In August of 1984, one hundred and two couples gathered with Bill Gothard, Jim Sammons, and others in the Northwoods of Michigan to seek God for the establishment of a groundbreaking approach to home education. These couples desired to train their families in the ways of God and decided that the best way to accomplish this was to center all their learning on the living Word of God.

Their vision was to raise up the foundations of many Godly generations (see Isaiah 58:12) by training their children to be mighty in God’s Spirit. The results of their vision were significant. A number of today’s homeschool leaders have said the endeavor of that first group offered considerable guidance for the modern homeschool movement. That meeting in the Northwoods birthed what has become the ATI program.

Today we are at a defining moment in the ministry of ATI. Now is the time for families under the leadership of Godly fathers to realize that original vision and to rekindle their love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rebuilding Foundations

Over the past several months we have asked ourselves if ATI is truly helping families implement the original vision in their lives. To answer this question, an Advisory Council assembled in December of 2005. This group of ATI fathers and mothers and key ATI program leaders met for the purpose of evaluating the validity of the original vision, and to determine what was needed in order for ATI to realign with that vision.

After three days of in-depth discussion, the Advisory Council came to one overarching conclusion—the vision and mission of ATI is just as relevant and exciting today as it was when it was developed in 1984.

They defined ATI’s vision and mission: To turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, so that many generations can proclaim the kingdom of God.

As the council members discussed this vision, they embraced it for themselves. They determined that the top three priorities of ATI are to:

1. Retain and strengthen core ATI families who can then strengthen other enrolled families and attract new faithful families.
2. Develop a support network for families to minister and be ministered to on the local, regional, national, and global levels.
3. Foster a culture that provides opportunities for fathers to incrementally release their young people into God’s life purpose for them.

Receiving Counsel and Planning for Action

In order to begin implementing the priorities outlined by the Advisory Council, four Strategic Leadership Summits were held across the United States. These meetings took place in San Jose, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Dallas, Texas; and Baltimore, Maryland. The purpose was to gather input directly from families as to how the three priorities should be enacted. Chris Hogan (the new president of ATI) facilitated the Summits by sharing the vision and priorities, and gathering feedback from the couples.

The rhema Chris received for the Summits was Isaiah 66:2, “To this man will I [the Lord] look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” This focus on the heart attitudes of humility and openness to God’s Word became a guiding theme for the Summits. Paul and Jenny Speed shared from personal experience that carrying out the priorities would fail if attempted in our strength alone or if there is bondage to hypocrisy, lust, pride, or other sins. They emphasized that nothing but God’s grace can accomplish this vision.

After the completion of the Summits, an ATI Advisory Board was created. The board will discern steps of action based on input from the families and thus set the direction for the ministry. Jim Sammons has agreed to serve as the chairman of the Advisory Board, lending his wisdom and years of experience to this venture.

As a result of the feedback from the Advisory Council, the Summits, and the Advisory Board, ATI is now developing the Family Support Network to support and encourage fathers in the process of leading their families to be Christ-centered and ministry-oriented. The original vision of ATI will be fulfilled as each father focuses on how his family can minister for the Lord, not only within the family or homeschooling community, but also to those in the broader community, including church members, neighbors, relatives, and strangers.

The purpose of this network is to unite an army of encouragers, enabling families to minister to each other and to branch out in fulfilling the Great Commission, which is the mandate of discipleship. Learn more about the network >>

We appreciate your prayers as this network is developed and established. As the leadership of the ATI program, we are diligently seeking to effectively guide the program to meet the objectives and goals that God has given us.

July 2006