Humility Spirituality of Christian Religious Education Teachers in Ministry: Insights from Genesis 24:40 at SDS Generasi Harapan Batam

Abstract

The spiritual quality of teachers plays a decisive role in shaping students’ faith formation and moral development, particularly within Christian Religious Education (CRE). This study investigates the humility spirituality of a CRE teacher in ministry at SDS Generasi Harapan Batam through the theological lens of Genesis 24:40. A quantitative descriptive survey design was employed to measure students’ perceptions of the teacher’s humility-oriented spirituality as reflected in classroom practice. The population consisted of 273 Christian students, all of whom were included using a total sampling technique. Data were collected through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire covering five dimensions: spiritual dependence on God, servant-hearted attitude, respectful and non-boastful communication, relational warmth and approachability, and modeling of humility in classroom interactions. The instrument demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70). Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that the overall level of teacher humility spirituality was in the high category, indicating that students consistently perceive the CRE teacher as embodying Christlike humility in ministry. Among the measured dimensions, relational warmth and servant-hearted attitude received particularly strong ratings, suggesting that humility is experienced not only cognitively but relationally. The findings affirm that humility spirituality functions as a significant pedagogical asset that strengthens classroom trust, student engagement, and the credibility of religious instruction. Although minor areas for enhancement were identified, especially in explicit theological verbalization and dialogical openness, the overall pattern demonstrates strong alignment with the humility paradigm reflected in Genesis 24:40. This study contributes empirical evidence to Indonesian CRE scholarship by showing that embodied teacher spirituality is observable, measurable, and educationally influential in contemporary school contexts.