History

Gaston Christian School was founded in 1979, by a group of concerned parents who
wanted to establish a non-denominational Christian school that offered a college
preparatory program taught from a Biblical perspective. With support from Dr. M.
O. Owens, pastor of Parkwood Baptist Church; and Dr. Richard Allen Bodey, pastor
of First ARP Church, the school opened its doors in 1980, in facilities provided
by Parkwood Baptist Church with 105 students in grades K-9. The school progressed
and a class of 3 students was graduated in May 1984.
In 1991, Catawba Heights Baptist Church invited the school to open a satellite campus
using their educational facilities. The Catawba Heights campus opened in the fall
of 1991, with 100 students in grades K-6.
With the growth the school was experiencing and the ongoing needs to expand, classroom
space continued to be an issue. In 1994, the Board, driven in part by plans to again
develop high school grades, entered into an agreement with the Sisters of Mercy
to lease a portion of the old Sacred Heart College campus in Belmont to house the
middle and senior high schools. The Belmont Campus opened in the fall of 1994, with
grades 7 through 10 and graduated a class of 15 in May 1997. In August of 2006,
the school's two elementary campuses moved from the Catawba Heights Baptist Church
and Parkwood Baptist Church Campuses to the school's new elementary building located
on its Lowell Campus. Today, there are more than 865 students in the PK3 - grade
12 program on the school's two campuses.
Gaston Christian School is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. There
are currently 9 standing members and 2 ex-officio members. They assume the roles
of policy and strategic planning, with the day-to-day operational issues and functions
under the purview of the administration.