It all began with God's work in two committed Christian families…

In the fall of 1983, the Lord brought the Schurke and Coleman families together. The previous year, Roger Schurke had met and worked with Michael Farris in Washington during the time that the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) was born. The Schurkes had already been homeschooling for five years. Roger’s work as an attorney with Mike gave him insight into how to start and maintain a homeschool organization.

Upon returning to Minnesota, Roger called pastors and others he knew to find out if there was a state homeschool organization. Many he spoke with referred him to Jim Coleman. Jim and Pam Coleman, along with Roger and his wife, Merryl, decided that because most homeschoolers at that time were Christians, Minnesota should have a homeschool organization with Christian leadership.

The two couples committed this matter to prayer for several weeks. In November of 1983, it was agreed that the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators should hold its organizational meeting, with approximately 50 people attending. The board members were home educating Christian couples and the initial member list was kept in a cigar box in the Coleman basement!

In 1986, God helped MÂCHÉ pack the chambers of the Minnesota legislature with homeschooling families, making a favorable impression upon state leaders who were writing Minnesota’s first home education laws. Prior to this time, many families were charged with abuse, neglect, or negligence because home educating was not considered “essentially equivalent” to government schools. But in 1987, God granted Minnesotans lawful freedom to home educate!

About 300 people attended the first MÂCHÉ Conference. There were no exhibitors or vendors, only speakers. Various churches in the Twin Cities hosted subsequent conferences until 1996. As the number of attendees grew, it became imperative to find space that allowed for this growth and the conference began convening at the St. Paul Civic Center. During the height of growth, the conference attendance was estimated at well over 5000 participants.

The annual conference then took up a standard rotation between convention centers in the Twin Cities, Duluth, and Rochester until 2020. Our convention models look a bit different today, but we are excited by the return of growth we've seen. This annual event currently has an attendance of 2000+ with 60-80 workshops, 159 booths with 50-60 exhibitors, and inspiring keynote and featured speakers. The convention experience provides a unique opportunity to mingle with other like-minded new and/or seasoned home educating parents. It also provides an outlet for support group leaders to gather and share resources, encourage, and uplift one another. The fellowship and community are second to none as a highlight of the homeschooling year.

The 2011 Legislative session saw additional victories for homeschooling families. Reduced annual reporting, eliminated superintendent visits, reduced immunization reporting, and modified standardized test reporting were some of the key victories that year. Although it has been legal to homeschool in Minnesota since 1987, that doesn’t mean that our freedom to homeschool hasn’t been tested. One of the crucial things that MÂCHÉ continues to do is to ensure that the legislature doesn’t pass any legislation that could adversely affect our freedom to homeschool. Each legislative session, we review all proposed bills, testify at committee hearings, connect with legislators, and keep our members informed about concerning legislation.

In an effort to increase connections in our digital age, the decision was made to modify our name to Homeschool Minnesota – MÂCHÉ. We now celebrate over 40 years of God's grace and guidance in freedom to home educate in Minnesota! We remain committed to our Christian heritage and to our mission to protect and minister to home educating families, standing vigilant to preserve homeschooling freedom in Minnesota for generations to come!