Support the growth of homeschooling! Listen as Jay St. John of First Class Homeschool Ministries discusses this topic on today’s Home School Heartbeat with Mike Smith.
Mike Smith:
Jay and Heidi St. John are working on a national level to build up the homeschool community. Jay, why is it important for churches to get involved in the homeschool community and why is a network so valuable?
Jay St. John:
When a parent decides to homeschool their children, they make a monumental commitment. It can seem scary and overwhelming, especially if a parent does not know where to go for support and encouragement. The church has an incredible opportunity to reach out to this new generation of parents who are choosing to homeschool their children. This is an opportunity for evangelism that is exploding along with a growing number of homeschoolers. Our commitment is to be a resource center for churches in helping them start ministries for homeschoolers, and also to the parents through this network of co-ops. We have this vision for Christian churches in the United States that they would become lighthouses for homeschool families. Parents should be able to look to their local church, and at the very least, find information on homeschooling. And ideally find programs to help them raise their kids as God intended. The network of co-ops offered through First Class is important because it allows co-op members to become connected to a larger group of homeschooling families. First Class offers encouragement, homeschool help, co-op class ideas and leadership training materials. We believe that most churches can have a homeschool ministry. It’s about having a heart for homeschoolers and a desire to reach out to them for support and encouragement.
Mike:
Well, thank you very much, Jay, for that valuable insight. Tune in next time to hear more on this topic. And until then, I’m Mike Smith.
