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Early Dreams
During 1973, a small group of Christian parents came together in Darwin, NT. They held a shared and growing concern about their children's education and sought an alternative based on the biblical direction to train up children in the way they should go.
A Christian Schools Association is formed
 In 1976 a public meeting was held to determine interest in the establishment of a school where education would be grounded in biblical principle and of the highest quality. There was strong support from Christian parents. To act on this parental interest and desire, a steering committee of nine people was formed in April 1977 as the interim committee of the Darwin Christian Schools Association. The committee was concerned not only with the provision of land and classrooms but also with how this education might be distinctly Christian. By October 1977 the Darwin Christian Schools Association was formally incorporated with 34 members and the first board of directors was elected. With grateful thanks to God, the first of the 'new wave' of Christian schools in the Territory followed less than eighteen months after the association began.
Development of Christian Schools in the Northern Territory
1979 - Marrara Christian School: a first in the Territory
In February 1979, the Association opened Marrara Christian School with two primary classes operating in Tracey Village. In 1980 the school moved to its own site in Sanderson, operating initially in refurbished demountable buildings. Secondary education at Marrara Christian School began with the first Year 8 class in the same year.
A further six schools were established over the next 24 years...
1988 - Palmerston Christian School
1990 - Araluen Christian School
1996 - Litchfield Christian School
1998 - Nhulunbuy Christian School
2002 - Woolaning Homeland Christian College
2004 - Gawa Christian School
A Name Change for the Association
The association always had a vision to operate more than one school. With Araluen Christian School in Alice Springs coming on board, the time was right for a name change to enable the association to embrace and serve the whole of the Territory. In 1991 the Northern Territory Christian Schools Association came into being.
The Association becomes a School System
In a significant strategic development in 1995, the association formed a school system under Commonwealth government legislation and remains recognised as a system by all tiers of government to this day.
Indigenous education from a Christian perspective
There had been Indigenous students in the association's schools from the outset. During 1997, the learning needs of some students from remote communities were recognised in the establishment of the Indigenous Learning Centre at Marrara Christian School. There was (and still is) an emphasis on literacy and numeracy for these students together with other life skills. The centre is now wholly integrated into the school community.
The Association has had a long-standing committment to working alongside indigenous families and communities who desire a Christian educaiton for their children, as evidenced through the Family Group Home program at Marrara Christian College and the planning, establishment and development of indigenous schools at Woolaning Homeland Christian College (Litchfield National Park) and Gawa Christian School (Elcho Island).
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