The primary assumption for the existence of most schools is that their purpose is to prepare students for society. However, the primary assumption for the existence of Pacific Hills Christian School is to bring glory to God. In doing that our School community will prepare our students to become wonderful members of community and society.

These primary assumptions determine the driving force of our operation as a community of teaching and learning. If our primary assumption is to prepare students for society and then what society is and how we interpret society will be the chief factor in how we operate as a community of teaching and learning. That is not a good foundation for our purpose to be fulfilled. If our primary assumption is, however, to bring glory to God, then Who God is and the purposes that He has for our lives will be the motivation, the driving force, the goal of the way in which we operate as a Christian community of excellence.

The beginnings of Pacific Hills, or as it was called, Pennant Hills Christian School, were simple and based largely on faith and a pioneering commitment by a group of men and women who had a vision for what God could do with a Christian school. One of the foundational purposes of PHCS was to integrate children with learning difficulties into the normal life of the school. Another foundation was the decision to employ only committed Christians within a trans denominational framework of thinking and practice. In the book, Vibrant Grace by Dr Noel Davidson, we have recorded many of the salient stories of the first 30 years of the ongoing journey of Pacific Hills. This book reminds us to be thankful, to have faith, and to show love and to express God’s grace in various ways. The School has grown to include more than 1200 students and a staff of over 150.

The current Board of the School is extremely strong in Christian commitment and has a desire to be critically constructive of maintaining and enriching the essential characteristics which were put in place when the School commenced. The School has changed over the years but in many ways it is much stronger in its understanding and commitment to the vision that was there from the start. This growth in quality has been possible by the strong foundations that were set by those who pioneered the School and so we are very thankful for the commitment and energy that was given by so many for so long.



Dr E J Boyce

show less

For more than 20 years Pacific Hills has engaged in a great deal of service to others. As we have been richly blessed with resources that we have been given, both in people and in physical equipment, we have believed that it is important that we share with others that have need of support and encouragement.

The establishment of a strong Missions program has been an important part of our obedience to what we believe God has called us to be as a Christian community. We have sought to obey God’s command as recorded in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift received (from God) to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms”. It has been delightful to observe students and adults who have committed to mission through the School, become enriched in their overall lives, particularly in their learning and commitment to excellence in performance.

We have also engaged for many years in tertiary training in Christian education both in Australia and overseas. A specific program that has been established is the Christian Education Development Program (CEDP) by which our staff travel to places of significant need in developing an understanding of Christian education. As our staff have planned to do this and have prepared for training others and then presented their understanding and reflected upon what they are teaching to others, we have seen the deepening of understanding and commitment to Christian education as it is practiced at Pacific Hills Christian School. Many mission teams go out from our School to serve both in Australia and many other parts of the world.

As I look back over my 30 years at Pacific Hills out of the 35 years of existence of our School, I am extremely thankful for the blessing of God to me and to all of us as He has provided for all of our needs and has allowed us to serve others in ways that we could never have imagined. Therefore, we celebrate the goodness of our God and the blessing of living and serving together both at Pacific Hills and beyond Pacific Hills. We celebrate the ministry of Pacific Coast Christian School at Tweed Heads and Pacific Valley Christian School at Townsend on the far north coast of NSW.

As we celebrate the past and the present we look forward to the future under God’s hand for His blessing. As in the past, there will be challenges and with the challenges we receive God’s grace. So totally we need to trust in Him. To God be the glory.

Dr E J Boyce

show less