Hans Walters
4th Grade TeacherTeaching at NorthPointe Christian is an incredible blessing! Helping young people discover the truth of The Gospel and how it transforms every aspect of our lives is both an honor and a privilege. Creating community and deepening relationships in my classroom with both God and one another is my passion as I prepare my students to impact their world for Jesus Christ.
Faith & Life
Bio
Mr. Walters is originally from Manistee, Michigan and graduated from Cornerstone University. He has been blessed to be an elementary teacher for twenty-five years. He is married with three children and enjoys collecting Christian music and reading theology, history, and fiction. One of his life Bible verses is Matthew 6:33.
Statement of Faith
THE LOVE MANDATE
(Matthew 22:37-38)
Learning to love God and others is a crucial part of Christian education. As Christian educators, we work together in the classroom community, cultivating a love for God and for those He has created. Along with prayer, praise, and the studying of God’s Word, we support and encourage those who are different from ourselves. We learn that we are all part of the Body of Christ, and the Lord uses our strengths and our weaknesses for His glory. With the help of God’s people in our lives, we learn how to manage hard struggles and how to excel and grow in the skills God gives us. All the while, we are to love and lift up those around us who may not be “just like us.” Furthermore, as we study the world around us, we learn about other people outside of our local sphere. We learn how our God of love gave His only Son for all and desires to know each and every one. It is our duty as “citizens” of this world to share and show Christ’s love to all people, both locally and globally. Loving God and loving others is a command we strive to accomplish within the classroom.
THE MISSION MANDATE
(Matthew 28: 8-20)
As we learn how to love God and to love others, we also know that we must share the “Good News,” the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel embodies what love truly is; therefore, it is our responsibility to share the “Message of Love” with all that we encounter. As Christian educators we share with our students what God has done in our lives and what He can do in theirs. We share our testimonies, our highs and lows, our “God stories.” I want to relay how deep and how vast God’s love is and how much He desires to bless us. It is our goal, then, to translate that passion into our students lives, how they too can discover God’s plan for themselves. Once our students begin to understand all that God has done for them and all that He wants to accomplish through them, they too will long to express His “Good News” to those around them: their family, their friends, and those whom they meet. It is our duty to cultivate young people who love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and desire to be His disciples.
THE IMAGE MANDATE
(Genesis 1:26, 28)
God has created us in His image. He has blessed us with the opportunity to have a relationship with Him and to share that opportunity with others. The Lord desires that we take all things into captivity for His good will. He desires that all creation submit to Him and bring Him honor and glory. Christian education’s focus then should be to develop young learners that have a “Christian worldview,” that in all they say and do, they can see God at work. Whether they are examining His visible and invisible qualities through science, discovering and expressing His values and beliefs through reading and writing, or discovering how He has guided and directed mankind throughout history. Christian education’s ultimate goal is to develop Christian young people who know God and desire to make Him known; learners who can see God at work in all subjects of study and can apply His truths to every area of their lives.