“[It was] really to the point when I had no idea why I was doing anything,” Lee said.

However, Lee found new inspiration from God, and although she had been a Christian for all her life, she began to appreciate her religion once again.

“[It was] realizing that I needed an accountability group, and realizing that I needed sisters and brothers who encouraged me [to commit to Christianity],” Lee said.

Root’s Christian Club’s new system of accountability groups is designed to foster a sense of community within the club. These small groups of 3-4 people are led by officers and were created to to make members feel more comfortable about sharing their personal problems or  anxiety.

“When you’re in a smaller group, you can feel more comfortable talking to different people,” club member sophomore Tiffany Yu said. “A lot of the times, people are going through the same problems or stresses as you [are, so] you can relate to them.”

Each member exchanges contact information with with the accountability group officer so that the officer can check in with the members periodically during the week. According to Co-president senior Cheryl Wan, officers contact members during the week and ask how their week is going, along with asking for any prayer requests.

The discussions usually open with an ice-breaker activity to encourage members to open up.

“It’s like a support group,” Co-president senior Jenny Wan said, “[but] we don’t just share our daily lives, like friendship and family. We also share our spiritual walk with God.”

In previous years, the club was focused more on group discussions, and interactions between officers and members were less personal. According to Yu, the club had tried to implement a version of small groups in the past, but they were not successful because the groups did not build a strong foundation in the beginning and consequentially the discussions were not personal.

This year, the club officers were inspired by their churches’ youth groups – in which teenage Christians gather in each others’ houses and talk about how they can apply apply the Bible to their own lives. They hope that by starting early, the group members will form stronger relationships with each other.

The co-presidents acknowledge, however, that the  implementation of these accountability groups each year will be enacted, depending on the level of members’ interest in the club.

“Christian Club caters to the people who come each year,” Jenny Wan said. “This year, people came regularly, so we were able to do small groups.”

In the future, the club is planning a See You at the Pole event, when club members gather next to the MVHS flagpole and pray for students at MVHS and more inter-district events, like prayer nights.

Lee hopes that these events will not only create unity within the club and the Christian community but also make a difference in MVHS’ culture.

“A lot of it is crying out to God for the students at MVHS because there is just so much pain, especially at MVHS where it’s so competitive and easy to drown in grades,” Lee said.

Yu acknowledges that the accountability groups have been successful in helping students de-stress. She recalls an instance when one of her group members felt stressed about taking his SAT, so she and her other group members comforted him by sharing their own experiences with the test.

Yu hopes that accountability groups will continue in the future because they differentiate Roots Christian Club from other clubs that she is in. Although she has found being in other service clubs rewarding, she enjoys the camaraderie of Christian Club most, especially with the accountability groups.

“[Group members] can help you get through it together, so you’re not going through it alone,” Yu said.