Ethan Lichtenwalter, grades 6-10 teacher at Springfield Junior Academy, received the Commissioned Ministry of Teaching Credential last Sabbath at the Springfield Church.

Ethan was surrounded by family, church elders, fellow teachers and children of the Springfield Church as Pastor Philip Sizemore offered a prayer of dedication.

The Commissioned Ministry of Teaching Credential is the highest recognition given to a church school teacher by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is awarded to teachers with at least six years of experience in and commitment to the Seventh-day Adventist education system, with demonstrated proficiency in assigned responsibilities.

Ethan graduated from Walla Walla University in 2011. He has been teaching in the Iowa-Missouri Conference for five years, serving in Bourbon for two years before coming to Springfield three years ago. He also previously served as assistant dean at Auburn Academy in Washington.

He and his wife, Amber, have been married since 2012, and they have a 1-year-old daughter, Avery.