In June 2004, the Southern Baptist Annual Convention will be held. There is hope that a resolution, calling for Southern Baptists to remove their children from the public system, will be introduced. World Net Daily reported the story in May, as did the News & Record, a prominent newspaper in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Home School Legal Defense Association Weekly Update has also covered it.

However, this is NOT news to the Southern Baptist Convention. In September 2001, T.C. Pinckney, Brig. General USAF (ret), then Second Vice President to the Southern Baptist Convention, addressed the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee in Nashville, TN. Pinckney clearly states in "We Are Losing Our Children" that: 

"The ideal, most biblical solution is for parents to teach their children, to be homeschoolers. All our churches should welcome and openly encourage homeschoolers. But clearly many parents cannot or will not home-school. For their children, we need to start large numbers of Christian schools."
[ - Read More - ]

In September 2002, SBC President Jack Graham calls for kingdom schools in his SBC Executive Committee message:

"I think it's time that Southern Baptist churches and associations and groups of churches look more seriously at establishing kingdom schools, Christian schools," Graham said. "I think it's time we look at not only ... equipping young leaders at seminaries and colleges, but we look more seriously at starting at the earliest years, developing disciples and empowering kingdom growth through education."
[ - Read More - ]

However, there is no mention of homeschooling at all. I live near Prestonwood Christian Academy, and the school offers no opportunities for homeschooling families, unlike a local non-denominational, university-model school does. Both SBC President Jack Graham and Larry Taylor, PCA Headmaster and President of the SBACS Executive Committee, (Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools), www.sbacs.org, are highly supportive of church-based schools.

 A pipeline of communication has been created between these schools and Southern Baptist institutions of higher learning. The offerings include: college scholarships, discounts on leadership development opportunities, and "premier training…. to raise the level of excellence…. and PRESENT, PROMOTE, PRACTICE and PRESERVE the spiritual and academic culture of their school…."

However, as a life-long Southern Baptist homeschooling family who provides a Kingdom Education to our children, why are we not provided the same resources and opportunities? We have the same mission statement: "developing disciples and empowering kingdom growth through education."