Faith, Perseverance, and a 1940 Ford Coupe

Walk into the gym at Maranatha Christian Academy, and chances are you'll hear more than just kids playing or basketballs bouncing. You'll hear laughter, cheers, and the steady encouragement of Mr. Campbell. To students, Mr. Campbell's the reason to get to gym class quick and early. To colleagues, he’s a living example of faith in action. And to those who know him outside of school, he’s the one restoring a piece of family history—his dad's 1940 Ford Coupe.

For Mr. Campbell, teaching PE isn’t about turning students into athletes—it's about helping them grow their character. "God's given everyone certain gifts," Mr. Campbell said. "Maybe you weren't blessed with the same natural ability as somebody else, but that doesn't mean you can't work your way to, or even better in some instances. [...] it's just teaching that perseverance and overcoming, because [...] God gives us gifts, but then you still have to work to polish them."

That philosophy guides not only how Mr. Campbell approaches teaching, but how he approaches life. Mr. Campbell first started at Maranatha in 2014 following some eye-opening moments where he found himself hospitalized. "I didn't know it at that moment, but that's when I had a 50/50 shot of walking out—I was in liver failure." Mr. Campbell credits his then newfound faith in God for getting him off that hospital bed and into a life of health and wholeness. Choosing to then take a step of faith out of a career that left him wanting more, Mr. Campbell began volunteering at MCA as a step towards finding deeper fulfillment in his day-to-day. And what began as volunteering quickly turned into a full-time role that Mr. Campbell still holds to this day.

Reflecting on what he enjoys most about working at MCA, Mr. Campbell said, "I just love the people—love the staff that I get to work with and just see so many good, Christian people that truly want to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. [...] I just try to—you know, the little eyes are always watching, and they see everything, and they catch everything, and they hear things you don't think they hear—so I do my best to always show a good example [...] that's what I try to remind new teachers of that, you know, teaching's hard some days, but just that there's that payoff that you're making a difference not just in math, science, English, art [...] but in their character."

Recalling a situation with a student who was terrified of the upcoming rollerblading unit, saying that he didn't know how to rollerblade and that he wouldn't, Mr. Campbell leaned on God for help on how to help this student move forward. "He was just terrified," Mr. Campbell said. "I asked him the question, 'What else has this fear kept you from doing in life?' He said, 'I don't know how to ride a bike.' And I said, 'Well, we're gonna teach you how to ride a bike.'" And Mr. Campbell ended up doing just that.

Bringing in a small bike from home, and by removing its pedals to focus first on balance, Mr. Campbell spent day after day in the Living Word hallway teaching this student not just how to ride a bike, but how to face his fears. "I still have that video of him looking back," Mr. Campbell smiled, reflecting on that moment when the student finally got it, "and that look of pure joy. And he's, 'I'm doing it!' [...] I sent it to his mom, and she called me crying. 'I can't even tell you what that means,' she said, "that you got him to do that and overcome his fears.'" That student ended up loving biking so much that his mom not only bought him his own bike, but, that weekend, they ended up biking 20 miles together. "Those are the things that I just love," Mr. Campbell said.

"What other jobs do you have a chance to impact people in such a direct way?"

Outside of school, Mr. Campbell's found a similar lesson of perseverance under the hood of his dad's 1940 Ford Coupe. His dad bought the car decades ago, but after years of mechanical troubles, it mostly sat unused and forgotten. "He had a love/hate relationship with the car," Mr. Campbell said. "[...] It ended up sitting in his garage more than he drove it. And he used to say, 'You know, maybe you can do something with it when I'm gone someday.'" At his dad's passing, Mr. Campbell decided to do just that as he stepped into the world of vintage car restoration—for his dad, for his family's legacy.

The road hasn’t been easy, and long hours have been spent replacing all sorts of parts like carburetors, fuel pumps, brake lines, you name it, but it's been worth the trouble. "That's another thing about perseverance that cars taught me," Mr. Campbell said. "It's not always on our time—and some things just take longer—and I'm still trying to grow and be better about being patient and not getting so frustrated when things don't go my way. [...] But then when it does work," much like that student who overcame his fear of rollerblading and riding bikes, "it's a good feeling of, you know, you overcame that."

Mr. Campbell's heart and example for not just our MCA community, but his own family, is something to be admired. He's seen the ups and he's seen the downs, but his faith in God has shown through every moment of darkness and refined him into a role model that every student looks up to. Each morning before school starts, students arrive early, sometimes an hour early to school so they can run into the gym, play, and hang out with Mr. Campbell—that's the kind of influence that only comes when someone is truly walking out God's calling for their life.

Looking to the future, Mr. Campbell hopes to keep on teaching for many years to come as he pours into students’ lives as faithfully as he pours into his dad's Ford Coupe. And just as he plans to someday pass on that very Coupe to his son, Will, he also hopes to pass on those lessons of perseverance, faith, and character to every student who walks through his doors.

"I'm hoping that God blesses me with health to do this for a long time," Mr. Campbell said, reflecting on how much he's loved working at MCA all these years. And as for the car restoration side of things, Mr. Campbell plans on continuing the work of perfecting that old Coupe in his spare time. "It's been in the family for so long—and I want Will to have it—" he paused, "I like to think that my dad's sitting in there with him in spirit or just looking down and seeing what's going on."