One of ICHE’s main emphasis is that we homeschoolers must be dependent upon the grace of God to lead us, give us wisdom, and supply all of our needs to raise our children to the glory of His name. Without Him, we can truly do nothing. As it is true for individuals and families, so it is true for organizations.
With the advent of the coronavirus earlier this year, the ICHE board and conference committee started to wrestle about what the annual family conference might look like. While the ministry has made technological strides in the last few years, our real heart has always been face-to-face, personal relationships, especially when it comes to our conference. The ICHE family is … well, … a family. When it became increasingly obvious that our live conference wasn’t going to happen, we started to consider all our options.
We finally concluded that the best alternative was to go virtual. Although we were not completely aware of it during the months of scrambling, it become so very clear that God had already paved the way for us, starting back in November of 2019. How so? Consider the following:
- The ICHE leadership team decided back in November to secure an app for the conference which ultimately—and unbeknownst to us—made the transition to a virtual conference easier. This lead time we had gave our technology team the ability to get in front of the curve, so we were able to use it to its maximum good. Without a doubt, God led us even when we were unaware of it.
- The donor base of ICHE was extremely generous in 2019, allowing us to offer the conference for free to all the attendees, including our valuable vendors (please support them!). Additionally, the ICHE family gave generously throughout the conference registration period, and we are still receiving registrations and donations for the conference which runs for months. We were prepared in spirit to lose money on our biggest fund raiser of the year. Still, we believed this was what God was calling us to do. Instead of losing money, we actually came out in the black. Obviously, we did not make what we normally would make, but that is okay because God has always provided. Without the generosity of the ICHE family, there was no way we could have done this. We praise God for His grace and for His people who followed His leading.
- The technology was available and performed with fewer hiccups than anticipated.
- Olivet Nazarene University was very understanding of our situation and was willing to work with us on all details. (Ironically, they were overhauling their cafeteria this summer and while we were able to work around it, logistical challenges were still present. It will be ready for us next year!)
- The speakers were very generous with their time, energy, and talents.
- We had a huge number of volunteers who donated hundreds of hours to make this event possible.
- We have triple the normal number of family registrations we usually have and served several countries as well as the United States from the East Coast all the way to Hawaii with the vision of home discipleship and the centrality of Jesus Christ.
It is for this reason that we are calling for a day of praise and feasting instead of prayer and fasting in the month of June. We need to celebrate the faithfulness of God. Far too many of us Christians focus on what has yet to be accomplished instead of acknowledging what God has already done. You may even want to try and memorize Psalms 115 to keep His praises on your lips.
Finally, we want to acknowledge God’s goodness in giving us a solid core of people that pray for ICHE with several of them committing to fast one day a month. While many ministries across the nation put much effort on their social media, fund raising, and growth techniques—these do have merit—we want to be known as a praying organization above everything else, exalting Christ and His great grace. Remember this. What is true at the macro level is true at the micro level of each individual homeschooling household. God is big enough to meet all your needs and is even willing to address many of your wants. May His name be glorified from this time forth and forevermore.
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