God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Dear Friends,
At the close of last year, I told you that we were anticipating a record number of attacks on homeschool freedoms and parental rights in 2023. That is exactly what happened. We had a record-setting number of anti-family bills including some that would have caused significant barriers causing many families to be unable to legally homeschool.
We may see even greater attacks in the upcoming year – not just here in California, but across the nation. Here’s why:
We are constantly monitoring the news media for stories that could trigger a legislator to introduce legislation to increase homeschool regulation. Politicians love to propose legislation based on sensational news stories. It’s good politics.
In recent months, we’ve seen a slew of national news stories claiming that parents use homeschooling to hide child abuse.
Part of one story this month included the tragic death of a young boy in California. We’ve already seen legislative action begin in Michigan following this story. I expect we will see a California legislative response to this horrific case aimed at homeschooling soon. I am already working to preemptively engage legislators and their staff on how this is not a homeschool issue and that there are already laws on the books that deal with child abuse.
Here in Sacramento we are gearing up for some serious legislative battles starting next month. On January 3rd, the Legislature will be back in session and they will start off with a bang. We are already anticipating several new attacks on families and on homeschooling specifically.
We at FPM will continue to scan and monitor every bill that is introduced in the California legislature and alert you when a threat arises. To do this we need to be prepared for January 3rd and that is where you come in. We can’t do this work without your help. We need homeschool families and groups throughout the state to be engaged with us and ready to respond to Action Alerts when we send them. We stand a better chance if we stand together. We also need your prayers and your financial support to be able to continue protecting freedom in the new year.
Our support has gradually declined over the last 10 years with a significant downturn at the end of last year. And, much as we have set out to cut expenses, our bottom line has not decreased due to rising costs in the Golden State. Please help today by committing something extra every month. We have growing monthly costs to keep protecting homeschool freedom in California.
A very important and complex tool at the core of what FPM does is our legislative tracking subscription service through LexisNexis. This is a highly productive research service that helps us to wade through the 3,000 bills introduced each year. We rely on this in order to identify threats to homeschool families. This service costs us $3.29 per day. One contribution you might consider would be to sponsor this service for a day at $3.29, for a week at $23.03, or for a month at $98.70. Maybe you could cover this cost for the whole year with a donation of $1,200.
Parking at the Capitol costs us quite a bit as well. I pay a monthly fee for a space near the Capitol so I can make it to hearings to testify on time or to get to meetings without delays. Parking at the Capitol costs us $6.57 every day throughout the year.
We also need additional help with some one-time costs right away. Our server that has been running our office faithfully for 15 years is in declining health and urgently needs to be replaced. The estimate for replacing the server is $5,874. We also need two new laptops for staff, which will cost $9,998.
We’ve seen God rescue us out of seemingly impossible battles before, and He can do it again. I am trying my best to do my part in this battle, and even now am preparing for what lies ahead. But I cannot do it alone. I need your help.
Any additional amount that you can personally commit to giving each month to make ends meet for this ministry will be put to good use defending the freedom to Homeschool in California. Please consider mailing a donation or visit our donate page at fpmca.org/give for easy online donations. Thank you, in advance, for your prayerful consideration.
Sincerely,
Nathan Pierce
Executive Director
Family Protection Ministries
PS: Anything you can give at this time will help us be ready for the Legislature to come back on January 3rd.
The following pages contain thoughts from respected leaders in the Christian community on why they think it’s important to engage with FPM and support our work defending the family.
“Children. Where do they come from, and who’s responsible for raising them?
“If you were privileged enough to grow up in a home filled with the light of Scripture, it may seem like those questions are merely rhetorical. Obviously, children come from the Lord, and they are a gift to parents – a mom and a dad who are married.
“Psalm 127:3 – Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward…how blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
“Not everyone acknowledges these fundamental realities, of course. Most in our contemporary climate see children as the natural result of billions of years of evolutionary progress, and that responsibility for rearing them falls on the larger community – daycares, schools, PBS, and the government. The modern mantra is, “It takes a village.”
“The teaching of Scripture is crystal clear; God gives children to parents as a joyful blessing and also as a profound stewardship. The responsibility for training up a child rests squarely with mom and dad. Parents have both the duty and privilege of shaping the little ones God gives them.
“It seems odd that such foundational truth would need defending, but if there’s one thing that is evident in this world, it is that the truth is ever under attack.
“It is for this reason that I’m thankful for the ministry of Nathan Pierce and Family Protection Ministries. FPM has, for decades, demonstrated fidelity to the Lord and His design for the family by serving as both light and watchdog. Nathan is a man who treasures the gospel and cares deeply about God’s design for the family. As a light, he works closely with legislators, seeking to shine the glory of Christ’s gospel and God’s truth about the family. As a watchdog, Nathan is committed to keeping an eye on government encroachment into the family, keeping parents aware of the endless threats to their God-given authority to raise and train their children without governmental intrusion. This is an important ministry.”
Dave Witt
Teaching Pastor, Foothill Christian Fellowship
“Nathan Pierce and his efforts on behalf of home educators in the California legislature has also had a strong and positive impact on the leaders of other state-wide Christian homeschool organizations. We appreciate his understanding of the issues and the ability to articulate them well. He is a valuable asset to protect and advance the freedom to homeschool in California and the nation.”
David Watkins
Chairman, National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership
“The work that Nathan Pierce and Family Protection Ministries does in our state capitol on behalf of private homeschoolers, is vital. Private homeschooling is what I call an extreme freedom in California. With so many of our freedoms being regulated and parents rights being stripped away, the only reason private homeschooling hasn’t been tampered with is because of the work Nathan does every day. We desperately need Nathan and his team in the Capitol to continue the work on behalf of every parent in our state!”
Michelle Becerra
Revival Christian School
“The work of FPM in California is crucial for promoting truth and accurate information regarding liberty-respecting and Christian perspectives on the duties, responsibilities, and rights of all families. FPM is particularly strong at promoting and defending all private education, and especially homeschooling, from the overreach and intrusion of civil government actors who do not understand or are opposed to such liberty-honoring and Christian perspectives on issues related to parents, children, and family. FPM is an essential group that individuals from all schooling sectors and all religious backgrounds who agree with their philosophy should eagerly support.”
Dr. Brian Ray
President, National Home Education Research Institute
“Over twenty years ago, when I first came to work at HSLDA, I learned about the vital role Family Protection Ministries plays to protect homeschool freedom in California. When the CDE wrote to every legislator urging a crackdown in 2002, FPM was there. When the LA appeals court erroneously ruled that homeschooling was illegal in 2008, FPM was there. And the 2008 reversal of that erroneous ruling was due in large part to the work FPM did quietly behind the scenes in the legislature for decades before the court case. Nathan Pierce has carried on the long, vital role of FPM, by carefully monitoring every bill, by forming valuable relationships with legislators, their staff, and with the other diverse homeschooling groups in the Golden State. Please support FPM with your most generous donation. HSLDA depends on FPM as our eyes, ears and feet in California.”
James R Mason
President, Home School Legal Defense Association
Nathan Pierce and Family Protection Ministries provide a vital service to the private homeschool community by being our primary eyes, ears and voice at the State Capitol. With Nathan as our “watchman on the wall” we are confident that we will be able to strategically respond to any potential threat to our fundamental rights as parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of our children. CHEA of California relies heavily on Nathan and Family Protection Ministries.
John McGowan
Vice President, CHEA of California
The work of FPM is absolutely critical in our current culture. Whether it be parental rights, home education, or religious freedom, the family is under tremendous attack on every side. These attacks are no longer subtle – they are aggressive and relentless. Nathan’s full-time advocacy over the last 20 years in Sacramento has seen great victories. Having developed trusted relationships with lawmakers, God has used Nathan to impact legislation in ways that are nothing short of miraculous. Were it not for his steadfast and tireless efforts on our behalf, our freedoms as parents and citizens would surely be different.
Bradley Burke
Christian College Trustee
“As Nathan Pierce works to protect California, he protects the nation!
When Family Protection Ministries addresses legislation or policies, it informs other states.
California is the “front lines” of cultural and government movements.”
Roger Smith, MD
National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership
“I can’t tell you how thankful I am for the work of Family Protection Ministries. The battle against the God-ordained family in California is intense. Given this reality, your constant watch over legislation that would undermine parental authority and subvert creation order, is invaluable. Through your work, Christian families are educated, equipped, and mobilized to apply the faith in relationship to our elected representatives. More than that, your presence at the capitol as a Christian witness to the truth of God’s word, is a constant reminder to our government officials of their duty before God on behalf of the people. Though we live in dark times and California often seems like a “lost cause”, the work of Family Protection Ministries reminds me that God has not left us to ourselves. We serve a God who loves to do what is impossible with man, using what seems insignificant in the world’s eyes to display His power. That is why I get so encouraged when I see what Family Protection Ministries is doing – taking the truths of Scripture, prayer, and action to shine the light of God where it is desperately needed. Keep up the good work!”
Brian Eschen
Board Member – Institute for Principle Studies
“FPM and Nathan Pierce are an organization and individual whom I have worked with for forty years to advance and preserve the freedom to homeschool in California. I can say without hesitation that FPM has played a major role in the freedom to homeschool. Their role in the freedom fight in the future is essential. The only way they can continue to preserve your freedom is if you support them financially. They are funded almost totally by the homeschoolers of California. How valuable is freedom – priceless! You have a role in preserving this freedom – that’s the support of FPM. Please send a check or other donation today. Let’s work together so your children and their children will have the same freedom you have enjoyed.
Mike Smith
President Emeritus, HSLDA
“For those of us who opt to stay in California rather than flee the state, the importance of supporting advocates like Nathan in the State Capitol cannot be ignored. The liberties we still enjoy must be fought and defended from attack on a daily basis, and if you don’t have time to be at the Capitol on a daily basis, that means supporting full-time advocates who will stand on your behalf and do the drudge-work of sifting through piles of proposed bills, working behind the scenes to get wording changed, sending out action alerts, and more. We wouldn’t have the freedom we do without Nathan.”
Father of 6
“Homeschool groups don’t often think about all the laws that affect their operation – everything from homeschool laws to safety requirements to parental rights. Thankfully, Family Protection Ministries is on the job in the California Legislature! HSLDA Group Services appreciates the hard work that Family Protection Ministries puts in day after day, protecting freedom for the homeschool groups of California, whether support groups, co-ops, PSPs, or one of the various hybrid programs that have proliferated in the last few years. Their knowledge and diligence in analyzing legislation and supporting our rights as homeschoolers is invaluable.”
Darren A. Jones
Senior Counsel and Director of Group Services, Home School Legal Defense Association
“The Value of working with FPM and Nathan Pierce personally from CHEA’s perspective…
In my position as chairman of the board of Christian Home Educators Association (CHEA) of CA, I well know the value of FPM and its director Nathan Pierce. I have known Nathan since he was a child; he is a strong Christian, a great husband and father, dedicated to Christian homeschooling, and a man of integrity. He and FPM work tirelessly in a difficult venue, the state legislature of California in Sacramento. Most of the people he works with do not share his and CHEA’s world view and beliefs about parents’ rights to raise their children to serve God. Nathan works literally at the point of attack – researching, communicating with, and influencing the legislature on the myriad of plans, desires and bills they create that would limit parents’ rights and freedoms in raising their children. The incredible diligence of FPM is all important as many of the attacks on these rights and freedoms are subtle. Nathan analyzes many hundreds of proposed bills and has influenced them in ways that protect and preserve our ability to homeschool. Parents in California would not enjoy the freedoms we have now or in the future were it not for FPM/Nathan and the work they do, of that I am sure!”
Steve Murphy
Chairman, CHEA Board of Directors
“We and the homeschool families in our church have been grateful for the opportunity to pray for and support the ministry of FPM. The team at FPM through legislative updates, their in person representation in front of legislators at our Capitol, teaching through events such as Capitol Days, and email alerts are invaluable when it comes to equipping us to stay informed and be engaged regarding our rights to privately homeschool.”
John Kane
Pastor
“HSLDA is deeply grateful for the leadership and hard work provided by Family Protection Ministries. In a day and age of growing pressure to restrict homeschool freedom from some well-funded special interest groups, Family Protection Ministry’s relationships with legislators in Sacramento, knowledge of homeschooling, and effective advocacy has been instrumental in preserving homeschool freedom in California.”
William A. Estrada, Esq.
Licensed in CA and DC
Senior Counsel, HSLDA