Laurie Tolsma
Middle School Spanish/Computer/Geography Teacher
I am very excited to be joining a staff who truly cares so much about the hearts of students while also teaching with passion and excellence. I look forward to joining in the school mission of equipping students to impact their world for Jesus Christ. There is nothing more important than pointing students to Jesus. Through all of the subjects that I teach, I want students to know that as they go through life, they can trust that God is good even in the hard, that He loves them, and that He will never leave them.
Faith & Life
Bio
Mrs. Tolsma attended Taylor University and Cornerstone University. She previously taught for Grandville Public Schools before taking time off to be home with her kids. She is excited to join the NPC Middle School team this year. Mrs. Tolsma has been married to Matt for 19 years and has three sons 10, 13, and 17.
Faith Statement
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is an amazing truth. God loved us first. Nothing about me is worthy of being loved by the Creator of the world. I am so thankful for God’s sacrifice of His one and only Son Jesus. For our Father to give up His only Son for me, a sinner, undeserving of is love, grace and mercy, to make me His child, and give me eternal hope and life with Him forever, has changed the way I live. Though I fail often, God’s love for me never fails. I pray that unconditional love overflows into my teaching. I truly want my students to experience the love of Jesus, and to know how deeply he loves them. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” It is because of this great love that I can share that love with my students.
I am committed to demonstrating that God has created us in His image, one of our teaching mandates. We are to reflect God to those around us. In geography, we will study many people and cultures, to see how each of us, though unique, are all made in the image of God. Because we have been created in His image, it motivates me to reflect Jesus well to others. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will guide me as I strive to live for Him.
Because of God’s great love, it propels us to love others, as well as to recognize each student’s unique gifts that God created in them. I will help students see that they have a purpose for living! God has placed us each where we are for a reason. I pray that I make the most of every opportunity to share God’s love with students and others God brings in my path. I pray that I encourage my students to think beyond themselves and be aware of how many people are desperate for the hope that we have. Because of this great hope, I want to encourage my students to be bold in sharing God’s love with others and to live out the mission of bringing God glory!
