By Garry Sanossian
When families bring their children to one of Coast Community’s preschools, they are entering a community that hopes to walk alongside them through some of the most formative years of family life.
Coast Community operates two preschools – one in Bensville and one in Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast. Both centres express the church’s commitment to children and families through education, practical care, community, and Christian formation.
“It’s about building a foundation for life in the lives of our kids and our families,” Pastor across Education Spaces Nicole Briggs said.
For Coast Community, the preschools extend the church’s mission beyond Sunday gatherings and organised programs. They create opportunities to build consistent relationships with local families through everyday education, care and presence.
“Helping kids and families love God and love others is really what’s at the heart of it,” Nicole said.
Children’s learning and creativity are reflected throughout Coast Community’s preschool spaces.
Running a preschool, however, brings significant responsibility.
“Look, it’s really hard, regulations-wise, compliance and just financially, it can be really tough to navigate,” she said.
Despite these challenges, Nicole believes the opportunity to walk alongside families makes the responsibility worthwhile.
“People are trusting their kids to us at a really foundational level,” she said.
“You journey with families because they often have more than one child, and you can be part of their lives for a significant amount of time.”
The Bensville preschool, which opened less than two years ago, operates alongside Coast Christian School. This allows Coast to begin relationships with some families from when their children are age two and continue walking alongside them through their schooling.
Alongside providing safe and effective early childhood education, Coast prepares Bible material shared across the preschool and school, while parents receive updates to continue those conversations at home.
“We want to empower our families to disciple their children and for us to partner with them and equip them to do that,” Nicole said.
Coast’s involvement in early childhood education stretches back approximately 35 years. The Berkeley Vale service was originally established by Berkeley Vale Church of Christ as Noah’s Ark Preschool.
Nicole’s family was involved from its earliest days, as her father helped establish the preschool and her mother was among its first staff members.
Coast Community assumed responsibility for the Berkeley Vale service in 2020. Because it was already established, Coast focused on maintaining continuity and building trust by retaining staff and introducing its involvement in managing the preschool gradually.
Inside one of Coast Community’s preschool classrooms, supporting children and families through some of their most formative years.
“But because we kept our staff and slowly introduced things, it worked,” Nicole said.
Although the Berkeley Vale preschool operates away from the church campus, it remains connected to Coast’s wider ministry. Families experiencing hardship can also receive practical support through Coast Community Care.
Whether providing a hamper to a family doing it tough, speaking with a parent about their child’s growth or responding to a practical need, the ministry’s impact is often seen in “little everyday” moments, supporting families through what can be a very challenging and formative season.
“We have families that are doing it tough,” Nicole said.
“Being able to be part of a community where we can actually meet needs and practically be Jesus has been pretty exciting.”
This story is part of a short series featuring churches in our network who have established early education centres as pathways for community engagement. We will be running a webinar in September 2026 inviting preschool leaders, like Nicole, to share their journey and insight with other communities interested in exploring this pathway for their community.
To join us, RSVP here: ccnswact.org.au/events/childcare-ministry-webinar-2026
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