Leading a Homeschool Group Is Hard, You Should Start One

Leadership, like life; has ups and downs. Dealing with people can be difficult, making decisions that impact an entire group can be tough, and it’s all volunteer work. But I am here to tell you I would do it all again.

So here’s the thing, leadership IS HARD! Let’s call it what it is. We would be kidding ourselves to think leading a group of any size for a significant period of time isn’t going to be challenging. But now that we have that out of the way, it will be WONDERFUL.

The rewards far outweigh all of the work if you allow yourself to see the beauty of it all. You will see relationships form that will continue on for years, precious friendships between moms and children of all ages. You will see completely introverted mommas come out of their shell, and you will witness GOD work!

You can witness bonds form, encouragement shared, and so many things that you can look back on and say “Wow, I got to be part of that”. It is a ministry and God can use YOU as a tool to bring people together. 

Back in 2013 my oldest daughter and I had been homeschooling for 4-5 years already, and I realized I was becoming introverted and borderline reclusive. It was easy to just stay home and homeschool. We weren’t being intentional and seeking out God’s design regarding relationships. We weren’t making solid connections with anyone. So I decided to try to join some other groups; but the truth is I couldn’t find what I envisioned. I wanted to plug-in to an organized homeschool group with support for moms.

So why were the other homeschool groups not working for us?

I wanted an organized and welcoming group, but I kept finding flaky or cliquey. We would go to a scheduled playdate, and no one would be there, or if people were there; we weren’t greeted and felt a bit awkward honestly. We still weren’t making connections, despite the fact that we were trying.

I was looking for a structured homeschool group. A homeschool group that greeted you at every event, a group that offered support and encouragement to the homeschool moms. After trying out another group a few times with little relational success, I decided to start my own group. Little did I know at the time that God had a plan!

What you need to know is that people will criticize your motives or think you should be doing things another way (without seeing the bigger picture). Some people will have suggestions with little efforts to volunteer at times, and that is OK! Do it anyway.

There IS a Need for More Well-Run Christian Homeschool Groups Out There.

Pray About It! If God has called you to this, he will lead you through every step. There are so many things I can tell you about how to structure your group, what to plan, and how. But most important is Pray! Ask God to help you, work through you and use you; it will all come together for his good.

I look back on it now and still vividly recall my daughter and I driving to our first meetup with our newly established group, I was terrified! I had to make myself step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to be an example for her to meet people with ease and learn to cultivate lasting friendships. I wanted to model commitment to serving others.

We prayed on our way for God to calm our hearts and send us the right people, the people HE wanted us to meet for whatever reason. Boy did he! We grew year after year to eventually capping the group off! The group became bigger than I had ever imagined, and it was working and successful! To God be the glory – We prayed this prayer on our way to every meetup after that.

I was an introverted person by nature, but God called me out of my comfort zone for the good of others, and I am a different person today for that. It is worth it for the children you will be serving, their families, and the relationships you will form with fellow homeschool moms.

If you can’t find a group that is the right fit, I encourage you to keep trying or start your own!