By Garry Sanossian and Heidi Wright
Education as mission has been at the heart of Coast Community Church’s vision for the past 25 years.
According to Mission Capacity Manager at Coast Community Church, Matt Johnston, their mission focus has proved a testimony of how the gospel changes lives.
“We’ve seen kids choose Jesus, want to follow Jesus. We’ve seen families give their lives to Jesus,” he said.
This month, the church celebrated 25 years since launching Coast Christian School, now a thriving primary school offering high-quality Christian education to about 240 children and a place of connection for their families. The ongoing growth and success of this school over the years has led the church to dream bigger, seeking to find ways to offer more children and families quality Christian education as part of their vision to see a renewed Central Coast.
Earlier days at the school in 2000.
Celebrating 25 years since launching Coast Christian School in 2000.
Ultimately, the dream is to offer families a complete Christian education pathway from pre-school through to graduation, and the Coast Community School team are currently working to expand the primary school into a high school by 2027. While this expansion is a longer-term project, God has opened the door for the church to step into early childhood education, supporting children and their families from an even earlier age.
Founding Pastor, Andrew Ranucci, speaks at the 25 Year Celebration Event.
This opportunity emerged in 2019, when church leadership was approached by Berkeley Vale Church of Christ to adopt their congregation and preschool, Noah’s Ark.
“One of the cool things that they had was a preschool,” Matt explained. “That was their main missional expression into the community in which they were placed and when we adopted Berkeley Church we took on that preschool as well.”
A few years into this journey now, Coast Community have expanded the preschool into two sites, now known as Coast Community Preschool, supporting 100 local families. In this ministry, Coast are bringing the same heart for families, conviction for the need for Christian education, and vision that they’ve carried in building Coast Community School.
The concept driving Coast’s education ministry is captured in their vision statement about building a ‘Foundation for Life’.
“For us, that foundation is Jesus. Part of why our education spaces operate is to introduce people to Jesus who is the foundation for life,” Matt said.
The Coast Christian school team draws inspiration from Matthew 7:24-27 which speaks of building a house on solid rock, meaning the preschool is established on a firm foundation rooted in God’s word. This approach aims to help children understand who Jesus is and to recognise their identity in Him through biblical teaching and Christian values.
For the church, education also provides a natural pathway to build meaningful relationships with families who might otherwise never connect with a church.
Matt pointed to Coast’s broader vision to explain the emphasis on relationships. “We believe that God’s promise is that He’s making all things new. So, our response to that promise – our calling – is to contend for the renewal of the Central Coast. We believe the best way to do that is by loving others with the love of Christ, which is all about relationship,” he said.
“Within community, people are known so there’s a sense of belonging. When it comes to most things in terms of the Kingdom, it’s done through relationship,” Matt said.
“[For us] it’s about building trust with families: showing them that we are responsible and committed. It’s about demonstrating integrity in the way we act and speak.”
Through a strategic lens, this missional focus also meets a growing demand. “The data indicates that the demand for Christian schooling, not just on the Central Coast but across the state, is increasing,”
Matt Johnston shared. “Parents wouldn’t necessarily characterise it as Christian schooling or Christian education. They would probably call it values-based or morals-based education.”
With over 30 years’ experience in family and children’s ministry, Nicole Briggs, Children’s Ministry Pastor at Coast Community Church in Bensville, emphasises the strategic importance of early childhood education.
“We know that the first five years are the most formative in a child’s life. When we can actually build a good foundation in kids that’s centred on who they are in Jesus, we actually set them up for a win,” she said.
As an aspect of the preschool’s educational aims, children are taught about the importance of having a relationship with God.
Children’s Ministry Pastor, Nicole Briggs, who has been instrumental in the development of the preschool centres and primary school ministry, speaks at the 25 Year Celebration Event.
Coast Community Church team member and parent Stephanie Gibbs highlighted how this approach is nurturing spiritual awareness in her three-year old daughter who attends the preschool. She said, “she’s often talking about needing to go away and have some quiet time with God.
“I’m not sure she fully understands what that means yet, but children naturally work out their faith as they grow,” she added.
The pre-school is quickly becoming a focus and passion of Coast Community’s vision for contending for the renewal of the central coast, as they see families hungry for what they have to offer.
Nicole said, “Schools and preschools are growing exponentially as far as people seeking out safe places for kids. It’s just a huge opportunity to meet families face to face and openly be all about Jesus.”
For churches considering similar ministry avenues, the Coast Community Church experience serves as inspiration that this ministry avenue can have significant local impact.
“They (education spaces) are vehicles for the church to demonstrate the love of Jesus. These education spaces are in themselves environments of spiritual formation.” Matt Johnston said.
