Our History

Aristotle once said that to understand anything, you must observe its beginning and its development. The story of Westside Christian School is no exception and is a testament to God’s provision and sustaining grace.

Prayer and Obedience

Prior to 2002, families who desired Christian education for their children had no choice but to commute to the eastern border of Vancouver or to more distant communities. For years, several families on the Westside had been praying for the same choice of Christian education in their community. In the early months of that same year, these families sensed strongly that God was indeed calling them to obediently to follow Him in establishing a Christian school and the idea of Westside began to take shape. They incorporated as a society, The Association of Families for Christian Education (AFCE), and successfully registered as a charity in an amazingly short period of time.

In British Columbia, an independent school registered with the Ministry of Education must meet several criteria in their first year of operation in order to receive government funding. One of these criteria is that 10 students must be enrolled on the first and last day of the academic year. The day prior to school opening in September 2002, only 7 students had enrolled. However, on Monday morning another family had been added and the first class had 10 students. We were grateful to God and even more convinced of His call and favour.

A Glowing Report

The first year of operation was a tremendous challenge. Extensive renovations were required with the costs and skills borne sacrificially by parents. Student tuition did not even come close to meeting our financial needs and our families, too, supplemented this. The process of inventing the school and sculpting its distinctives had typical difficulties. However, encouragement came with our first Ministry of Education inspection in October 2002 when we received a glowing report noting our rapid progress in implementing an innovative multi-age format. That God helped us and kept us safe through the first year is testimony to His plan and sovereignty.

Our second year saw continued growth as we completed more renovations, added a second classroom and hired a second teacher. Again financially, parents gave sacrificially to maintain the school. Ministry of Education funding was awarded, but only at half that which the public schools received. God still provided for us as we made tuition assistance to several families in need a priority. We believe God has blessed us for this expression of His compassion and our faith in His provision.

Growth and Blessing

As we continued to grow, we moved to another rented facility. Again families continued to give and labour to make this space a warm and inviting environment for students and faculty. We have been in this current facility for 3 years and once again we are in need of more classroom and administrative space. We are seeking God with this need and anticipating His provision as He has done so graciously in the past.

The last several years at Westside Christian School have been a testament to God’s continued faithfulness. We have worked diligently at defining and implementing what we believe to be His vision, values, mission and our own unique distinctives. We continue to implement an educational format that reflects the principles of community and family. We continue to rejoice in the uniqueness of each child that God brings to us and strive to meet the needs of each student and family. Over the years we have added 3 full-time faculty, 3 part-time faculty, a full-time teacher aide, a full-time administrative assistant and a principal. God continues to bring families to us from the local community, from University of British Columbia, from Regent College and internationally.

Gratitude

Westside Christian School’s history is both the link to our past and the bridge to our future. We exist, we are sustained and we flourish as result of God’s gracious provision and we are grateful for the personal sacrifices on which this school was built and is maintained. First and last this is God’s work and we are grateful for our role in it and we believe that out best days are yet to come.