A. Families who earnestly desire to raise their children to love and obey their Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

B. Families who believe it would be beneficial to have help in educating their children, especially in areas where

1. the parents are weak in a certain subject matter , i.e.

a. upper level mathematics

b. foreign languages

2. the students would benefit by being in a group setting, i.e.

a. history classes with discussion groups

b. debate classes

c. musical ensembles

C. Families who want their children to master important concepts

1. in their intellects in preparation for higher education,

2. in their hearts in preparation for life as God’s joyful and willing servants here on this earth and into eternity.

II. Why support home school families?

A. While all parents want the best education for their children, home school parents have made the commitment to invest their personal time and energy to see that it happens.

B. Many home school parents take seriously the Lord’s command to teach the children about what He has done. These parents recognize that training them when they rise up, when they sit down, when they are walking… is best done all day long on the fresh slate of their children’s minds rather than having to undo the false teaching received in schools that do not recognize God as Creator and Redeemer.

III. Should we be available to support any home school family?

No. Not all home school parents recognize Jesus as Lord of their lives or of their children’s education. I suggest that we focus our efforts on like-minded families whose primary concern is that the education their children receive is Christ-centered and cross-focused.

IV. What do we at Emmaus Lutheran Church have to offer?

A. Faith in the true Creator God, given by the power of the Holy Spirit, to believe unto salvation that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins.

B. Members already experienced in and committed to raising their own children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord via home schooling and earnestly desiring to pass this on to more families.

C. Several well-educated members with training and teaching skills in such areas as

1. Lutheran theology

2. history

3. foreign languages

a. Greek

b. Hebrew

c. Latin

4. music

5. upper level mathematics

6. upper level science

D. An empty but quite usable facility which is currently being a blessing to 6 home school families.

E. A desire to serve more neighbors, whether they be

1. nearby in the Fox Park neighborhood,

2. in the downtown St. Louis area where home school support which is currently lacking, or

3. in the greater St. Louis area where a Lutheran-focused, quality, classical home school support system has yet to be developed.

V. How will offering to help these families help the congregation at Emmaus?

1. Emmaus has an extremely high percentage of well-educated teachers who could be using their gifts towards eternity in this venture.

2. Emmaus will grow because there are Lutheran home school families who are looking for a congregation where

a. the home built around the crucified and risen Christ is central,

b. the authority of Scripture is affirmed,

c. the headship of the father is mandated,

d. wisdom is found because they are rooted in the fear of the Lord,

e. Truth remains Truth, in spite of current fads,

f. like-minded parents will encourage and edify them as they teach their children in all knowledge and wisdom, and

g. home school children will be encouraged because they will see that they are not alone but have many other home school friends learning the heart and wisdom lessons that they are learning.

VI. How can we let people know what we have to offer?

1. Conventions – Attend the upcoming St. Louis home school conventions with materials about what we are currently offering and what we could offer.

2. Advertising: Use every possible available advertising venue, i.e.

a. Talk/invite – People are interested!

b. Community bulletin boards, Starbucks

c. St. Louis LCMS church bulletins/newsletters

d. Partners in Chime handbell choir – Play at various interested Lutheran churches to share what we are doing.

e. Open house – Share our music, our spring play, examples of this semester’s work

f. Website – Build it, maintain it

g. Real estate agents – Many families don’t consider moving to the city because they want quality education for their children. Realtors would benefit knowing about us and they could let clients know we are available.

We at Emmaus have an incredible opportunity. The Lord is the only One who knows how big this could be as we continue to trust Him and serve Him.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Rolland