Principal's Thoughts
This week saw the BCEA (parent company of RCC) hold their AGM. It was a blessing to meet and continue to strive together to ensure our school grows in a manner that keeps the main thing the main thing. Namely, that we provide our students with a school based on God’s goodness that allows them to belong and be safe and challenges them to be courageous in learning and grow well in their God-given identity, purpose and hope.
We were blessed to make some positive decisions regarding our constitution moving forward that will continue to support and uphold our passion for Christian education for our families. Sadly, we had 2 long serving Board members stand down. Many thanks to Pablo and Stu for their tireless service to ensure we stay the course. We were also blessed to appoint a new member, Richard, who has served in many areas of our community over many years. We look forward to seeing the expertise he will bring.
We do continue to have vacancies in our Association and Board, so if you are interested in being a part of the BCEA, please see our website for details or contact the school office for more information.
For this week’s Tidings, I would like to share with you some of the departing words Pablo shared with us on the night. May these words bless you and inspire you as they did us.
AGM Reflection: Mission in a Changing World
Let’s begin with some honesty. The world around us is changing—rapidly. Australia’s religious landscape has shifted dramatically. Christianity, while still the largest religious affiliation, now accounts for just 43.9% of the population. Nearly 39% of Australians say they have no religion at all. Meanwhile, non-Christian faiths such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are growing, and with them, Australia’s cultural and religious diversity. In our Ballina Shire, the number of people that identified as non-religious is already higher than those identifying as Christians.
And so, we find ourselves in a moment of great opportunity — and great responsibility … Mission today must be reimagined. Not as conquest, but as communion. Not as persuasion, but as presence. Not as dominance, but as deep, mutual love.
As a Christian school, our mission isn’t just about education — it’s about
forming people for the life of the Kingdom. And that means we must learn to
live the Gospel in ways that speak hope ... We need a mission that is shaped by three deep commitments.
1. Radical Hospitality
Radical hospitality means creating spaces where every person — no matter their culture or background, or belief, even in our pluralistic Christian traditions — feels like they are seen, valued, and held in the love of God.
We are not gatekeepers of grace. We are table-setters. And Jesus — the One
who broke bread with sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans, and Pharisees
alike — shows us that hospitality is central to mission.
Hospitality is a core principle. In our classrooms and in our playgrounds, in our staff rooms and board meetings, we have the chance to practise a hospitality that is bold and
generous. A hospitality that says: you belong, because you are made in the
image of God. It values the person, but it glorifies God. Any hope of transformation must flow from the gift of belonging.
2. Prophetic Dialogue
This might sound like a contradiction—how can we be both prophetic and dialogical? But in Christ, we see exactly this: the One who speaks truth with courage and yet listens with humility. The emphasis is on humility- not the kind of listening that is simply waiting for the moment of talking, but the one that is open to learning, being changed and being inspired.
In a multicultural context, we are invited to speak honestly about our faith, while also making space to hear the stories of others. This kind of dialogue doesn’t dilute our identity—it deepens it. It teaches our students how to hold their beliefs with conviction and kindness. It models a way of engaging the world that is both truthful and tender.
3. Mutual Transformation
If we’re truly listening to the cultures, experiences, and stories around us, then we’ll find ourselves learning and growing too. No place in the world is irrelevant as they are created, loved and called by God. Closing our eyes to learning from others only shows the depth of our pride and the shallowness of our faith, exposing ignorance and prejudice instead of grace and kindness.
The Spirit is already at work in the world. Our job is not to bring Christ to
people as if He were absent. Our job is to bear witness — and to be open to the
ways Christ meets us in the faces of others.
In this school, we’re not just teaching students—we’re learning from them. From their cultural backgrounds, from their spiritual questions, from their passions and from their pain. This is a community where transformation is mutual—where every encounter
becomes an opportunity for grace.
We have a chance — a holy calling — to shape the next generation in ways that are faithful, courageous, and intercultural. Let’s be clear: we are still people of the Gospel. We still proclaim Christ crucified and risen. But we do so with an open heart, an open door, and open hands.
We teach Christ not just with our words, but with our welcome, our wisdom, and our witness. And when possible, at every opportunity, with courageous proclamation.
We don’t need to fear the changing world. God is already at work in it. And we are invited to join—in humility, in joy, and in love.
So as we gather for this AGM and look toward the future of our school, may we recommit ourselves to the mission of God—not as something we control, but as a movement we participate in.
A movement of radical hospitality. A practice of prophetic dialogue. And a journey of mutual transformation. Because the Spirit is still blowing, friends. Let’s set our sails to catch the wind…
…
Thank you, Pablo.
Good Tidings, RCC.
Jonno