The Genesis and Development of the Primary School Project
By Ps. Paul Magno, 1 February 2026

In October 2016, my family and I started pastoring Alabaster Church (then called Maroondah City Church). We came from a well-established ACC church in Keysborough where we served for 8 years. This church had a Christian College (primary and secondary school) on its site, which it pioneered in the 1980s under the leadership of the Senior Pastor of the church who I served under. Even though the school was an independent legal entity, it was always at heart a ministry of the church.

This church-school setup was a mutually beneficial partnership, resulting in much fruit for both organisations. I served for a number of years as a pastor at the church and second-in-charge to the Senior Pastor; I also served on the council (board) of the school, with a focus on admissions and creating pathways for families who were genuinely exploring the Christian faith and wanted their children to receive Christian-based education. In my time serving in these capacities, we were able to enrol hundreds of students and reach numerous families to faith in Christ. It was a wonderful and fruitful season, but I also found it to be exhausting having to juggle church and school roles and responsibilities.

So, when I started pastoring Alabaster Church in 2016, I was tired of the church-school setup. In my mind, I was ready to focus on exclusively building a thriving local church without the encumbrance of being part of the operations of a school.

One of the biggest challenges of Alabaster Church in those days was the reality that we were an ageing church — about two-thirds of the church were seniors and we had very few young families. In fact, the arrival of the Magno family (a family of 7 children!) significantly bumped up the number of children in the church! This was a very real challenge. Instinctively I knew that we had to do something radical as a church if we were going to reach new people, specially unchurched people. I knew that people would not naturally be drawn to an ageing church and that our current way of doing things would not reach anyone unless the status quo was disrupted.

The Lord Speaks
So I prayed. I cried out to the Lord for help, clarity, wisdom, and a strategy. A little over a month after starting at Alabaster Church, in November 2016 I was prayer-walking around the church grounds when I sensed the Holy Spirit speak to me; I can still remember where I discerned His leading which actually captured my attention so strongly that it made me stop in my tracks. The words I sensed in my spirit were, “Why are you ignoring the training I gave you these last few years?”

As I pondered those words, I immediately realised that the Holy Spirit was referring to my time at the church in Keysborough and being part of the school operations — a time I did not want to return to and a time I thought was completely over. However, in those moments, the Holy Spirit was able to reframe my entire experience in Keysboroug; instead of the memories of juggling church and school roles, I was able to see that time from Heaven’s perspective as a time of being trained by the Lord to understand the ethos and operations of a church and school working together to advance the Kingdom of God and make disciples of Christ. Out of this revelation, I knew the Lord was leading us to build a school on the grounds of Alabaster Church

Confirmational Signs To The Vision
I shared this revelation and vision to what was then the business council and eldership of Alabaster Church. It was met with unanimous resonance and excitement! It generated ideas and got the creative juices of the team flowing. I looked into the zoning of the land the church was on — we sit on a little over 6 acres of land — and discovered that we are zoned to have a Primary School (but not a Secondary School) with an approved planning permit. These 2 things — the initial unity of the eldership and business council, and the zoning of the land — were the immediate confirmations that the vision for the Primary School was from the Lord.

Another immediate confirmation occured on my very first Vision Sunday at Alabaster Church, which was February 2017. I shared for the very first time, beyond the eldership and business council, to the entire congregation the vision for a Primary School. It was met with openness in my opinion, but what made it truly confirmative was when someone from the congregation who I had not met prior came up to me at the end of the service. This gentlemen said to me, “I want to help you with your school project.” I wanted to be polite and friendly, so I invited him to talk more in the cafe area. When we sat down, I asked him, “What’s your name, and tell me a little bit more about yourself and what you do for work?” He replied, “My name is Tony Dib and I am the Lord Mayor of Maroondah City. I want you to come to my office tomorrow, I’ll take straight to the office of the city town planner, and let’s see if your Project is viable.”

To say that I nearly fell of my chair was an understatement! I visited the Lord Mayor with another church elder in his office the following day, Monday, and after an exchange of pleasantries, he ushered us straight into the office of the town planner. We were able to learn that the land was indeed zoned for a Primary School with an approved planning permit; and it was reassuring to know that we had the Mayor on our side supporting us in this Project!

The final confirmation that immediately occured during these early days of the genesis of the Primary School Project was the willingness of the church and school in Keysborough (my former church) to be partners with us in the project. The initial fundamental idea was that the Keysborough church/school would build the Primary School, and Alabaster Church would serve as landlord, with the freedom to reach the families who attended the future Primary School.

I felt strongly that this vision was from God, in Jesus’ name!

The Vision Exposes Disunity
Without delving into too much detail, the months that followed were not quite what I expected. Instead of unity, the vision exposed a long-standing and deep-seated division within the church’s eldership and business council. Some of the leaders changed their minds about the Primary School Project and expressed their dissent to church members. I hosted an interest meeting for the church and invited questions, concerns, and feedback. We had a mixture of antagonistic and supportive comments. But without unity at the top, the Project had no hope.

I was left without choice but to shelve the Project for a season, while we as a church worked to reconcile and address the division and internal antagonism at leadership level. This was a tough season, but by the grace of God we were able to go through it.

The Lord Revives The Project
We all remember 2020-21 as the season of pandemic and lockdowns. In 2020, as we navigated the first year of the pandemic, I brought the Primary School Project back to the spotlight and asked the Alabaster Church to give generously to the Miracle Offering whcih would entirely be devoted to the Primary School. In my mind, I reasoned that if the Miracle Offering was poorly responded to that it would mean the end of the Project. But, if it was generously responded to, it meant that God was reviving the Project.

Through various means and givers, we received the largest Miracle Offering to date that year — a strong confirmation from the Lord that He was reviving the Primary School Project. The Miracle Offering of 2020 allowed us to fully fund the planning permit application.

The Miraculous and Favourable Approval Of The Planning Permit
In my capacity as a leader or board member of other organisations, I am aware of how difficult the planning permit application process can be. We started working on the planning permit application in 2021. By May 2022, we had submitted the planning permit application to the State Government. The application took its normal course, with the church’s neighbours being given the chance to give feedback and objections to the planning permit application.

Alabaster Church tried to proactively address some of the objections our neighbours might have. I sat down with some of our neighbours who raised concerns regarding a Primary School on our site. I tried to respond to people’s concerns, however objections were still submitted.

But this is where it becomes “miraculous”. Despite the objections, we were successful in our application for a planning permit for a Primary School on our site. It was almost as if the State Government wanted us to operate a Primary School because we were awarded the planning permit with hardly any difficulty. Yes, the team that worked on the application were professionals and highly capable. However, I have seen this in other cases as well and with a different result. I can only attribute the difference to the favour of God!

I can still remember when and where I received the news of the approval. Jessica and I were attending the ACC International Conference (a missions conference) in Phuket, Thailand when I read the email. I was so overwhelmed with joy and awe at the faithfulness of God!

What’s Next
Today, the Primary School Project continues. We are in a crucial stage — the planning permit expires in 2028 and work must commence this year. The original masterplan of renovating the current building is no longer viable due to changes in legislation last year around the BAL (Bushfire Attack Level) rating of the building. We have to increase our faith in God to provide for the building of new classroom buildings. If we had started the renovations earlier, the change in bushfire legislation would not have affected the Primary School Project. But there is no point in wallowing in regret; we must move forward.

We are exploring the possibility of starting an online or virtual Primary School, where children study from home under the supervision of their parents or legal carers, and the curriculum is delivered online by the Primary School. This could be a great way for us to get started, and build an on-site Primary School with the virtual option.

We are exploring ways for interested givers to invest in the Primary School, without putting a strain on the already generous and sacrificial giving of the church. I have confidence in God that He will lead us to investors and generous donors who will be Heaven’s conduits for the fulfillment of this project.

There is much work to be done. But I am confident in the Lord that He will get us through. I believe it is Kairos time for the Primary School Project — right time, right place, and right people. We have a new school partner that will establish the Primary School as tenants on the church land, with Alabaster Church serving as landlords and partnering together in the discipleship of the families that will connect with both the Primary School and the church.

And, you and I have a crucial role to play. So let’s keep praying! Let’s keep our faith up! God is the God of the impossible, and He will make a way in this Kairos time.

God bless and grace upon grace to you!