Lillea VanderWilp

Middle School English and Social Studies Teacher
Year Start At NPC: 2016

Being part of a Christian school community is so special. Not only do I get to worship, pray, and read devotions with my students, but I also get to weave Christ into each of my units! In English, I get to teach about the gift of language that we can use to lead others Christ and to build each other up. In Geography, we celebrate world cultures and learn how we are all created uniquely in His image! What a joy it is to have Christ as the foundation for all of our learning!

Faith & Life

Bio

Mrs. VanderWilp is a Holland native and grew up going to Holland Christian Schools. She moved to Grand Rapids and graduated from Calvin College in 2015. She has been part of the NPC family since 2016. Working in this position for 6 years now, she has loved every minute of it! Building relationships and being able to worship together with students are two of her favorite things about her job. Outside of work, Mrs. VanderWilp loves to be outdoors exploring God’s creation. She also loves to cook and finds enjoyment in trying new and unique recipes.

Statement of Faith

It’s my privilege to help guide my students in their walk with our Lord and Savior. I want to honor God by share with my students who He is and how He works in His world. It is real joy for me to see the students live out their faith in the classroom and in the hallways of Northpointe Christian. At NPCS our mission is to “prepare students to impact their world for Jesus Christ.” To do that we focus our teaching by interweaving three biblical mandates into our curriculum: the love mandate (Matthew 22:37-38), the mission mandate (Matthew 28:18-20), and the image mandate (Genesis 1:26, 28).

The Love Mandate: Teaching students to love God and love their neighbor is something that is practiced daily in all of my classes. I want to be an example of giving glory to God and teach my students to that too. Sharing daily devotions and bringing faith into lessons helps me to reveal to students how powerful and creative our God is. Whether it is teaching about the intricacies of the English language or the different regions of our world, in geography, God has the center place in it all. Beyond that, I want to spur students to love those around them. In a collaborative classroom, I will give students practice in reflecting God’s love by treating each other with respect.  We also love God and glorify Him by giving our best effort, even in the difficult subjects.

The Mission Mandate: This mandate instructs believers to be disciples and share God’s wonderful gospel to the ends of the earth. In my English classes, students will learn that even their speaking, writing, and reading choices can subtly make in impact on the world. The way students follow Jesus in the simple, everyday things like speaking and writing can encourage others to learn more about the God we love. Being a disciple may help another student to become one. For students to be able to share God’s truth found in Scripture, they need to dive deep into it, understand it, live it out, and share it. Additionally, students will practice speaking and writing skills so that they can effectively share Jesus’ commands with others.     Students in my geography class will be challenged to think about how they they can spread their faith as we learn more about the world we live in.

The Image Mandate: I want all my students to understand that they have been lovingly created by God in His own image and therefore have deep-rooted value. The good news of the gospel begins with God’s unfailing love for His children, even though all of us are sinful. God’s love for us is not dependent on how smart, beautiful, handsome, or socially successful we are. I strive to create a culture in my classroom of acceptance and sacrificial love for each other. I want my students to know their own value and their classmates in God’s eyes.

In English, we will discuss the value of people as we look for themes in the different texts we read and  relate those themes to our culture and experiences today. In geography, we have the opportunity to study many diverse cultures around the world. God made each unique person and culture. Through this study, I also to develop a heart of compassion in my students for those who struggle under poverty and oppression.  God values all people, and we reflect His image when we work and pray to bring restoration to those parts of the world that need it.

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