The most frequent inquiry we hear from outreaches, is "how do you get people to join?" The answer: prayer, word of mouth, having "practical" sounding topics and eventually having fellowshipping opportunities.

Can you pause a moment here and pray for all the homeschool outreaches across this nation? Pray for the Christian families in this country and internationally, that they would discover biblical homeschooling.

Keep in mind that most homeschool outreaches and support groups start out small, maybe a family or two, or a handful. We have tried ads, mailing lists and other means to get families into the group. The most successful is when a family invites another family. It seems most of the current families were invited by someone. Running a continuous classified or other ad is a good idea, because it brings in a few anchor families that will then invite others.

If possible, host veteran homeschoolers speaking on any topic that is "practical" or "academic" - but be sure to have your speakers address biblical homeschooling as part of their talk.

Big draws have been "Teaching Preschool at Home", "Teaching Reading", "Organizing for Homeschooling" and our last topic on teaching foreign language to kids was popular. This works because every concerned parent is interested in topics that will help them educate their child.

To foster fellowship, once you get about three or so families, try having some stroller-friendly field trips to local places like the zoo. We charge $1 per child over two years old for our field trips (in addition to any entrance fee) and give this money to the mother who organizes the field trip. As you grow, activities such as park days, classes like ballet for preschoolers, nursing home ministry and sports clinics for young children make for a vibrant group where people are meeting other believers also exploring homeschooling. It is exciting to see good friends, even best friends made.