From Michael & Susan Bradrick ...
And one of our wishes would be to extend hospitality to each one of you who visits us here. We cannot offer you a cozy sitting room, something nice to drink, a warm smile, and a listening ear, but we pray your experience here will be the next best thing.
Let us share a little about the work God has been doing in our lives.
We were married in 1967—young, unprepared for marriage, and unbelieving. God’s wondrous salvation changed our lives forever in 1972, freeing us from the myth of humanism and illuminating our lives with the absolute truth of God’s Word. Praise Him!
Soon God convicted us through Scripture to trust our omniscient, sovereign God with the planning of our family, to home educate our children despite opposition from the state, to avoid surrounding our children with contemporary youth culture by immersing them, instead, in a far richer, age-integrated social structure, and to return to more Biblical patterns of church form and function. (Articles & resources on these topics and more are being added to our Articles Page.)
And as God has led us through by His Spirit through His Word, He has richly blessed us with the precious fruit of consistent (though not continuous—we are all sinners) peace and joy in our home. In 1986 God enabled us to begin Family Discipleship Ministries in order to share this message with others on a larger scale, and we have been encouraged to see the transforming power of God’s Word deeply changing the lives of individuals & families across the country for His glory.
The Lord has now blessed us with nine children, five precious “children-in-law”, and (currently) twenty-seven grandchildren. We and our four children at home live in rural Western Washington. Together we aid Michael in his remodeling & contracting business, publish a homeschool writing curriculum (www.UnderstandingWriting.com), operate a direct market farm (www.BradrickFamilyFarms.com), and minister through Christian Heritage Home Educators of Washington,
as well as Family Discipleship Ministries.
An Update on “Our Punkins” ...
Andy
Our eldest son Andy developed a deep love for God & His Word as well as many practical & academic skills during his childhood and homeschooled years, and was always the beloved “Pied Piper” where his younger brothers & sisters and other children were concerned. He married Emily in 1998, and the Lord has blessed them with eight precious children whom they are homeschooling as they diligently train them in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” They live in Northern Minnesota where Andy pastors a small church and has a cabinet shop. Their home is a center of ministry to members of their church and to many others, as well. Their delightful punkins thrill our hearts with their servant’s spirits, their love of God’s Word, and their joyful singing.
Betsy
Prior to marriage, our oldest daughter Betsy was Mama’s priceless “extra right hand,” helping to run our busy household in every way. She and Andy Barth married in 1995, and they now live in East Texas where Andy operates a dental lab out of his home—a vocation he learned from his father during his homeschooling and young adult years. They now have thirteen children: seven birth children and six through international adoption. They, too, are homeschooling their children, raising them to love and serve the Lord. It is a delight to see all the children working together, helping to carry out the daily tasks of a very busy home & business, and to hear them recite God’s Word and sing beautiful songs of praise to Him.
Katherine
Katherine currently heads the shipping and bookkeeping departments of both our ministry and our curriculum business and serves in the important role of Vendor & Vendor Hall Coordinator for the annual Christian Heritage Homeschool Conference. Her love of homemaking and health led her to study natural health and nutrition, and she is now a Certified Nutritional Therapist. She uses this knowledge, as well as her gracious wisdom from God’s Word, to aid and bless her family members and many others, as well. A special love for children and a delightful story reading ability make her a favorite with her nieces & nephews, the children in our local church, and the many that visit our home.
Kristen
Kristen was married to Tim Craig of Spokane, WA in May 2006, and they have now welcomed three precious children—two sons and a daughter—into their home. Prior to marriage, Kristen served the Lord through keeping our home, aiding us in exercising gracious hospitality, and designing and orchestrating the landscaping & gardens for our farm. She also enjoyed working in our family ministry, serving as publications & publicity coordinator for Christian Heritage. Among other projects, this ministry involved in designing this website and some of the materials you will find in our online store. She now uses her many gifts as a joyful home-keeper, mother, and helper to her husband who manages a large medical offices complex in their area.
Cecily
Cecily, who has also studied health & nutrition, is skillful keeper at home. She loves to garden & sew, and her fabulous cooking & bread making skills have opened opportunities for her to cater numerous events. She has a passion for God’s Word and for encouraging others in their relationship with Christ. Serving in the homes of married siblings is another delight for Cecily and her sisters (photo: Auntie CC & three nieces). She also fills major roles in our family ministries and businesses, including serving as Events Coordinator for Christian Heritage.
Amy Ellen
Amy Ellen keeps everyone ticking with her sumptuous cooking. And she diligently fills a vital secretarial role for our farm, businesses, and ministries, as well as serving as Volunteer Coordinator for Christian Heritage. Her organizational gifts and love for the Lord & for people are a wonderful asset to our home & family. God has used her gifts in working with people to minister to her grandparents and others in need of physical help and/or encouragement. She has been blessed to assist for several weeks at a time in the homes of friends and family after the birth of their babies. And for the past several years she has daily cared in our home for the now 4-year-old son of dear, school-teacher neighbors.
NOTE: Our adult, yet-unmarried daughters cherish Godly womanhood, and they delight in being keepers at home. They each faithfully serve Christ in many & varied capacities in our extended family, the body of Christ, and the community. And they desire, Lord willing, to follow in their mother’s footsteps as devoted wives, mothers, and homemakers.
Peter
Peter threw his efforts into developing various farm enterprises after high school. In 2004, his heart to learn more about Godly leadership and ministering to people led him to serve as a Vision Forum intern and later as an assistant to Doug Phillips, president of that ministry, for a season of service, training, and discipleship. In August of 2006, Peter married Kelly Brown. They currently make their home in Wake Forest, NC, where Peter is Director of Operations for the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC) ministry there. God has blessed Peter & Kelly with their third precious son in January 2010.
Phillip
Phillip has an incredible work ethic, and energizes us with his joviality. He earned an AA degree in business & public policy, mainly via correspondence, through Chambers College in Greeley, Colorado. He also operated the Bradrick Family Farms pastured livestock production and direct marketing operation with his brother Stephen for two years. In addition, he served six months each as an intern for Vision Forum and for a Christian businessman near Dallas, TX. Phillip was married in February 2009 and lives in Wake Forest, NC with his dear wife Katie who is expecting their first child in June, 2010. Phillip is founder/owner/operator of Energeyes, a business providing home energy auditing and energy efficiency improvements.
Stephen
Stephen has definitely stretched into his position as farm manager and also works with Michael in their construction & remodeling contracting business. He has greatly enjoyed serving at the annual Christian Heritage Conference & events here in Washington, as well as traveling to serve at other Christian ministry events across the nation. His special gifts lie in the areas of photography & graphics, another vocational avenue he is actively pursuing. Last of the Bradrick home-school students (for this generation), Stephen graduated in 2008.
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God has done wonderful and marvelous things in our lives. His promises are true. The seeds He enabled us to plant in faith so many years ago have now begun to bear their beautiful fruit as evidence of His wisdom and faithfulness. We stand in awe of what He can do with a family as needy as ours. Truly He is a God of wonders. May He alone be glorified by our testimony of His amazing grace in our lives.
“O God, Thou hast taught me…
And I still declare Thy wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Thy strength to this generation,
Thy power to all who are to come.
For Thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
Thou who hast done great things.”
—Psalm 71:17-19
About Family Discipleship
Ministries, Inc.
Family Discipleship Ministries Inc. is a Christian, non-profit organization.
Our purpose is to exalt the supremacy of Jesus Christ in every area of life. We have a passion for the reformation of family – the bedrock of society, the fabric of the Church, the nurse-bed of future generations. We want to challenge fathers to shoulder their God given role as loving servant-leaders, turning their hearts to their children; to encourage wives to love their husbands and children; to urge parents to train up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord; and, to inspire children to turn their hearts toward their fathers.
