capture lived experiences and pedagogical practices in a public-school context. The findings indicate that teachers’ spiritual competence, expressed through personal spirituality, consistency between faith and practice, prayerful dependence on God, and relational authenticity, plays a crucial role in strengthening students’ faith resilience. Teachers who model trust in God’s ongoing work foster a learning environment that supports perseverance, hope, and spiritual confidence among students. The study concludes that spiritual competence is a vital dimension of professional identity for CRE teachers and contributes meaningfully to students’ long-term faith development. These findings offer important implications for teacher formation programs and the integration of biblical theology into Christian Religious Education practice.
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