Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Many homeschoolers have experienced the difficulty of raising a large family while trying to teach all of their children at home. Samuel and Susanna Wesley, the parents of 19 children in 18th-century England, were quite familiar with the struggles of many modern homeschooling families. Mike Farris, President of Home School Legal Defense Association, tells their story today on Home School Heartbeat.

Michael Farris:
No account of modern church history would be complete without the stories of John and Charles Wesley. Born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley of Lincolnshire, England, John and Charles were the 15th and 18th of 19 children. Susanna schooled all her children at home, and she didn't confine their learning to mere academics. Together with her husband, an Anglican pastor, she taught her children the Bible and trained them to serve God as well.

Susanna's child rearing was put to the test when John left home to pursue higher learning at Oxford. Ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728, John began a ministry of open-air preaching.

John Wesley traveled over 250,000 miles in his lifetime, spreading the Gospel. With a strong emphasis on good works, the Wesleys founded clinics for the sick and orphanages and schools for the poor. Ultimately, they were a part of the Great Awakening, which swept the English-speaking world and saw hundreds of thousands being saved.

Mothers and fathers of large families, take heart. Among your children there may be a John or a Charles Wesley, who, with a godly upbringing, can dramatically impact the world for Christ.

I'm Michael Farris.