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MACHE, New Friends, and What’s Next for The Good Newsy

 

Last weekend, May 15th–16th, I attended the MACHE Homeschool Conference as an exhibitor for The Good Newsy… and wow. My little heart is still smiling.

This was my very first time presenting The Good Newsy publicly at a conference, which meant I spent the days somewhere between “professional exhibitor” and “person trying not to knock over her own display poster.” Thankfully, the poster survived.

But truly, it was such a wonderful experience.

I met homeschool families, church leaders, students, fellow creators, and all kinds of lovely people who care deeply about raising children to know God’s Word. One of the biggest encouragements was hearing parents and teachers immediately understand the purpose behind The Good Newsy. Before I could even launch into my carefully prepared explanation speech™️, many people were already saying things like, “This would be so good for Bible study.”

Yes! Exactly!

Parents especially connected with the comic format for the 8–12 age range. So many shared that their children still love visual storytelling and graphic novels, even after they’ve “aged out” of the brightly colored picture books usually made for younger kids. Honestly, that resonated with me deeply because children do not suddenly stop enjoying pictures the moment they can read chapter books. God made us to be creative, imaginative, creatures. We like stories. We like visuals. We like seeing truth unfold panel by panel.

And apparently… we also like Bible comics.

The feedback was incredibly encouraging and confirmed something I’ve been hoping all along: there is a real hunger for resources that help children engage more deeply with scripture without watering it down into theological applesauce.

I also met several wonderful vendors and made some exciting future connections. I have a feeling a few of those connections are going to grow into sweet friendships and collaborations down the road. I’ll share more about some of my new conference friends in an upcoming post.

But now… onward!

Next stop: Home Educators Association of Virginia!

The Good Newsy will be attending the HEAV Convention in Richmond, Virginia from June 4th–6th. Fun fact: I actually heard about HEAV from one of my fellow exhibitors at MACHE. By the time I looked it up, exhibitor applications had already closed. Very officially closed. Extremely closed.

But The Good Newsy belongs to the Lord, and I’m just the steward trying to carry the comic books without dropping them.

So I sent an email anyway.

And somehow, graciously, kindly, unexpectedly… they made room for The Good Newsy to participate in this year’s conference.

God is good.

If you’re a Virginia homeschooler—or even simply considering homeschooling—I would absolutely recommend checking out the conference. I’ve heard wonderful things about it. You can learn more at HEAV.org.

I’m excited (and maybe just a tiny bit nervous) to see what God does next with this ministry. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for, supported, shared, donated to, subscribed to, or encouraged The Good Newsy along the way. Every kind word has meant more than you know.

Bless God!