Preparing Students for a Life of Worship
High school is a unique time for exploration and discovery of one’s interests, gifts, and talents. Between athletics, extracurricular clubs and service opportunities, and music, the choices offered to NorthPointe Christian students are numerous, catering to a diverse spectrum of interests, gifts, and talents. For NPC student Josiah Lammers, NorthPointe’s Dayspring Chorale has served as an avenue for exploration of his musical talents and equipped him to live a life of worship in his school, local, and global community.
Read Josiah’s personal reflection of the Dayspring Chorale missions trip to Alaska on Christ Church’s blog.
Worship in Education
At NorthPointe Christian, one of our core mandates is the Mission Mandate, which is drawn from Matthew 28:18-20. In this passage, shortly before His ascension, Jesus commands,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
With the Mission Mandate in mind, NorthPointe faculty tailor lesson plans, lectures, and activities to equip students to fulfill this mandate in their daily lives, namely, to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples wherever God places them. For Josiah, not only is he learning the Gospel and how to proclaim it in the classroom setting, but also through the extracurricular activities he pursues, including Dayspring Chorale.
Worship in the Local and Global Community
In Dayspring Chorale, director Lisa Spangler’s focus is not just singing, but using music as a means of sharing the Gospel with the hurting. An audition-only choir, the Dayspring Chorale is composed of 9th-12th grade students who seek to grow their singing
abilities while serving local and global communities.
Throughout the school year, the Dayspring Chorale participates in worship services throughout the Grand Rapids area. They sing at church services, choir concerts, airports, nursing homes, and many other venues. Their repertoire is built over the course of the year, culminating in a mission trip to Jamaica, Alaska, or another location selected by the director.
While many mission trips focus on meeting practical, physical needs – such as building houses, digging wells, or helping in classrooms – the sole focus of the Dayspring Chorale’s yearly mission trip is music. On past trips to Alaska and Jamaica, the choir has been invited to nursing homes, churches, orphanages, group homes, drug rehabilitation centers, schools, and even in the homes of families!
