5th Annual
Confessional Lutheran Homeschool League Conference
"We All Believe in One True God"
| Cultivating Lutheran Unity |
May 9, 2026
Learn About Previous Conferences Here
Keynote Speaker Rev. Jason Braaten
Raising Confessors
Raising Confessors is designed to help parents cultivate Christian unity rooted in truth, and to form children who can confess the one true God with clarity and charity
Session 1
Truth That Unites
“Truth That Unites” defines unity as a shared confession rather than niceness, avoidance, or “agreeing to disagree.” Using Ephesians 4 (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism”), it explains why truth necessarily excludes falsehood and why clarity is an act of love, not arrogance. The session also introduces Philip Melanchthon’s understanding of logic/dialectic as a servant of theology—necessary for teaching doctrine clearly and identifying errors that unsettle consciences and weaken unity.
Truth That Unites
“Truth That Unites” defines unity as a shared confession rather than niceness, avoidance, or “agreeing to disagree.” Using Ephesians 4 (“one Lord, one faith, one baptism”), it explains why truth necessarily excludes falsehood and why clarity is an act of love, not arrogance. The session also introduces Philip Melanchthon’s understanding of logic/dialectic as a servant of theology—necessary for teaching doctrine clearly and identifying errors that unsettle consciences and weaken unity.
Session 2
Forming Children to Think and Speak Faithfully
"Forming Children to Think and Speak Faithfully" applies this to the home: children learn confession through speech, categories, and distinctions; parents can strengthen formation by requiring clear sentences, asking “why,” defining key terms, and correcting gently while modeling charity. The goal is not to raise debaters, but confessors—children grounded in truth and unthreatened by difference.
Forming Children to Think and Speak Faithfully
"Forming Children to Think and Speak Faithfully" applies this to the home: children learn confession through speech, categories, and distinctions; parents can strengthen formation by requiring clear sentences, asking “why,” defining key terms, and correcting gently while modeling charity. The goal is not to raise debaters, but confessors—children grounded in truth and unthreatened by difference.
About Pastor Braaten
Pastor Braaten grew up in New Lenox, Illinois, a small community southwest of Chicago on I-80. He has a BA in Theological Languages and Philosophy from Concordia University Chicago, an MDiv from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, with part of his instruction taken at Westfield House, Cambridge, England, and is working toward a STM in Historical Theology from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Pastor Braaten shepherds Immanuel Lutheran Church, Tuscola, Illinois. He lives in Tuscola with his wife, Lauren, and five children, Oliver, Jonathan, Wilhelmina (Willa), Simon, and Marguerite (Maggie). In his free time, he enjoys woodworking, reading good books, and baseball.
Pastor Braaten grew up in New Lenox, Illinois, a small community southwest of Chicago on I-80. He has a BA in Theological Languages and Philosophy from Concordia University Chicago, an MDiv from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, with part of his instruction taken at Westfield House, Cambridge, England, and is working toward a STM in Historical Theology from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Pastor Braaten shepherds Immanuel Lutheran Church, Tuscola, Illinois. He lives in Tuscola with his wife, Lauren, and five children, Oliver, Jonathan, Wilhelmina (Willa), Simon, and Marguerite (Maggie). In his free time, he enjoys woodworking, reading good books, and baseball.
Additional Participants
The Rev. Jacob H. Benson serves LCC as Chief Advancement and Admissions Officer. Ordained in 2019, he has served congregations in Orange, Connecticut, and Lovell, Wyoming, and is currently an assisting pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Casper. He is a graduate of Northwest College (AA), The University of Wyoming (BA) and Concordia Theological Seminary (MDiv, STM). He currently studies early modern English poetry at Trinity College Dublin. The Lord of Life has blessed Jacob and his wife Mary with a son who is already preparing to enroll at LCC in 2039. Their second child (due in June 2026) has not yet voiced any desires for higher education. The Bensons enjoy good music, good food, frequent trips to the Big Horn Mountains, and treasure the first article gifts God has given in a golden retriever named Bernard-of-Clairvaux-of-Wisconsin and a Betta named Aethelred.
Rev. Jacob Benson
Chief Advancement & Admissions Officer LCC
Pastor Benson will be presenting
a special session titled:
The One True God of Fairy Land: Cultivating Lutheran Unity Through Epic Poetry
Pastor Kevin Johnson received his Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 2004. He completed his vicarage here at Holy Cross where he was ordained in August 2004. He and his wife, Ceci, have two daughters: Sarah and Bekah. Prior to seminary, Pastor was an architect and received his degree from Iowa State University. He also served in the US Marine Corps and retired from the Iowa Air National Guard. He currently serves as circuit visitor and is on the board for the Association of Confessing Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (ACELC).
Rev. Kevin Johnson
Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church
conference details
Location
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
1100 Market St, Carlisle, Iowa
holycrosscarlisle.org
1100 Market St, Carlisle, Iowa
holycrosscarlisle.org
Registration: 8:30 AM
Matins: 9:00 AM
Suffrages: 4:00 PM
Matins: 9:00 AM
Suffrages: 4:00 PM
Contact Us
Conference Registrar
Ceci Johnson 515-443-1460
johnsonceciliam@gmail.com
Ceci Johnson 515-443-1460
johnsonceciliam@gmail.com
We are again collaborating with All the Household to provide a new set of beautiful educational resources available exclusively for conference attendees. This year's cards will focus on Epiphany, The End Times and Holy Week. All the Household is a resource for Lutheran liturgical living. They have gathered a collection of materials supporting Liturgical living for Lutherans, becoming a one stop shop for Lutheran traditions. Click here to review the 2025 resources for the Liturgy Cards.
Children are a blessing. Our conference is a family friendly event. Children are welcome to sit with their family throughout the day. Childcare is provided free of charge for children 3 to 9 years old. We ask that your toddler be reliably potty trained. Space will be provided with live streaming of the keynotes for those needing to step out with a child during the presentation. We are capping childcare at 50 children on a first come first serve basis.
Registration is limited. We encourage you to register early. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, please contact the registrar. There are no fees to attend this conference but we do appreciate your generous donations to support our event.
Lunch and afternoon snack are provided free of charge. We will be serving a baked potato bar for lunch.
2026 Vendors and Exhibitors
We are working hard to bring a variety of exhibitors and vendors to our 2026 conference. Check back here to see who will be attending. If you have a vendor or presenter you would like to see attend, be sure to make the suggestion in the comment box on the registration form.
about us
Confessional Lutheran Homeschool League
The Confessional Lutheran Homeschool League (CLHL) is a group of homeschool families who attend Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Our group consists of retired home educators, veteran home educators, and families who are relatively new to homeschooling. We also have people who were home educated themselves and are now starting families of their own with the intent to continue the home education tradition.
Our goal is to be a support to confessional Lutheran families who are committed to educating their children at home and in alignment with the Lutheran faith. We are always looking for ways to share our knowledge and experience and also provide helpful resources.
Our Genesis:
In 2020, Pastor Kevin Johnson had an idea. He and his wife Ceci had successfully educated their two daughters at home and were encouraging others to consider the home education journey. Pastor Johnson could see that growing numbers of Lutherans were opting to homeschool but that there was not an existing network to provide support and encouragement. In their journey as home educators, the Johnsons discovered several things. First, as confessional Lutheran home educators, it is often challenging to find quality materials that align with Lutheran Doctrine. Second, there were not many support groups for confessional Lutheran home educators. He suggested to the homeschooling families at Holy Cross that something should be done to fill that void.
With his encouragement and guidance, the first Confessional Lutheran Homeschool League conference was held in 2022. Our first conference had 134 attendees and featured Pastor Johnson and Jocelyn Benson, Head Teacher at Wittenberg Academy, as our Keynote speakers. Since then, we have grown to 165 attendees and have featured guest speakers, the Rev. David Buchs, Rev. James Preus, and Rev. Kyle Verage, as well as homeschooling parents providing information on homeschooling topics, panels for questions and answers, exhibitors of homeschool related products, and casual interaction time for families. Media from previous conferences can be found here.
Our goal is to be a support to confessional Lutheran families who are committed to educating their children at home and in alignment with the Lutheran faith. We are always looking for ways to share our knowledge and experience and also provide helpful resources.
Our Genesis:
In 2020, Pastor Kevin Johnson had an idea. He and his wife Ceci had successfully educated their two daughters at home and were encouraging others to consider the home education journey. Pastor Johnson could see that growing numbers of Lutherans were opting to homeschool but that there was not an existing network to provide support and encouragement. In their journey as home educators, the Johnsons discovered several things. First, as confessional Lutheran home educators, it is often challenging to find quality materials that align with Lutheran Doctrine. Second, there were not many support groups for confessional Lutheran home educators. He suggested to the homeschooling families at Holy Cross that something should be done to fill that void.
With his encouragement and guidance, the first Confessional Lutheran Homeschool League conference was held in 2022. Our first conference had 134 attendees and featured Pastor Johnson and Jocelyn Benson, Head Teacher at Wittenberg Academy, as our Keynote speakers. Since then, we have grown to 165 attendees and have featured guest speakers, the Rev. David Buchs, Rev. James Preus, and Rev. Kyle Verage, as well as homeschooling parents providing information on homeschooling topics, panels for questions and answers, exhibitors of homeschool related products, and casual interaction time for families. Media from previous conferences can be found here.
This Conference is hosted by Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Carlisle, Iowa
supporting our mission
This conference is only made possible by the gracious support of donors, presenters, exhibitors, and attendees.
If you would like to support our mission to encourage and equip home educators through our annual conferences, please donate using the link below. Your donation will help us continue to provide quality speakers, to improve our programing and expand what our league can offer confessional Lutheran home educators in the state of Iowa and beyond. To donate, follow the link below to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Vanco) donation page. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Homeschool Conference donation link. Thank you for supporting us.
